122 THE COMPLETE FOXHUNTER 



and a great deal of pulling to get them off his feet. He 

 had, of course, omitted to change stirrups and leathers 

 when he changed horses with his man, and for an hour 

 or two had been riding in a pair of irons which were 

 far too small for his rather massive boots. It was a 

 lesson to him — as he has often told us since — and it 

 must also have been a lesson to all who witnessed the 

 accident. 



It is hardly within our province just now to go further 

 into the riding question, for we have pointed out that a 

 man or woman who cannot manage his or her horse is 

 even more out of place in a hunting crowd than else- 

 where, because all horses are inclined to be excited 

 when hunting, especially during the early part of the 

 day. Horses which are in regular work, which come 

 out about three times a fortnight, and which have 

 passed the first bloom of youth, will be as steady as a 

 rock after the season is a week or two old, but if for 

 some reason or another they are short of work, through 

 having been a good deal confined to stables, even the 

 most staid of veterans will at times give way to an 

 ebullition of feeling, and it is no uncommon thing to see 

 an old and proved hunter kick off, or try to kick off, his 

 rider at a meet. "There is no fool like an old one," 

 and there are horses who never get over the habit of 

 showing a little playfulness when they first see hounds, 

 or first get on to grass in the morning. 



The new beginner must then see to it that he is not 

 likely to commit himself in any way as regards horse- 

 manship, and on this point he should be fully assured 

 before he attempts to follow hounds. Quite lately we 

 heard of a man who never was on horseback until he 

 was over forty years of age. By that time he had 

 bought a little place in the country, where he quickly 



