CHAPTER IX. 



THE HIRING QUESTION. 



Probably there is no question connected with his 

 early hunting which troubles the novice so much as 

 that of horses. It may happen, of course, that he is of 

 a horsey turn of mind, that he has been in the habit of 

 riding, and that it is merely the change from hacking to 

 hunting which is new. When this is the case the new 

 beginner probably knows where to find the horse he 

 requires ; but, as has been already stated, there is 

 more than one class of novice, and the townsman 

 who has learnt the art of equitation in a riding school 

 will, in nine cases out of ten, be hopelessly at sea if he 

 makes his clehut in the hunting field on an unsuitable 

 horse. And it must be borne in mind that there are 

 far more unsuitable horses to be bought or hired than 

 satisfactory ones ; but the beginner is much more 

 likely to find a good hireling than he is to secure a fair 

 hunter at his first deal. This leads up to the question 

 of hiring, and I am most strongly of opinion that the 

 novice is more likely to achieve early success if he 

 hires than if he buys. In nearly every hunting country 

 of note there are respectable men who are engaged 

 in the business of letting out hunters on hire, and 



