24 Horse and Hound, 



Stabling him with hounds will not effect a cure, 

 for while behaving himself with the hounds he 

 knows, he will let drive at the first "outsider" 

 that comes within range. I know of no harder 

 task than explaining to an owner how your horse 

 happened to kick and cripple or kill his favorite 

 hound. 



A hunter is in his prime between the ages 

 of six and nine, and must be at least six years 

 old before one can expect hard service of him, 

 day in and day out, in the field. Have known 

 of hunters twenty years old that could hold their 

 own with a four-year-old in a long brushing run. 

 The average life of usefulness in the field is six 

 years, while some do not last the season out, bow- 

 ing a tendon in a few runs. 



As to size, the extremely large hunters have 

 never been popular with me. While the saying 

 that a "good big horse is always better than a 

 good little horse," carries weight with it, I am 

 partial to a 15.2 or 15.3 horse, if he has bone, 

 substance, and nerve force with it. Build and con- 

 stitution certainly have more to do with weight- 

 carrying ability than either avoirdupois or height ; 

 tall men look better on tall horses, and small men, 

 vice versa. 



The average weight of a horse in hunting 

 condition, capable of carrying a heavy weight, 

 should be about 1,150 pounds; a middle weight, 

 1,050; and a light weight, 1,000 pounds. Sev- 



