210 FOX-HUNTING 



is moderately thick and not too long. Sloping 

 shoulders, a strong loin and powerful quarters 

 are essential qualities in a hunter. In addition 

 to these I like a deep girth, ribs with an outward 

 spring, short flat legs, and muscular thighs. 

 Hocks should be large, clean, and flat. Small 

 weak fetlock-joints are to be avoided. I do not 

 mind the shape of quarters, but they must have 

 length and strength one way or the other. 



Whyte-Melville said that a man should never 

 indulge in the luxury of shoulders until he was 

 past forty, but it seems to me that by following 

 this advice there is every probability of his not 

 reaching that age. A broken neck effectually 

 prevents a man from following hounds, and it 

 is not more welcome at twenty-five than it is at 

 fifty. If a young man rides only perfect hunters, 

 he will never improve in his horsemanship, and 

 he will never become first-class over a country. 

 By all means let him ride every variety he can 

 get hold of, both of the unmade and the un- 

 mannerly, but the bad-shouldered horse should 

 be left severely alone and allowed to follow the 

 vocation of harness, for which nature has fitted 

 him. 





