HORSE FOR GRASS COUNTRIES 261 



The risk of failure is, of course, greater at the repository 

 than if you buy of a first-rate dealer. You cannot 

 have a trial, for one thing, nor can you have the long 

 experience and judgment of the dealer, which in the 

 case of those I have mentioned above is well worth 

 buying. Nevertheless, if any one were to tell me that 

 some pleasure is lost by not choosing your own horses, 

 I should agree ; and I may point out that to be a judge 

 of a horse is to a great extent a matter of practice and 

 experience. Without seeking the one or undergoing 

 the other, we can never acquire the gift. For a man 

 who means to make hunting his amusement each suc- 

 cessive winter, it will be well worth while to acquire 

 the necessary knowledge of horse-flesh. For the ex- 

 perience and the knowledge he will have to pay, no 

 doubt. The amateur, and the professional too for 

 the matter of that, will continue to make mistakes to 

 the end of the chapter, and he is the best judge and 

 will lose least money over his horses who makes the 

 smallest number. 



At this point, I have no doubt the reader will ask 

 what price he ought to pay for his horses. This is a 

 difficult question to answer, since the reply depends 

 on many circumstances. The best way for those who 

 have the space and the means to keep them is to buy a 

 suitable horse whenever they see him in the spring and 

 summer, and to make acquaintance with their pur- 

 chases before hunting begins. Those that do not suit 

 should be rigidly weeded out, our object being sport 

 not profit. It will then probably be found that by 

 the beginning of the hunting season the six or seven 

 horses which are retained will have averaged about 

 200 guineas apiece. If the horses are not bought till 

 the autumn, you must add another fifty to the average 

 at least. The price of hunters for Leicestershire 



