$2} 



Veterinary Notes for Horse-Oivners, I need not refer to 

 them here. 



The number of horses a man will require, will greatly 

 depend on the number of days a week he intends to hunt, and 

 on the length of time he wishes to stop out on each occasion. 

 The old computation of three days a fortnight may be taken 

 as a fair average, which allows for illness and accident. In 

 Leicestershire, which is well supplied with bridle-paths and gates 

 that will open, a second horse is required to relieve the first one 

 at " the change of horses," which is generally made at about 

 half-past one or two. When Lord Lonsdale hunted the Quorn, 

 he had an excellent rule, which all M. F. H.'s would dearly 

 love to see carried out, that second horsemen were not to jump 

 fences, but were to stick to the roads and bridle-paths. By it, 

 horseflesh as well as farmers' crops and fences were spared as 

 far as practicable. If a man in Leicestershire takes out only 

 one horse, the animal, in the large majority of cases, will have 

 had quite enough work by two o'clock ; and no sportsman 

 would care to hunt on a tired horse. When using a second 

 horse, one should take particular care that the second horse- 

 man saves him as much as possible. Orders should be 

 given to the second horseman never to go out of a trot, 

 or " bucket " his horse, to keep his eyes open so as to 

 save going any but the shortest way, to be alv/ays looking 

 out for his master, to shut gates, and to do no damage to 

 crops, etc. A second horse is not required in countries 

 devoid of facilities for crossing them without jumping, 

 or out stag-hunting ; because a stag in most cases runs 

 a " point," in which case, the second horse would have 

 to do as much or nearly as much work as the first horse ; 

 and a second deer from the cart is utilised only when the first 

 one has done practically nothing. If the first deer had run a 

 sharp ring, a second horse would be useful ; but this happens 

 too seldom to be worth providing for. 



