72 THE HUNTER. 



opinion of some of the first of our Enii^lish sports- 

 men, and sucli as put the powers of the horse to 

 the most severe test, the hunter of the present day 

 is not in his perfect form unless quite thorough- 

 bred. This part of the subject we shall discuss 

 hereafter ; but as there are several of our hunting 

 counties not at all suited to this description of 

 horse — namely, the thorough-bred hunter — and a 

 large portion of our sportsmen who, some by rea- 

 son of their weight, and others from prejudice 

 against them, neither can nor will ride them, we 

 may safely assert, that not more than a twentieth 

 part of English hunters are at this time of quite 

 pure blood. We will, however, set forth what we 

 consider the best properties of the full-bred and 

 the half-bred hunter, as also the most probable 

 means of breeding each kind to advantage ; at the 

 same time venturing an opinion, that, when their 

 individual capabilities are put into the scale of 

 excellence, the balance will incline to the former. 



One great obstacle to the general success in 

 breeding hunters is, not so much the difficulty of 

 access to good stallions, but of making breeders 

 believe that it would be their interest to send their 

 mares to such as are good, although at an extra 

 expense. Most rural districts, in other respects 

 favourable to horse-breeding, swarm with covering 

 stallions, the greater part of which have proved 

 very bad racers ; but which, falling into the hands 

 of persons who are popular characters in their neigh- 

 bourhood, and covering at a low price, get most of 

 the farmers'* brood mares sent to them, their owners 



