OF THE HUNTEE. 91 



most troublesome faults with which a hunter can be 

 afflicted. 



I am well aware that it is frequently asserted that 

 the hunter must have big feet to enable him to go 

 through the dirt without sinking up to his knees ; and 

 undoubtedly he should have big feet if he be a big 

 horse, but on no account must his feet be out of pro- 

 portion to his legs ; and, if this be the case, the merest 

 tyro in horseflesh can determine at a glance, if he will 

 take the trouble to look. 



Whether, then, the horse be big or little his feet 

 should be in proportion to the weight they have to 

 carry. I have a partiality for high and strong, but a 

 great objection to low and weak, heels. 



It must never be forgotten that the foot is the 

 foundation of all a hunter's exertions, and unless the 

 foundation be good the whole frame will have its action 

 materially weakened. Small feet are only objection- 

 able in that they do not afford sufficient surface to sup- 

 port the weight in soft ground ; otherwise, high and 

 rather small feet are no doubt possessed of greater 

 wear and tear than larger ones, but either extreme is 

 very objectionable in the hunter. 



In shoeing the hunter great care should be taken 

 that the shoe exactly fits the foot in every part, and 

 also that it is not a heavy shoe ; for, inasmuch as the 

 extra weight of a shoe, however trifling, from the fact of 

 its being at the end of the lever, will very materially 

 embarrass the action. ( An ounce on the foot is a pound 

 on the back,' is a very old and correct axiom, but one 



