TEMPER. 41 



work out of* liis horses. Again, some horses can go 

 out hunting much oftener in a given time than 

 others, and this quality is exceedingly valuable to a 

 man who only keeps one or two horses and wishes 

 to get out as often as possible, while it does not 

 make much matter to a man with a large stud. 

 With regard to the horse's age, a horse is never so 

 good before he is six years old as he is afterwards. 

 Many horses are hunted at three and four years old, 

 and almost all horses at five, and they will go as 

 well while they are out as an older horse ; but the 

 objection to them is that they are never so pleasant 

 to ride, and that they cannot come out so often, and 

 that they are always liable to be knocked up and 

 rendered useless for some time after, whenever you 

 happen to ride them a harder day than usual. In 

 addition to this they are much more likely to get 

 lamed, for two reasons : first, their sinews are softer 

 and they are more easily injured; and, secondl}^, 

 they are wilder and more likely to do something 

 that will injure them. 



There are a very great number of horses lamed 

 by riding them to hounds when not fully developed, 

 and if it could become the custom to either ride 

 them solely on the road, or confine them to light 

 harness work, until they are of a suitable age for 

 hunting, there would be more sound horses than 

 there are. 



