CHAPTER II . 



We, too, sprung from the loins of the Ishmaelite 



stallions, 



We glory in daring that dies or prevails, 

 From the counter of squadrons and crash of battalions 



To rending of blackthorns and rattle of rails. 



LI EDS AY GORDON. 



I once heard a cabman close a discussion he had 

 been engaged in, with a slightly intoxicated confrere , 

 with the remark: "You better get a jug that fits 

 you; the one you are wearing is too big." 



So I would say to a novice: "Get a horse that 

 fits you, fits you in every way, and suits the country 

 you are going to hunt in." This, of course, is easy 

 enough if you can afford to go to one of the big 

 dealers, pay him his price, and with his help select 

 just what you want. Under such happy circumstances, 

 if the horse does not prove to your liking, you can 

 generally arrange to exchange it for another. That 

 makes things easy for the fairly wealthy man, and 

 for him many of the hints in this little book are 

 of no value. But if you have to pick up a cheap 

 hunter where you can, and make the best of it, it is 

 quite another matter. Don't, if you can avoid it, 

 buy a bigger horse than you actually need, first, 

 because little good ones are more easily found than 

 big good ones, and, secondly, because a man never 

 really goes as well on a horse that is too big for 

 him as on one that fits him. 



I don't altogether believe in the "two stone 

 in hand" theory. If you take a big horse and a 

 little sharp horse, and gallop them at an even 

 11 stone 7 lbs., or 12 stone, over a few miles of 

 country, the little one is quite likely to win. 



