62 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES. 



is quite likely to have a genuine hunter in his stables 

 occasionally, but it will hardly be a high-class one, 

 and may have some fatal " crab," so that, on the 

 whole, if the novice decides to buy from a dealer, he 

 should go to a man whose business lies among hunters, 

 and who, whether he be in a large or a small way, 

 knows what a hunter is like and what is required of 

 him. 



But for a first horse the novice is likely to do better 

 at an auction than he is at a dealer's, because thousands 

 of " made " hunters are sold at auction every year, 

 whereas the inmates of a dealer's yard are for the 

 most part young horses who are only half made. Not 

 only are the well-known hunters of individual men 

 sold by auction in half a dozen different parts of the 

 kingdom every week, but at the end of the season 

 great numbers of hunt horses are always disposed of, 

 and concerning these it is generally an easy matter to 

 learn some details. Moreover, the horses which have been 

 carrying hunt servants often go far below their value, 

 yet the majority of them are clever hunters, in hard 

 condition, who, if only they are sound, are likely to do 

 a great deal more work. Of course, these hunt servants' 

 horses are seldom up to much weight, and that is one 

 reason why they fetch so Uttle ; but if they come up 

 for sale described as " good hunters " they are sound 

 in wind and eyesight, and are practically warranted 

 to go over a country. As regards limb soundness 

 this has to be taken on trust at all horse auctions, but 

 the novice will probably look them over before the sale in 

 company with someone who is likely to detect anything 

 palpably wrong, and moreover he must remember that 



