394 EXERCISING HUNTERS. 



the danger of such an accident in the country is too small to 

 outweigh the serious damage done to a horse's mouth by 

 always leading him on one particular side. 



As grooms when mounted have rarely any trouble in 

 leading two polo ponies, which are often over 14.3, if not 

 1 5 hands high, and are generally more skittish than hunters ; 

 I do not see why they should not exercise two hunters in 

 the same way. There would be no difficulty about doing this 

 on a private exercising track. 



A groom should not be allowed to ride without a saddle ; 

 because by doing so, he is apt to give the animal a sore back. 

 Besides, being less secure in his seat, he will be more inclined 

 to hang on to the horse's mouth ; to say nothing of the 

 increased risk of his falling off, and of the horse getting away 

 and hurting himself. 



Adopting the routine given on pages 382 to 385, as the best 

 for our present purpose, we may give our hunters 2j hours' 

 exercise in the morning, and one hour in the afternoon. At 

 first the exercise may consist entirely of walking, for which 

 trotting may be gradually substituted within judicious limits. 

 Horses vary so much in their respective capabilities for 

 standing work, that I will venture only to advise that the 

 first hour in the morning should be restricted to walking, 

 and that that pace should be preserved during the afternoon 

 outing. The usual practice of giving all the hunters that 

 go to exercise from any particular stable the same amount 

 of work, is an evident mistake, which generally arises more 

 from ignorance and inability to form independent conclusions, 

 than from indifference and laziness. As many men who have 

 charge of valuable racehorses train them all more or less alike ; 

 it would be absurd to expect that an ordinary stud groom 

 would be capable of regulating the work of each of his 

 animals, so as to meet their respective requirements. As 

 few grooms are good horsemen, and as the danger of unsound- 



