118 THE PRACTICAL HORSE KEEPER. 



It is always wise to steady a hunter, if he is not very fit, over 

 the first few fields, no matter at what pace the hounds are 

 going ; as to over-exert a horse at this period of the hunt often 

 unduly fatigues him, and impairs his energy for the remainder 

 of the day. 



An instance of injudicious riding may be given. One day 

 very recently while in a fast drag hunt, a man rode his not too 

 fit horse to a standstill, and just as the hounds had checked 

 he put his beaten horse at a rotten bank, which he was 

 unable to get over, and so fell into the ditch on the other side. 

 A judicious momentary walk, considering the hounds were not 

 running, would have prevented the catastrophe, which spoilt 

 the unfortunate man's sport for the rest of the day, as the 

 horse had to be pulled out of the ditch, a very dirty one, and 

 some considerable time elapsed before the saddle was clean 

 enough to get into again. Needless to say, the gentleman was 

 young in experience. 



Another kind of rider, the opposite to the one just men- 

 tioned, is the man who mounts himself on the best horse he 

 can obtain, and never ceases to assure his friends that he has 

 got the best horse in the world, and (if you had not been 

 present yourself) that he had been going like the wind in front 

 of everybody ; whereas, as a matter of fact, he never rides a 

 yard, and is always ready to say, as an excuse for being out of 

 a fast run, that he has been helping a lady out of a ditch. 



Hiding to hounds. — On starting for a day's hunting, it is 

 better to ride at a walk for at least the first mile, after which 

 you may increase your pace to a covert ''jog trot," which should 

 not exceed between five or six miles an hour, and, if possible, 

 on the side of the road ; this should be frequently alternated 

 with walking. 



On reacliing the meet, if you are riding your hunter, and 

 especially if you have come a considerable distance, endeavour, 

 if possible, when you arrive there, to put him up in a stable. 



