30 THE SPORT OF KINGS 



When September has well-nigh come to an end, 

 the young hunter may be taken cubbing with 

 advantage, though for the safety of himself and 

 his rider he should have been schooled sufficiently 

 at home to know a good deal of what is expected 

 from him. I don't suppose that any one would now 

 ride a horse out hunting in the breaking bridles as 

 I have seen on occasion, and I suppose that the 

 horse has been so far broken that he can gallop in 

 nice form and pull himself together in obedience 

 to his rider's signal. A hunter, however, has 

 something else to do than to gallop. He has 

 to jump all kinds of fences with the least waste 

 of effort possible, and to enable him to do this 

 he requires a " liberal education." At most large 

 establishments there is what is termed a school — 

 that is, an enclosed place where there are various 

 kinds of fences not necessarily high or formidable, 

 but rather unyielding in their nature. These 

 schools are circular, and there are three or four 

 obstacles to be surmounted. The horse is turned 

 loose without saddle or bridle, and driven over 

 them, with the result that he soon learns to get 

 himself to the other side without " chancing his 

 jumps." A few mornings in one of these schools 

 affords great educational advantages, and after the 

 young horse has gone through a course here he 

 may be lunged or driven with long reins over a 

 series of little fences with narrow drains at one side 

 or another. 



Having taught a horse that there is no great 

 difficulty in getting to the other side of an ordinary 

 fence, the next thing to do is to teach him to carry 

 his rider over fences. 



It is a very different matter jumping a few 



