BIDING TO SELL. 237 



some men of experience are very fond of resorting to. 

 They watch the young horses that are brought into 

 the hunting field by dealers, farmers, and colt-breakers, 

 and purchase them merely on the strength of their per- 

 formances ; and in this way no doubt some good pur- 

 chases are made ; though very frequently such horses 

 turn out to be no hunters at all, but merely able to 

 jump a big fence with a clear approach to it ; and the 

 first blind or double fence they come to, down they go, 

 as mere colts that they usually are ; but from these 

 description of fences the wary horseman, who is riding 

 to sell, invariably keeps at a respectful distance. 



Moreover, it is utterly impossible to detect the state 

 of a horse's legs when warm and covered with mud 

 and water, as they are sure to be on arriving at the 

 cover side. And, in addition, many horses perform 

 well over a country that are such execrable hacks on 

 the road as to be positively unsafe to ride. 



As a rule, if this is done, it will be the best way to 

 visit countries precisely the opposite of the one in which 

 you usually hunt, for by this means you will find less 

 difficulty in obtaining the animals you require, and at 

 a much less cost ; for horses of cobby, short, and very 

 compact build are held in no esteem in the flying coun- 

 tries ; in the same way that the lengthy, bloodlike, 

 raking Leicestershire hunter is considered valueless in 

 the banking and hilly countries of Essex, Dorsetshire, 

 Devon, Cornwall, and Wales, and its borders ; and, 

 therefore, will not be so difficult to procure at a mo- 

 derate price in these districts. 



