Fox-hunting Past and Present 



also very glad of their services. A horse that has 

 done much work can hardly ever, if ever, be 

 theoretically sound. And it is often found that 

 a faultlessly shaped hunter may, from want of 

 courage or a sulky temper, prove inferior to an 

 ugly-looking animal. They run good in all shapes 

 and sizes, and an intending purchaser of a hunter, 

 if he has time to school him, cannot do better 

 than buy at an Irish fair, accompanied by a 

 veterinary surgeon. He will be sure of having 

 something that can jump, and a saleable com- 

 modity when he is tired of him. Blood will tell, 

 and combines quality and endurance. Stonehenge 

 says : '' It is admitted on the turf that high breeding 

 is of more consequence than external shape. A 

 horse of perfect shape and inferior strain of blood 

 will be beaten by one of a high-class running 

 strain but not so well made." No horses are 

 merely machines, but animals full of whims and 

 humours : these a good groom will understand — 

 the better bred, the more nervous they are. 



The number of horses and their size (which latter 

 varies with their riders) are two points that have 

 now to be considered. The be all and end all of 

 a young sportsman is to get a thoroughly made 

 hunter to start with : it engenders confidence. 

 Screws do not pay to buy. Poor men require 

 every horse to work, except a young one who 



cannot be given a long day. 



48 



