The Poor Maris Hunter 



and his head, throat, and ears thoroughly dried 

 before I go in. Sometimes I stay longer, for I 

 have more often than not a groom to train. Two 

 of the best men I ever had knew nothing of 

 hunters when they came to me, and I taught them 

 what to do, how to do it, and, moreover, saw that 

 they did it the right way. For sometimes through 

 excess of zeal a man will spend some time longer 

 than he ought. When a horse comes back from 

 hunting the sooner he is settled down and left to 

 himself the better. 



Horses vary a good deal. One mare I had 

 always lay down for twenty-four hours after 

 hunting, getting up only to eat. She came again 

 very quickly, and was as fit as possible the next 

 day but one, and hard to hold the day after. 

 Another very good one never really seemed tired 

 at all, bat was exactly the same to all appearances 

 whether she had been out or not. My man and I 

 agreed that we had never seen her tired. This 

 mare had, I know, a dash of Arab blood, and 

 though no enthusiast for the Arab cross, I have 

 noted this rapid recovery from fatigue in other 

 horses which have had Eastern blood in their 

 veins. Of course the type of horse must be 

 adapted in some measure to the country in which 

 we live ; but taking it as a general rule it is wise 

 to have as much blood and substance as one can 

 obtain for the money one has to spend. My own 

 experience is that blood is better than substance, 



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