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THE

HORSE AND THE HOUND

THEIR VARIOUS USES AND TREATMENT,

INCLUDING

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS

HOESEMANSHTP

A TREATISE ON HORSE-DEALINa.

By NIMROD.

ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK, EDINBURGH.
M.DCCC.XLII.

EDINBURGH : PRINTEC BY T. CONSTABLE,
PRINTER TO HER MAJESTY.

PREFACE.

It is complimentary to the pen of Nimrod — at
all events to the subjects on which it has been em-
ployed— that nearly all the serial papers he has
written in the various Periodicals to which he has
contributed, have been subsequently published in
volumes.

The Proprietors of the Encyclopaedia Britannica
see no reason why the articles on The Horse,
Horsemanship, Hound, and Hunting, which ap-
peared in the last edition of that work, should
form an exception to the, hitherto nearly general,
practice of their craft, of re-publishing Nimrod's
contributions, conceiving, as they do, that they
are not only amusing and instructwe to one class
of readers, but interesting to all. They are here,
then, given to the public in a carefully-revised
form, with such alterations and additions, as the

IV PREFACE.

interval of time between the first and second publi-
cation of them have rendered necessary.

The Treatise on Horse-Dealing, with which the
volume concludes, is now published for the first
time. In this part of the work the Author has
enforced the necessity for " caveat emptor^'''' and
given a recital of some of the first Legal and Vete-
rinary authorities on the question of Soundness and
Unsoundness of Horses. With this addition, it
is believed the volume will be found to form an
acceptable manual of information in all that relates
to the Horse and the Hound.

Edinburgh, May 1842.

CONTENTS.

Page
PREFACE, . iii-iv

THE HORSE.

Valuable properties of the horse — reasons for

ITS USE being proscribed TO THE ISRAELITES — DIF-
FICULTY OF DETERMINING ITS NATIVE COUNTRY — EX-
CELLENCE OF THE BRITISH BREED, .... 1-7

THE RACE-HORSE.

Progressive improvement of the English breed —
meaning of the term ' blood ' — eastern horses
— breeding — what constitutes a thorough-bred
horse? — rearing of young racing stock — import-
ance of warmth and dry food— form — action —
wind— temper — speed — expenses of a breeding
racing stud — value of stakes and prizes — colour
of the thorough-bred horse — the half-bred

RACER — WEATHERBY'S STUD-BOOK, . . . 8-69

THE HUNTER.

Difficulty of prescribing precise rules for
breeding — general directions to be followed —
training of colts — form — size — courage — action
— leaping — purchase of a hunter, . . 70-110

VI CONTENTS.

Page

THE HACKNEY.

The cover hack— the park hack— the lady's
horse — form of the hackney — height — strength
— importance of sound feet — action and paces —
the pack horse — the cob — the galloway — the

PONY, 111-131

THE CHARGER.

Requisites of a charger— height — colour— the
troop horse— form and other requisites, . 132-137

THE COACH-HORSE.

Modern changes in the form and appearance of
the coach-horse— perfect symmetry not essen-
tial— colour — considerations in purchasing a
road coach-horse— powers of draught at vari-
ous rates of speed — accidents — diseases, . 138-151

THE POST-HORSE.

Antiquity of posting — improved character and
appearance of the post-horse — form, . . 152-157

THE IRISH HORSE.

The IRISH HACKNEY — THE IRISH HUNTER — HIS PECU-
LIAR MODE OF LEAPING — THE IRISH RACE-HORSE, 158-161

THE SCOTCH HORSE.

Scotland unfavourable to breeding racers — ex-
cellence OF THE SCOTCH CART-HORSES— THE CLYDES-
DALE HORSE, 162,163

TREATMENT OF HORSES.

Stable management — causes which have produced
the improvement in training the race-horse —
* summering ' the hunter — bodily infirmities
and diseases of the horse— physic— treatment
of the grass-fed hunter — grooms — stables — pad-
docks— food — wind — treatment after hunting —
treatment of horses' legs — the foot, . . 164-213

J

HORSEMANSHIP.

