Fox-hunting Past and Present 



stand a long day better. On the other hand, big 

 horses go easier in ^^dirt," tire less in jumping, and 

 can brush through a fence. Professional thrusters 

 nearly all ride big horses. 



Now it is a generally accepted fact that a good 

 Leicestershire or Midland hunter will carry you in 

 almost any country unless it is an exceptionally 

 rough one. Then for a fourteen-stone man a 

 short-legged thoroughbred hunter is required. 

 Then for the rich man a stud all of a size and 

 stamp is generally au fait ; it is, however, a task 

 of time as well as an expensive business to 

 collect such a stud. In choosing a hunter, 

 bad shoulders (viz. straight), and a too great 

 length of leg should be eschewed. A leggy horse 

 is to be avoided. Here Captain Haye's ^' Points of 

 the Horse" and Captain Cortlandt G. Mackenzie's 

 (the late) ''Notes for Hunting Men" should be 

 read. A veterinary surgeon's advice is generally 

 needed wherever your would-be hunter is pur- 

 chased. 



A really good hunter may not always be a 

 perfectly made horse ; his feet may not always 

 be the same size, e.g.y and so on. Stonehenge says : 

 *' It is admitted on the turf that high breeding is 

 of more consequence than external shape, and of 

 two horses, one perfect in shape, and of an inferior 

 strain; and the other of the most winning blood, 

 but not so well made, the latter will be the most 



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