THE SADDLE BREEDS OF HORSES 155 
depends on the going and the length of the runs. The 
Hunter should be jogged home after the hunt, given warm 
gruel and thoroughly rubbed. A groom should exercise 
him gently on non-hunting days for about five miles early 
in the morning. He should be carefully looked after and 
given the best of oats and hay. The night before he is to 
be “ hunted,”’ water should be kept in his stall all night, 
so that he may take it at will. He should be fed very 
early and saddled only just before he is ordered. 
184. Steeple-chasers. — The Steeple-chaser is almost al- 
ways a clean-bred horse, that has natural or made adapta- 
bility to jump. He must be more seasoned than the 
Thoroughbred that is to run on the flat, and must be up 
to a good deal more weight. There are certain blood 
lines that have produced natural jumpers, which, when 
“nicked”? with certain mares, have produced fencers. 
Many horses that, perhaps, have not enough speed for 
the flat, have been schooled and made good chasers. Un- 
like the steady fox-hunting Hunter, the Steeple-chaser 
must be able to go a good pace and take his fences flying, 
or almost as fast as ina hurdle race. In this type of horse, 
the adaptability for the special performance and the result 
gives the horse his place and name as a Steeple- 
chaser. 
185. Distribution. — As hunting has long occupied a 
place in the sports of nations, horses that may be charac- 
terized as Hunters are widely distributed. From Ireland, 
the home of the breed, the Hunter has been scattered over 
Great Britain and the continent. In 1904, the Dutch gov- 
ernment bought 350 young mares of this breed in Ireland. 
In America, both Canada and the United States are de- 
voting increasing attention to the production of horses for 
hunting purposes. 
