144 A HUNTING CATECHISM 



run fast to be next to them if he can, and he 

 would consider the last described horse as not 

 a hunter at all, but only fit to take him to the 

 meet in a brougham. The hunter he requires 

 must be a lengthy, far-reaching, big, but short- 

 legged horse, as wiry as himself, and either quite 

 thoroughbred, or so nearly so as to make no 

 practical difference. If these two men meet as 

 judges in a show-ring, each argues from his own 

 standpoint, and how are their ideas to be recon- 

 ciled ? And when each ventilates his opinions in 

 print, how can the public decide between their 

 views, when the merits and the performances of 

 the disputants are quite an unknown quantity, 

 though both are known to be men of experience ? 



A friend once made a terse remark that nearly 

 hits off the idiosyncrasies of the hunting-field. 

 " Every one," said he, " goes out hunting to get a 

 qualm, but some men require a very big fence 

 before they can experience one ; while others get 

 one from a very tiny obstacle indeed ! But so 

 long as each gets his qualm he has enjoyed his 

 day, and goes home happy ! " 



It is with very different views, then, that 

 people congregate at the meet, and it is probably 

 correct to say that more real lovers of hunting, ^er 

 se, are likely to be found at a meet in the so- 

 called provinces than at one in the shires. 



In all the main characteristics the conforma- 

 tion of a hunter should be the same wherever 

 he is going to perform, and it is very certain 

 that a really good horse can go in any country, 

 no matter how high bred he may be. It is 

 quite a mistake to imagine a horse must be 

 underbred to creep and crawl in cramped 

 places, for not only can a thoroughbred do the 



