264 THE COMPLETE FOXHUNTER 



a more reasonable animal to ride than the horse which 

 comes out one half-day a week. The former has his 

 back down and is not stupid, whereas the latter is often 

 a mad horse for a couple of hours in the forenoon, and 

 quickly dead beat if he gets a gallop which is longer 

 than usual. 



The question of summering hunters is one for which 

 there are various solutions, and our experience is that 

 horses of quiet temperament are all the better for being 

 turned out in May and June, but three things they must 

 have, or else they are better indoors. These are shade, 

 water, and a certain amount of corn. There should be 

 a stream or a trough in every pasture field in which 

 valuable hunters are run out, and there should be the 

 shade of big trees, so that they may escape the rays of 

 the sun during the hottest part of the day. If the 

 horse-owner has a field which is without shade and 

 water, but which is suitable in other ways, he must 

 keep his horses in during the day-time and turn them 

 out at night after the sun has gone down. A good 

 pasture is nearly always damp at night-time in May 

 and June, and there will be plenty of moisture, but 

 even then it is well to place a stone trough in the field (if 

 there is no other supply) and see that it is always filled 

 with water. Horses drink a great deal when they are 

 running out. 



That hunters should not be kept in the fields too late 

 in the summer is another matter of importance, but in 

 the north of England the grass is always two or three 

 weeks later than it is in the south, and therefore the 

 bringing them in again can be delayed. Much in this 

 connection depends on the weather. If it is abnormally 

 hot, and the hunters are being much troubled by flies, 

 they (the hunters) should be brought in during the day. 



