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ground, than in the open and barren land, where the hounds are obliged 

 to follow the scent with their nose close to the ground and must con- 

 sequently go slower. Endurance is always essential, but speed has 

 become more necessary with the hunter and consequently blood is a 

 necessary quality. In a country, -where obstacles are abundant, a 

 half-bred horse may be of good service, but for general use, the hunter 

 should be at least three quarter bred, perhaps seven eights. If a 

 thoroughbred can be obtained of sufficiently strong bones and higher 

 movements, it would be the best hunter ; but the thoroughbred with his 

 characteristic gait would not carry himself high enough, to see the 

 the fences, even at less than full speed. 



The first quality of a good hunter is, that he should be fairly light 

 in hand ; therefore the head should be small, the neck thin, the crest 

 firm and arched and the jaws wide ; then the head will be well attached 

 and form with the neck, that angle, which admits a light and com- 

 fortable guidance. 



Something of a ewe-neck diminishes the beauty, but interferes in no 

 way with the speed, but rather draws the centre of gravity forward 

 and facilitates respiration. 



Even if the race li orse lies heavily in the riders hands, the fatigue is of 

 short duration and over with the race, but with the hunter, who is our 

 companion for the whole day, it is of importance, that it should not tire 

 the rider too much, through the weight of head and neck. The fore- 

 hand must be more elevated, than with the racer ; with the latter it is 

 pardonable if the hind-hand is from one to two inches higher than the 

 fore-hand ; the bulk of his power coming from the hind-quarters, and a 

 lower fore-hand will draw more weight forward and thus add to the 

 speed. 



'With the hunter a good elevation of the fore-hand is indispensable ; 

 the shoulder must be of the same dimension and lie as obliquely as that 

 of the runner, but at the same time be stouter, so as to keep the saddle 

 in good position during a long ride. The chest must be rounder to give 

 increased capacity for lungs and heart. A broad chest is an advantage 

 with the hunter. The forearm must be as muscular as that of the run- 

 ner or more so, the cannon bone seen from the side and particularly 

 under the knee broader, because the freer the tendons the greater the 

 mechanical advantage of their functions. The shin bone must be short, 

 because a higher gait is demanded of the hunter, than of the runner, 

 and particularly while leaping over hedges and fences, it must be able 

 to draw the cannon bone well up to the forearm i.i order to clear them. 

 The pastern should be shorter and less oblique in position ; long 

 pasterns are good in the race horse, because they break the shock, with 

 which it comes to the ground after its enormous leaps, and the oblique 

 position of the various bones of the foot serve the same purpose, bu.{_ 

 this elasticity involves necessarily greater weakness. The hunter, 

 owing to its varying gaits needs more strength to carry its somewhat 

 heavier body and greater weight of the rider and to endure the great 

 strain of a days work. 



