170 HUNTING 



"We think that it is advisable to accustom a young 

 horse to jumping before he is backed. Most young 

 horses take kindly to jumping, and look to it as a 

 relaxation after the monotony of being lunged in a 

 circle ; but care should be taken not to lunge them 

 over anything which would hurt them if they knocked 

 it, such as stiff oak bars or stiles. Many authorities 

 are against us on this point, and some think it a 

 good plan to place an oak bar before the food of a 

 foal, which can be raised higher and higher. But 

 we are inclined to think that if a young horse once 

 hurts himself in his first endeavours to jump, he will 

 always shirk jumping afterwards, and, not improbably, 

 will develop into a confirmed refuser, than which 

 there can be no more awkward beast to ride in the 

 hunting-field. The advocates of this "bar" system 

 say that it makes a horse clever; but even if he is 

 lucky enough not to get a nasty knock in his baby- 

 hood, he gets into the habit of judging the height 

 of his jumps too accurately, and, sooner or later, is 

 sure to make a mistake and come a nasty cropper, 

 if later, causing dire disaster both to himself and his 

 rider. 



Perhaps the most crucial period in a hunter's life 

 is the time when, as a three-year-old, he is first 

 backed. Some horses seem to think nothing of it. 

 We remember a filly by Cucumber out of a thorough- 

 bred mare, who, having been first mounted for some 

 two or three minutes by her mistress on a side-saddle, 

 immediately afterwards allowed a light-weight groom 

 to ride her about the yard, apparently regarding 



