22 Horse and Hound. 



reason to their assistance. The noble traits of 

 character possessed by horses sounds well and 



looks well upon paper, but . However, 



there is a great diversity of opinion as to the in- 

 telligence and courage of the horse. They cer- 

 tainly have mentality enough to appreciate kind- 

 ness and any sympathy shown them by mankind. 



A few words as to the treatment of a horse 

 in the field may not be amiss ; though a man may 

 be accustomed to driving horses all his life, and 

 may occasionally amble through the park on a 

 well-mannered one, he will find it an altogether 

 different proposition upon a hunter in the field. 



Elsewhere, I have treated upon seat and 

 hands (the vitality of hunting). Next to these, 

 nerve is the most essential requisite to riding to 

 hounds. Loss of nerve causes nine-tenths of the 

 accidents in the field, and though the horse may 

 not possess a very high order of intelligence, he 

 quickly finds you out and never fails to take ad- 

 vantage of his knowledge; thus the horse fre- 

 quently knows the rider better than the rider 

 knows the horse. If the rider is courageous he 

 immediately recognizes it, and the knowledge but 

 adds to his own courage. 



Horses are interesting to handle and study, 

 but difficult to thoroughly understand. How few 

 men ever understand or really appreciate a horse ! 

 They do not go about it in the right way. The 

 great secret in handling a horse successfully is 



