TRAINING THE HUNTER 31 



fences at home from jumping them with hounds. 

 Perhaps for a time or two the young one will want 

 sharpening up a bit ; then he will enter into the 

 spirit of the thing, and become a bit wild, not 

 quite caring where he puts his feet. As the 

 country is always sufficiently blind in October, the 

 probability is that he will find himself on his back, 

 than which, should he happen not to hurt himself, 

 — and the odds are very long against his doing so — 

 nothing better can happen to him. He will learn 

 to temper his courage with caution. There is one 

 fault which young horses, and occasionally old 

 ones, develop. They get clever with practice, and 

 then they begin to chance thorn fences. Thorn 

 fences do not require as a rule to be quite so 

 cleanly jumped as stiff posts or rails, but in 

 strongly fenced countries there are many of them 

 with which it is not safe to take liberties. So 

 that when a horse develops the habit of " rush- 

 ing " his thorn fences he must have another 

 " school," for which the lunging rein must be 

 called into request. A good stout cart rope 

 six or eight inches from the top of a fence will 

 soon teach the young 'un that he must rise at all 

 of them. 



