THE HUNTER.] 



THE HOESE, AND 



[THii: HUNTER. 



accurately measured by some gentleman who 

 witnessed the performance, it was found that, 

 in passing over a bar three feet six inches 

 high, the leap was taken at the amazing dis- 

 tance of seventeen feet seven inches from it, 

 and the whole space of ground covered was 

 twenty-seven feet eight inches. The horse 

 was fifteen hands and a-half high, and carried 

 upwards of twelve stone. He was afterwards 

 ridden over the same bar several times, and 

 cleared upwards of eigl«t yards without much 

 apparent effort. 



The first property of a good hunter is, that 

 he should be light in hand. Eor this purpose, 

 his head must be small; his neck thin, and 

 especially thin beneath; his crest firm and 

 arched, and his jaws wide. The head will 

 then be well set on. It will form that angle 

 with the neck, which gives a light and pleasant 

 mouth. 



Tiie fore-hand should be loftier than that of 

 the racer. A turf horse may be forgiven if 

 his hind quarters rise an inch or two above his 

 fore ones. His principal power is wanted 

 from behind; and tlie very lowness of the 

 fore-hand may throw more weight in front, and 

 cause the whole machine to be more easily and 

 speedily moved. A lofty fore-hand, therefore, 

 is indispensable in the hunter ; the shoulder 

 should be as extensive as in the racer ; also as 

 oblique, and somewhat thicker ; the saddle 

 will then sit in its proper place, and will con- 

 tinue so, however long may be the run. 



The barrel should be rounder, to give greater 

 room for the heart and lungs to play, and send 

 oxygenised blood in greater quantities to the 

 larger frame of this kind of horse ; room to 

 play is all the more essential when the run 

 continues unchecked for such a length of time 

 as to begin to be distressing. A broad chest 

 is an excellence in the hunter. In the violent 

 and long-continued exertion of the chase, the 

 respiration is exceedingly quickened, and 

 a great deal more blood is hurried through the 

 lungs in a given time, than when the animal is 

 at rest. There must be sufiicieut room for 

 this, or the beast will be blown, and possibly 

 destroyed. The majority of the horses that 

 perish in the field are narrow-chested. 



The foot of the hunter is a most material 

 point. It is of consequence in the racer ; yet 

 it is a notorious fact, that numbers of our best 

 88 



thorough-bred horses have had very indifferent 

 feet. The narrow contracted foot is the curse 

 of many of the. racing blood. The work of the 

 racer, however, is all performed on the turf, 

 and his bad feet may scarcely incommode him ; 

 but the foot of the hunter is battered over 

 many a flinty road and stony field; and if 

 not particularly good, will soon be disabled and 

 ruined. 



The position of his feet, also, requires atten- 

 tion. They should, if possible, stand straight. 

 If they turn a little outward there is no serious 

 objection ; but if they turn inward, his action 

 cannot be safe, particularly when he is fatigued 

 or over-weighted. 



The body should be short and compact, 

 compared with that of the race-horse, that he 

 may not, in his gallop, take too extended a 

 stride. This, in a long day, and with a heavy 

 rider, would be a serious disadvantage, from 

 the stress on the pasterns ; and more serious 

 when going over clayey ground, during the 

 winter months. The compact, short-strided 

 horse will almost skim the surface ; while the 

 feet of the longer-reached animal will sink 

 deep, and he will wear himself out by efi'orts 

 to disengage himself. 



The hunter may be fairly ridden twice, or 

 if not with any very hard days, thrice a week ; 

 but, after a thoroughly hard day, and evident 

 distress, three or four days' rest should be 

 allowed. They who are merciful to their 

 horses, allow about thirty days' work in the 

 course of the season ; with gentle exercise on 

 each of the intermediate days, and particularly 

 a sweat on the day before hunting. There is an 

 account, however, of one horse which followed 

 the fox-hounds seventy-five times in one season. 

 We are not aware that this feat has ever been 

 exceeded. 



"We have before said that the horse fully shares 

 in the enthusiasm of his rider ; and it is beautiful 

 to watch the old hunter, who, after many a 

 winter's hard work, is turned into the park to 

 enjoy himself for life. His attitude and his 

 countenance when, perchance, he hears the 

 distant cry of the dogs, are a study for the 

 contemplation of the artist. 



" I was entertained by listening to an Arab 

 peasant," says Sir John Malcolm, in his 

 Sketches in Persia, "describe a fox-hunt which 

 he had seen in the English style. 'There 



