64 MODERN PIG-STICKING 



To my mind the mad joy of a race for the spear 

 over a rough country can be equalled by nothing 

 on this earth. But I cannot make myself too clear 

 when I say that this racing and riding for a spear 

 is entirely conditional, and must be tempered with 

 discretion. The first object in all pig-sticking is 

 to hunt the pig; the second to kill him; and the 

 third, a bad last only, is to get the spear. Any- 

 thing that interferes with hunting the pig or killing 

 him must be wrong, and cannot be too strongly 

 condemned. 



In any awkward ground or thick cover you must 

 ride the pig slow, there must be no racing. Shout 

 as the boar turns. If you are not on the pig you 

 must ride wide, or behind, to help the man who is 

 on, and you must give him all eternity to ride and 

 spear his hog in. You must act unselfishly, and 

 play the most strict cricket in every possible way. 

 But the moment the pig gets to easier country 

 challenge the man on the pig at once. Make the 

 pace as hot as you can. Have no patience with 

 dawdling, crawling methods. I have tried both 

 systems, slow hunting and fast. With youngsters, 

 who do not know when to take a pull for difficult 

 cover, you may override a few hog with the latter 

 method ; but even so I am sure you will kill more 

 pig than by " wear him down " hunting. 



8. Loose Rein (see also chapter on horses). — 

 The more I hunt, the more I am convinced that why 

 people fall is because they will not leave their horses' 

 heads alone. Put a mob of unbroken horses, 

 without riders, over the jumps in one of the big 

 maneges at the Remount Depots. Note how few 

 fall. They may stumble, but they recover ; their 

 heads are free, their balancing levers untouched. 



