246 THE HORSE. 



few proprietors, against a practice, no doubt equally 

 ancient in Britain as breeding the horse himself, and 

 essentially with the keepers of hunters. Hear what 

 the learned Michaell Baret says, in his " Hipponome, 

 or Vineyard of Horsemanship." 



"The first ordering of a hunting horse. 

 Then you may (for his better increase of courage and 

 strength) if it please you, put him to grasse, and so 

 let him runne all summer, from middle May to Bar- 

 tholomew tide, or, at least, from the midst of sum- 

 mer to that time, for then the weather is too hot to 

 give him such exercise as he should have, which, 

 if it be otherwise (being rightly considered), it doth 

 more hurt than good, and so better he be idle than 

 ill imploied, although some loue to be practising, 

 albeit be without knowledge or reason ; but the fruit 

 they reape thereby is answerable, being as good neuer 

 a whit as neuer a deale the better, nay oftentimes the 

 worse, in regard of the errors that come through 

 neglect." Some years since I published, in the 

 Sporting Magazine, a regular and operose mathema- 

 tical diagram of this author, to the prove the slowest 

 horse (stoutest and most lasting), in reality, the spee- 

 diest: I suppose as having the longest duration of 

 speed in a given distance. 



Attempts to introduce this continental summer 

 practice with the hunter into general use, have been 

 ever since periodical, but ever, as now, abortive. 

 Mr. Beckford quotes it in his day, but without his 

 countenance. He demands, can standing in a hot 

 stable (during the summer) do a hunter any good ? 

 I thus spoke of the practice in one of my books, and 



