34 HUNTING THE FOX 



If the verdict on the whole is in favour of the 

 middle size in man and horses, it is certainly in 

 favour of the middle size in Hounds, which aspect 

 of hunting will be dealt with in a later chapter. 



But whatever the Huntsman weighs, there is 

 no doubt that he should be a good horseman. 

 This postulate is not purely utilitarian. It is not 

 too much to say that unless he is a good horseman 

 he is not likely to be a good Huntsman, because to 

 be a good horseman involves the possession of 

 that knowledge of and sympathy with animals 

 that is an essential portion of all true woodcraft, 

 particularly the woodcraft of the Huntsman, the 

 main purpose of which is to influence the intelligence 

 of animals for the amusement of man. If things 

 do not go smoothly between a Huntsman and his 

 horse, you may be sure that he has missed a part 

 of that understanding of his raw material which 

 must be the main characteristic of the successful 

 exercise of his profession. And if he does not 

 understand one part of his raw material, the Horse, 

 he will not be likely to have a temperament to 

 understand the other two, the Hound and the 

 Fox ; and of these two the proper understanding of 

 the Hound is of the first importance. The Hounds 

 and not the Huntsman have to find, hunt, kill, and 

 eat the Fox. The frame of mind of a Huntsman 

 towards his Hounds should be inspired and governed 

 by the principle that his duty is only to render 



