RIDING TO HOUNDS. 257 



slightly known to him who conferred them, but for 

 their possessing similar accomplishments. 



Although speed in the hunter is now absolutely 

 necessary, from the much increased rate of hounds, 

 yet it is equally necessary, in most of our hunting 

 countries, that he should be a perfect fencer as well, 

 and that his rider should be an accurate judge of 

 the extent of his fencing powers. Thus it often 

 happens that some horses, not equal in speed to 

 others, get quicker over a stifly-inclosed country 

 than they do, because, by the means of their supe- 

 rior fencing, they are able to cut off angles and go 

 straighter. In fact, there are frequent instances of 

 one individual sportsman beating every other in the 

 field, and being alone throughout a run, merely by 

 clearing a great fence in the direct line of the hounds 

 at starting; in avoiding which, so much ground 

 had been lost by the rest of the field, that it could 

 not be recovered by them until the chase was ended. 



The effect of the exertion of leaping, in horses, 

 is pretty accurately ascertained by the observation 

 and experience of sportsmen ; still some rather cu- 

 rious facts are drawn from them. A very large 

 fence, as has been before observed, exhausts a horse, 

 or, in the language of the field, '' takes a good deal 

 out of him ; '" nevertheless, a hunter becomes sooner 

 distressed over quite an open country, when the 

 pace is very severe, than he does over an inclosed 

 one, provided the fences are not very large indeed. 

 This is accounted for in two ways : First, fences 

 check the speed of hounds, and consequently the 

 speed of horses. Secondly, the mere act of pulling 



