292 FOX-HUNTING IN THE SHIRES 



hold of his bit and goes forward, when he is under 

 control again. I would never ride a strange horse 

 without spurs unless told expressly that they were 

 unnecessary. But of course the question will be 

 asked : What of the man who spurs a horse without 

 knowing it ? Well, he must, I suppose, take his 

 chance without spurs, or at all events be content 

 with spurs without rowels. Or, again, it may be 

 asked : How about the involuntary spurring of the 

 horse even by good riders whose legs may be dragged 

 back by binders as they crash through some ragged 

 fence and the spur is thus forced against the horse ? 



Well, to this I reply that the chance seems remote, 

 because if you look at the horses of most of the best 

 men across country in the Shires, you will seldom 

 or never see them touched at all, even after a hard 

 run. In any case it is for the horse one of the chances 

 of war. 



But it is not only in the chase that the spurs will 

 be found useful. During the long and weary jog home, 

 if the curb rein be lightly drawn through the fingers 

 and the spur delicately used, a horse will trot more 

 collectedly and safely. Some very excellent hunters, 

 moreover, are such shocking bad hacks that we need 

 all the aids we can call to our assistance to keep them 

 on their legs when they are trotting along the road. 

 Again, it may be said that dummy spurs are quite 

 as useful as sharp ones. Putting aside the fact that 

 the punishment they inflict is often nearly, if not 

 quite, as severe as the armed ones, I should not say 

 they were unless the horse has been thoroughly 

 trained to the use of sharp spurs. With most horses 

 who have been so schooled, the spur without rowels 

 is most useful. A touch of the cold steel will be all 

 that is required. As a rule, for my own part, I always 



