132 HACKS AND HUNTERS 



gentleman walked away his confidential man touched 

 his hat and said: "I beg pardon, sir, might I make a 

 remark? Will you kindly see you are fit yourself, 

 sir." 



The only thing that a book can contribute toward 

 the hunting knowledge of the novice is, possibly, a 

 suggestion or two as to the best way of handling the 

 every-day obstacles and difficulties that will be met 

 in the course of an ordinary hunting day, plus a few 

 hints on the unwritten laws of etiquette which govern 

 fox-hunting. 



A horse in good hunting condition should be able 

 to hunt at least twice a week, and possibly more, 

 depending on the individual animal and on the length 

 of time he was out the preceding hunting day. We 

 should, of course, always endeavor to spare our mount 

 as much fatigue as possible, and have him led to the 

 meet while we motor or drive there ourselves. In this 

 manner one can even hunt at meets which are a dis- 

 tance of fifteen miles from home. Were one obliged, 

 however, to ride to the meet, I do not think that the 

 average person would enjoy the day's hunting if he or 

 she had attempted to hack more than a distance of eight 

 miles. In any case, whether the horse is led or ridden, 

 he should start early enough to cover the distance at 

 a walk or easy jog, and I would dismiss any groom of 

 mine who was guilty of arriving at the meet with a 

 horse whose coat was at all turned by sweat. Although 

 many people deem it "smart" to be late at the meet, 

 there is nothing so conducive to the horse being up- 

 set and going badly as to have the rider jump hur- 

 riedly into the saddle at the eleventh hour, without 

 leaving time to tighten up girths or balance strap. It 

 is well, perhaps, in hunting, as in other things, to re- 



