354 HUNTING. 



HIRELINGS. 



The large majority of hunting women ride their 

 own animals, or mounts lent them by friends ; but 

 some less fortunate ones have to content themselves 

 with hirelings, many of which are unreliable convey- 

 ances, because they pass through so many hands, that 

 they run a great risk of being spoiled by bad riders, 

 and In that respect, horses have unfortunately very 

 retentive memories. From two to three guineas Is the 

 usual charge for a day; and from ;^I2 to ^20 for a 

 month. In both cases, the job-master has to bear all 

 reasonable risks. A person who hires a horse for 

 longer than a day, has to keep the animal and pay 

 for his shoeing. ;^i5 a month Is a reasonable charge 

 for the loan of a good hunter. When wishing to hire 

 by the month, It is well to go to a job-master who has 

 a large collection of hirelings, like Mr. Sam Hames 

 of Leicester, so that the hirer may get a change of 

 mounts. In the event of the first not being suitable. 



I have ridden a few hirelings, but hunting on 

 them gave me no pleasure ; because I was entirely 

 Ignorant of their capabilities, and It Is not a pleasant 

 feeling to ride at a nasty fence with a big note of 

 interrogation sticking in one's heart. " Scrutator " In 

 his interesting book, Foxhunting, says he '' never could 

 find any pleasure in riding strange horses. They 

 neither understand your way of doing business, nor 

 you theirs, so there must of necessity be doubts 



