HUNTING ABROAD 145 



borough, or Leicester, which are the hunting centres 

 for the famous Shires,* are as scarce as hens' teeth. 

 Unless one happens to own horses who have been 

 previously hunted abroad, or one is fortunate enough 

 to possess a facility for building natural English jumps, 

 over which to school them at home, it would be wiser 

 perhaps to purchase abroad, or else "job" (hire) the 

 required number of animals, once over there. This is 

 even more necessary in Ireland than in England, for, 

 whereas a bold big jumper might, after a very short 

 time, learn to cross even Leicestershire quite brilliantly, 

 no American horse could reasonably be expected to 

 negotiate the enormous banks one meets in Ireland 

 without previous experience. 



Whereas in this country it is almost impossible to 

 hire even a half-way decent horse to carry one to 

 hounds, over there every hunting community has 

 several "job masters," who make a business of hiring 

 out horses, and who will provide you with very good 

 nags; often making the agreement that you will be 

 supplied with a certain fixed number of horses per 

 week, and if one goes lame, sick or sorry, supplant 

 him by another without any extra cost. I hunted, 

 in Ireland, with the Meath and Ward Union hounds, 

 entirely on hired horses, and found one or two such 

 excellent performers that, had they been as sound as 

 one might desire, I would have brought them home 

 with me. One in particular was a well-bred little 

 black, with a beautiful mouth, plenty of speed, and 

 no bank was too big for him. In fact, among my en- 

 tire lot of horses there was only one who was not good 



* Hunting men apply the term Shires to those districts hunted by 

 the Quorn, the Belvoir, Cottesmore, Mr. Fernies, the Pytchley; all 

 other districts being termed the Provinces. 



