THE ABUSE OF THE SPUR. 69 



are all struggling for the same object, so difficult to 

 regain. This perversity of disposition too, is very apt 

 to be displayed at some fence that will not admit of 

 half-measures, such as a rail low enough to jump, but 

 too strong to break, or a ditch so wide and deep that it 

 must not be attempted as a standing leap. In these 

 cases a vigorous dig with the spurs at the last moment 

 will sometimes have an excellent effect. But it must 

 not be trusted as an unfailing remedy. Nearly as many 

 hunters will resent so broad a hint, by stopping short, 

 and turning restive, as will spring generously forward, 

 and make a sudden effort in answer to the appeal. 

 For this, as for every other requirement of equitation, 

 much depends on an insight into his character, whom 

 an enthusiastic friend of mine designates " the bolder 

 and wiser animal of the two. " 



Few men go out hunting with the expectation of 

 encountering more than one or two falls in the best of 

 runs, although the score sometimes increases very 

 rapidly, when a good and gallant horse is getting tired 

 towards the finish. Twenty " croppers " in a season, if 

 he is well-mounted, seems a high average for the most 

 determined of bruisers, but a man, whom circumstances 

 impel to ride whatever he can lay hands on, must take 

 into consideration how he can best rise from the ground 



