CHAPTER II 



THE HORSE ON WHICH TO HUNT 



This is, of all subjects, the most difficult one on 

 which to offer advice, and perhaps one of the most 

 useless, for the man who attempts to buy hunters 

 from any theoretical knowledge is sure to come to 

 grief. One point, however, which I cannot too 

 strongly impress on a young sportsman (and it is 

 only to such that I would dare to offer advice at all) 

 is to get a thoroughly made hunter to start with. 

 A horse that knows his business will teach you 

 yours, and give you that confidence which will 

 enable you afterwards, should you wish, to make 

 young horses. For a man with a small stud these 

 latter, even allowing for their comparative cheap- 

 ness, are an expensive luxury. Unless you wish 

 to run great risk of permanently injuring your 

 horse, it is madness to give a four-year-old a long 

 day. The man with a large stud can afford to have 

 him out for an hour or two and send him home. 

 The poor man wants every horse in his stud to be 

 a worker. Apart from the risk of injuring their 



