On Conditioning Hunters 265 



frightens liim. A couple of falls with low 

 fences are well enough, hut not if you hurt 

 him." Perhaps the whole secret lies in creat- 

 ing, and afterwards developing, to the best of 

 our power, that coiifidence without which no 

 horse living will jump well or safely. When 

 a hunter is thoroughly confident of his own 

 powers, it is astonisliing to see the way in 

 which he can discriminate, at a glance, the 

 obstacle which he must jump cleanly from the 

 one which will safely bear playing with. I 

 well remember old Kilballysmash (not a name 

 calculated to inspire a strange rider w^ith con- 

 fidence !), a very safe steeplechase horse and 

 hunter, which was regularly ridden by Major 

 Porteous with the Royal Artillery Drag, was as 

 clever as a cartload of monkeys at this game, 

 and whilst cleanly jumping new and strong 

 timber, would casually gallop straight through 

 that which was old and rotten. I only saw the 

 old chap try that trick once too often, and that 

 was at Sandown, where he tried to gallop 

 through the fence down the hill, and it was 

 most ludicrous to witness his astonishment 



