The Hunter: His Conformation 27 



the rider's control of his mount is gone. (See page 28.) If 

 there is one sight more annoying than another, it is a high- 

 headed horse charging at fences and gazing at the stars. 

 No one likes to put martingales on hunters, and very prop- 

 erly not, for they need absolute freedom of their heads at 

 their jumps. 



The position of the horse's head (page 92), when prop- 

 erly held, gives to the hands the greatest length of rein 

 and the best possible control of the mount. Control begins 

 to lessen as the head is raised above this point. That a 

 rather high-headed horse may, by being ridden v^ith a curb- 

 bit properly handled, have his head held in its proper place, 

 there is no doubt. What I wish to point out is simply 

 the most natural and best conformation or carriage of a 

 hunter's head and neck, not the method of driving a high- 

 headed harness type of a horse so that he may carry his 

 head as it should be when he is under saddle. Riders who 

 have had their glasses smashed, their hats knocked off, 

 their teeth loosened, trying to make into a hunter a horse 

 good except that he carried his head too high, will be shy 

 in the future of high-headed horses for hunting. This 

 point will be found illustrated at page 28. While a 

 hunter should be long in the neck, the neck should not 

 be drawn too fine. Horses with very slim necks gener- 

 ally bend them too easily. Nothing is more annoying 

 than a horse that turns only his head in answer to a pull 

 on the reins, while his body goes straight on. One of the 

 worst falls I ever saw in the hunting-field was with just 

 such a horse. Slim Neck wanted to follow the horse in 

 front of him. The rider, seeing that the ground was too 



