250 THE COMPLETE FOXHUNTER 



If the owner of one of these common but yet good- 

 looking horses is clever enough to arrive at a true 

 estimate of his nag's capabilities, he will take good 

 care that the weak points are not allowed to show 

 themselves. He will be prominent enough when 

 hounds are creeping after a fox, feeling for the line all 

 the way, and if he be a bold man he will occasionally 

 indulge in a gallery jump. But under no circum- 

 stances will he let his underbred horse gallop itself to 

 a standstill, and if he (the owner) has to be content with 

 a bad place when hounds run hard, he will very likely 

 make up for this by passing the horse on at a profit to 

 some one who has been struck by the good looks and 

 jumping capacity. 



In the other case, that is to say, when the owner is a 

 man who cares little for galloping, a common horse 

 may do well enough, and may work in satisfactory 

 fashion through half a dozen seasons. It is fast 

 galloping which finds out the weak spot in an under- 

 bred horse, and if such a one is urged beyond his 

 speed, or has to unduly exert himself, he quickly 

 collapses. When this happens he falls all in a heap 

 when he attempts to jump, or not infrequently crosses 

 his legs and comes down in the centre of a field. The 

 horse which is short of breeding will not stand being 

 pushed as will the well-bred horse, and has not the 

 same power of recovery ; in fact, when a common 

 horse gets into the hands of a man or woman whose 

 pluck is in advance of his or her knowledge of horses 

 and riding, collapse and perhaps a heavy fall are sure 

 to come sooner or later. 



Breeding is the first thing to be looked for in a 

 hunter, and as a matter of fact this is far more neces- 

 sary than good looks. It has at times been said that 



