The Hunter: His Conformation 23 



at when she 's a-standin', but she 's a sho-nuff cake-walk 

 mare when she am a-goin' ! " Dear old mare ! Every one 

 laughs at her, but we love her just the same. 



Pardon my digression ! The above had to come out 

 somewhere in this book, and it may just as well be first as 

 last. Besides, it illustrates my point : " Handsome is that 

 handsome does." I do not mean to say, of course, that 

 only homely and unshapely horses make the best hunters. 

 Neither of the horses I have just mentioned was an ideal 

 except in manners and way of going, which in a hunter or 

 saddle-horse more than in any other are nearly the sum 

 total of excellence. I mean to say, never discard a horse 

 that displeases you only by his looks. Nevertheless there 

 are some points in the conformation of a hunter that can 

 hardly be ignored. Some general rules, mostly with nu- 

 merous exceptions, it will be well to keep in mind when 

 passing judgment on a horse for cross-country work. 



A large brainy head, with broad forehead and mild out- 

 standing eyes, is, as far as my experience goes, one of the 

 points to insist upon. Some horses with a thimbleful of 

 brains are made to hunt, but without sufficient intelligence 

 to go with judgment as well as courage. One who pos- 

 sesses mere valour can never attain more than a moderate 

 degree of proficiency. 



Some fools of horses may be driven through a run, but 

 they do not enjoy it; they are simply slaves. Deliver me 

 from keeping company with such an one in the hunting- 

 field ! Hunting is, or should be, a partnership game, in 

 which you and your friend the horse go out for a day's 

 sport. The more intelligent the horse, the more level- 



