RIDING TO HOUNDS 213 



one horse in a hundred was fit to be ridden in a 

 snaffle and only one man in a thousand had good 

 enough hands to use a curb. Similarly it may be 

 said that there are few if any horses that should 

 be ridden without spurs and a very small pro- 

 portion of horsemen can use them properly. 

 Nothing upsets a horse so much as being spurred 

 at the wrong time and it stands to reason that if 

 a rider would get the full and proper use of his 

 spurs he must have a strong seat, and sit in the 

 right place in his saddle. He must sit forward 

 and lean back to use his spurs to advantage. 



For hunting, where a lot of rough country has 

 always to be encountered at some time or other 

 sharp rowels are better avoided. Occasionally in 

 going through a rough fence a binder may drive 

 the spur into the horse's sides and make a nasty 

 tear. And then there is always the chance that 

 the indifferent horseman may spur his horse when 

 he does not want to do so ; a contingency w^hich 

 is very likely to occur, as likely as that that he 

 does not spur his horse w^hen he does want to. 

 The rowels should be well blunted and shortened 

 — most spur rowels are much too long — or better 

 still, a threepenny piece may be used instead of 

 rowels. I do not hke the spurs without rowels ; 

 they are frequently used very unnecessarily and 

 they make a horse's sides very sore if used as they 

 sometimes are, with considerable force. 



The hunting whip should always be used in 

 the hunting field and never without a thong. 

 Capt. Hayes says a propos of the thong that in 



