CHAPTER IX 



VICE AND OBJECTIONABLE HABITS 



Unfortunately, hunters like every other variety 

 of horse are not exempt from what is popularly 

 known as vice, a modification of which the 

 writer has chosen to include under the same 

 heading in the less clearly defined term of, 

 objectionable habits. A casual thinker will 

 meditate that surely there must be very little 

 distinction between the two, but a thoughtful 

 observer whose reflections are those of a better 

 disciplined mind, will conclude that there is a 

 distinct difference between vice and the mere 

 possession of habits that do not detract from the 

 usefulness of the animal, nor in any way inter- 

 fere with its well-being, and such habits are well 

 known to horsemen, who would not for a single 

 moment decline to purchase a hunter which they 

 knew to be guilty of such venial offences. It is 



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