NOTITIA VENATICA. 149 



ill the care of the first studs m the country. No animals in the creation 

 Avork harder than the horses of a huntsman or whipper-in who rides hard 

 and docs his duty, particuhxrly in a woodland country ; nor is the proof 

 of condition put to the test more frequently than in the long-tiring 

 chases, Avhich horses attendant on a pack of hounds are continually ex- 

 periencing. To say nothing of the respectability of a Avell mounted and 

 properly appointed estahhshment, the purchasing good-shaped and fresh 

 3'oung horses will be found far less expensive in the end, than picking 

 uj) cheap under-bred brutes which may be half worn out before they 

 enter the service. Beekford justly observes, that it is highly essential 

 to mount the men well, " and that there is no economy in giving them 

 bad horses : they take no care of them, hut wear them out as soon as 

 they can, that they may have others." It is wonderful how almost all 

 horses which are continually being badgered about learn to take care of 

 themselves when they have had enough ; good seasoned hunters of this 

 description are invaluable in a kennel-stud, to put the under-whips on, 

 as they will go on at a certain pace for ever ; they never are killed by 

 distress, and are invariably good fencers, which is a consideration of the 

 first importance. Some men will declare that anything which will go 

 fast enough will do to carry a whipper-in ; but persons who make this 

 sort of ridiculous assertions only expose their gross ignorance, and evi- 

 dently set forth to the world the shght experience they must have had 

 in all hunting matters. Nine foxes out of ten which are lost at the end 

 of good runs, and which undoubtedly ought to have been killed, owe 

 their escape to no other circumstance in the world than the men's horses 

 being so beaten that no assistance can be given to the hounds at a time 

 when they most require it. For this reason a huntsman should inva- 

 riably have a second horse out ; and if another spare horse was always 

 in readiness for either of the whippers-in Avho might stand in need of it, 

 it would be all the better, and, in the end, considerably save the wear 

 and tear in the himting-stable. I recollect many years ago an excellent 

 run in Northamptonshire, from Stamford Hall (Mr. Otway Cave's), when 

 Sir Chas. Knightley hunted that country ; Jack Wood, of whom I have 

 spoken before, was at that time huntsman (previous to his going into 

 Warwickshire), and his horse being dead beat near the end of the day, 

 close to the Hermitage, Mr. Whitworth, the sporting draper of Nor- 

 thampton, whom many of my readers will recollect as a hard rider, of- 

 fered him his nag, which Avas still comparatively fresh, Avhich he imme- 

 diately mounted, and ge1;ting forward with his hounds, killed his fox at 

 Bramjjton Wood, after a most severe run of upwards of an hour and a 

 half. This act of kindness and attention towards a huntsman was not 

 thrown aAvay, as it was the cause of Mr. Whitworth selling his horse on 

 the foEowing day, to a gentleman in Leicestersnire. for two hundred and 

 fifty guineas. Some horses last much longer than others, partly OAving 

 to the strength of their constitutions, but more especially to the care 

 Avith Avhich they have been ridden over the country, and the manner iu 

 Avhich they are kept during the summer. 



In some hunts tlie horses for the servants are jobbed l»y the season : 

 and where a pack of hounds are kept up by subscription, Avithout any 



