72 NOTES FOR HUNTING-MEN 



because they must ; others, idle men, because they 

 like the occupation, during the summer months, of 

 getting a new lot together ; others— With Irish blood 

 in their veins — because they love coping ; but all 

 these reasons, good enough in their way, have 

 nothing to do with sport. And from the latter point 

 of view, that is, looking at your horse as a means 

 of seeing the greatest amount of hunting, I con- 

 fidently assert that it is a mistake to part with a 

 hunter which suits you. Unless you are a quite 

 exceptional horseman you won't go half as well on 

 a horse which you do not know, and he will cer- 

 tainly not be fit to carry you through a real good 

 thing until he has eaten your corn for a year. How 

 often do you not hear it said of ' So-and-so,' who has 

 in years gone by made a record sale, that he has 

 never gone to hounds as he used to on the old 

 lot. 



Assuming, then, that you are going to keep 

 your stud, there are three courses open to you : 

 first, to turn them out to grass ; secondly, to 

 summer them in loose boxes or a yard ; and, thirdly, 

 to keep them up in gentle exercise. 



I will endeavour to put before you the advan- 

 tages and disadvantages of these three courses, all 

 of which I have tried. 



The first, turning out to grass, has only one 

 advantage, and that a doubtful one ; namely, cheap- 



