THE CHOICE OF A HORSE 49 



gallop over a fence ; but the proper pace to ride 

 at any obstacle^ be it timber or hedge, is a canter. 

 The horse at that gait is in the position to put 

 forth his greatest power for jumping, and being 

 collected can recover his balance if he happens 

 to make a mistake. A horse, when fully extended 

 in galloping, has no reserve power left to meet 

 any new contingency which may arise at the last 

 moment. 



I have remarked before, steeplechasing and 

 hunting are two entirely different things. Hunt 

 meetings are generally pleasant social gatherings, 

 but as a rule they are farcical imitations of a race, 

 and are an insult to hunters. There is a great 

 deal of nonsense talked about a ^' natural country," 

 and making the fences bigger to enable the genuine 

 hunters to have a chance, but you will find that 

 the confidential animal which has never made 

 a mistake in the hunting-field, usually comes to 

 grief at an obstacle that the chaser — who has 

 never seen hounds — sails easily over. 



The chaser must gallop over his fences and the 

 hunter ought not, so that when the latter is brought 

 out between the flags, you are asking him to do 

 something which is entirely opposed to his previous 

 education. I admit that many horses which have 

 won races make excellent hunters, but they must 

 have some further training before they become safe 

 mounts with hounds. 



Any horse that is fast enough and has sufficient 

 strength to carry weight, can be made into a 



D 



