v HUNTERS 67 
their promising three- or four-year-old to the dealer 
at a price perhaps half or two-thirds less than the 
dealer eventually takes for the horse, and yet at a 
figure that will leave the farmer with a nice margin. 
In England it is not often that a farmer is to be 
found who is a really successful breeder of hunters, 
and those there are usually owe their success to 
the possession of an exceptionally good brood 
mare. 
There are many ways in which hunters are bred, 
but some are more likely to succeed than others. 
(1) The clean-legged active cart mare to the 
Thoroughbred—tThis is the commonest and’ worst 
way of breeding a hunter up to weight. He is up 
to weight, and possibly good-looking, but is a 
disgusting horse to ride when the pace is fast, the 
day protracted, the ride home a long one, or any 
special effort is required; and as he is the worst 
sort to be on, he is the worst sort to be under, falling 
like lead when he makes a mistake. He will often 
lie for minutes where he has fallen, with no compas- 
sion for his flattened rider, and no consciousness of 
the want of dignity in his own position. 
(2) Hackney mare to Thoroughbred—Very nice 
13-stone hunters may be bred this way if the mare 
has plenty of quality ; they may be deficient some- 
times in jumping quarters and thighs, but hackneys 
have often good legs, feet, and shoulders, strong 
backs and loins—all important in the hunter. I 
have myself, off a 15-hands hackney mare, bred a 
hunter or two this way, which have carried all before 
them in the prize ring, and been game, good hunters 
in the field. 
