BREEDERS AND BREEDING 99 



I should not allow them to go out if the weather 

 were very wet and inclement, nor should I allow 

 the foal out too long ; I should let it rest an hour 

 or two, especially in hot weather when the flies 

 are troublesome. I have often wondered when 

 seeing foals gallop if they really go faster when 

 they are older : some of the young ones have won- 

 derful speed, and they will also perform the most 

 extraordinary feats of jumping. I remember seeing 

 a foal that I bred gallop in a mad way from one 

 end of a long meadow to the other, her dam 

 galloping beside her. The paddock was bounded 

 by a high hedge with a drop into a road ; this 

 the foal jumped, the mare followed, and to my 

 great surprise neither was hurt ; yet this was a 

 fence that no one would have jumped out 

 hunting. Why the little creature should have 

 performed these antics passeth comprehension, but 

 it was not injured in any way by the adventure. 



H 2 



