THE HUNTER AND HIS EDUCATION 



coming to their fences like meteors, begin to 

 "prop " a few strides away, and " take off" like 

 the temperate ones. Therefore as both varieties 

 employ at the critical moment -precisely the same 

 methods^ there is no argument left in favor of ex- 

 cessive pace, and in America the flying leaper 

 has no advantages over the deliberate. Wire is 

 on the increase everywhere. The huntsmen of 

 Australia are said to ride over this fence as a regu- 

 lar thing, and it affords about all the leaping they 

 have. By going at the posts one has a chance at 

 such an obstacle, but it is only a chance, and 

 while frequently nearly invisible against certain 

 backgrounds, it also insures a hard fall and a 

 badly cut horse if collided with. 



It will never prove a popular (!) fence, certainly, 

 among even hard riders, and should it become 

 universal, as apparently it must, hunting will be 

 doomed. 



Neither " full bridles " nor spurs should be 

 employed in schooling, nor (if rowelled) should 

 the latter be used in hunting. They are thought 

 to " look well " because we are used to thinking 

 that they set off a top-boot, but only one man in 

 fifty knows how and when to use them, and 

 that individual leaves them at home. More 



177 



