HUNTING THE FOX 109 



But in a very few days he acquires the trick of 

 skimming over the obstacles with hardly an inch 

 to spare, and does not learn to take care of himself 

 as he would in the blind ditches and thorns of the 

 natural country. Timber jumping may perhaps 

 be learnt in a school, and indeed it is wise, even 

 when an aged horse has been imported into the 

 Midlands, to longe him once or twice over a bar 

 before taking him out hunting. But after all is 

 said and done, there is nothing like a run with 

 Hounds to make a young horse. One good gallop 

 will do it with a generous animal, and we will try 

 to say something about this in the next chapter. 



