SUMMERING HUNTERS 59 



the case when I was a boy and in all but the 

 late countries a start is made in August. Cub- 

 hunting too is much more a public matter than 

 it was thirty or forty years ago and even in the 

 early cubbing mornings quite large fields are 

 seen out. Whether this is altogether to the 

 advantage of huntsman and hounds may be 

 questioned but if those who go out in the earlier 

 part of the cub-hunting season are careful to 

 do as they are told and keep out of mischief 

 perhaps no great harm is done after all. 



These early cub-hunting mornings are excellent 

 for finishing the work of conditioning. The 

 many hours that the horses are out of the stable, 

 the frequent little ' spurts ' down a wood-side, 

 all help to get them fit for those little gallops 

 in the later cub-hunting which are a prelude to 

 the more serious business of the season. 



For another reason it is a good plan to finish 

 the conditioning of your hunters by cub-hunting. 

 It tends to make them steady with hounds, 

 and if you are careful in watching them during 

 the cub-hunting season and in giving them a few 

 timely lessons you will probably be saved much 

 trouble and some annoyance later on. 



By the first of November horses that have 

 been summered and conditioned in this way will 

 be found far fitter than horses that have been 

 summered at grass and physicked and galloped 

 into condition will be on the first of January 

 and at a far less strain upon their legs. It is a 

 plan that I adopted for many years and with 



