HORSE FOR GRASS COUNTRIES 247 



readers will note that big upstanding horses find 

 favour with some of the most brilliant of the ladies 

 who ride to hounds in the grass countries. If, how- 

 ever, a man or woman hunting in the Shires does not 

 mean to take the country as it comes, but to make 

 a way over it by a gate here, a gap there, or a jump 

 when the fences are of ordinary compass, then a small, 

 quick, handy horse will be at once the pleasantest and 

 the most effective mount. 



As we grow heavier we shall find out that a horse's 

 power of carrying weight is by no means in proportion 

 to his inches. But there is one thing that seems to 

 me to be quite clear, and this is that, big or little, 

 the horses should be as good as possible. While I 

 do not for a moment question the fact that bargains 

 have been picked up and that good horses have been 

 bought for little money, I do not think that in these 

 days of great demand and moderate supply, horses 

 with anything like the power and quality for Leicester- 

 shire can often be bought cheaply. The majority of 

 people have only a certain sum available for the pur- 

 chase of horses, and this will bring more pleasure and 

 satisfaction if it is laid out on a few really good horses 

 than on a larger number of indifferent ones. It is 

 better surely to hunt more seldom, but to have a 

 reasonable chance of seeing the sport, than to go out 

 every day and seldom see a moderate hunt to our 

 satisfaction and never a good one at all except from a 

 back seat. 



Quality rather than quantity must be the motto of 

 the man who would enjoy his season in the Shires. In 

 the same way it is wise for the ordinary man to keep 

 a good horse when he has one. " I will give you 400 

 guineas for your horse," said a rich man and a good 

 judge to a younger one who had been well carried. 