CONTENTS. Vll

Page

Early origin of horsemanship— modern horseman-
ship— the manege — INFLUENCE OF HORSEMANSHIP
ON HEALTH — THE MILITARY SEAT — THE ACT OF MOUNT-
ING THE SEAT — RISING IN THE STIRRUPS PECULIAR

TO GREAT BRITAIN — SEAT ON THE ROAD — THE HUNT-
ING SEAT — FENCES — BROOKS — FALLS — SADDLES AND
BRIDLES — SPURS — RACE-RIDING— SEAT OF THE JOCK-
EY— METHODS OF STARTING — FINISH OF A RACE —
STEEPLE-CHASE RACING — QUALIFICATIONS FOR A
STEEPLE-CHASE RIDER, 214-313

THE HOUND.

Sagacity and fidelity of the dog — his origin

AND history — REPUTATION OF THE DOGS OF BRITAIN

— ENGLISH BLOOD-HOUND AND STAG-HOUND — THE
FOX-HOUND — DIFFICULTY OF BREEDING A PACK —
SYMMETRY — SIZE — DISTEMPER — KENNEL MANAGE-
MENT— COLOUR — THE TONGUE, OR CRY OF HOUNDS

AGE — SEPARATION OF THE SEXES — NAMING OF HOUNDS

— VALUE OF A PACK — THE HARRIER — THE STAG-
HOUND — THE BEAGLE — THE GREY-HOUND — THE TER-
RIER, 314-366

HUNTING.

Pre-eminence of hunting among manly sports — its
early origin — hunting a favourite theme of
the ablest writers — defended from the charge

OF CRUELTY — MR. MEYNELL's OPINIONS ON FOX-HUNT-
ING— GORSE COVERS— EARTH-STOPPING — EXPENSES OF
A PACK OF FOX-HOUNDS — STAG-HUNTING — SPORTING

TECHNOLOGY — THE ROYAL HUNT — OTTER-HUNTING

HARE-HUNTING — THE FOX — NECESSARY QUALIFICA-
TIONS OF A HUNTSMAN — DOG LANGUAGE — CONCLUDING
PRECEPTS, 367-475

HORSE-DEALING.

Antiquity of the traffic in horses — ' caveat emp-
tor'— warranty — safest precaution for general

Vlll

CONTENTS.

PURCHASERS— GENERAL AND QUALIFIED WARRANTY —
RE-SALE BY A PURCHASER WITH A WARRANTY —
SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS— SEAT OF DISEASES —
DEALING ON A SUNDAY— SELLING BYSERVANTS — FRAUD
— HORSE-DEALERS,

Page

476-514

INDEX, 515

INTRODUCTION.

VALUABLE PROPERTIES OF THE HORSE REASONS FOR

ITS USE BEING PROSCRIBED TO THE ISRAELITES — DIF-
FICULTY OF DETERMINING ITS NATIVE COUNTRY

EXCELLENCE OF THE BRITISH BREED.

The Horse is a distinct genus, belonging to the
order of Belluw^ or large beasts, and in himself the
most serviceable of all quadruped animals, as well
as the swiftest of those brouo^ht under the domi-
nion of man. Notwithstanding these high qualifi-
cations, ancient history informs us, that, in the
primitive ages of the world, the ass was used in

THE HORSE.

preference to him, not only as a mere beast of bur-
den, but for the purpose of conveying, from place
to place, persons of the highest distinction. This,
however, may be satisfactorily accounted for. Pre-
viously to the art of horsemanship being known,
the ass, a superior race of animal perhaps to that
generally found in Europe, was more easily managed
than the horse, and better suited to the kind of
food usually met with for his support. He was, in
fact, found to answer every purpose of horses, until
mankind increased in numbers and in wealth, when
the complicated interests that were the result,
brought their services into use, and they were
trained to the art of war. But another reason
may be given for the late introduction of horses.
Their use was interdicted by the Almighty in the
early ages of the world — first, lest his favourite
people, the Israelites, should be led to idolatry, by
carrying on commerce with Egypt ; secondly, by
their dependence on a well-appointed cavalry, they
might cease to trust in the promised aid of Jehovah;
and, thirdly, that they might not be tempted to
extend their dominion by such means, and then, by
mixing with idolatrous nations, cease in time to
be that distinct and separate people which it was
His intention they should be, and without which
the prophecies relative to the Messiah could not be
fully accomplished. Thus, in the Book of Psalms,
the horse commonly appears only on the side of
the enemies of God's people ; a»d so entirely unac-
customed to the management of him were the
Israelites, at the period of their signal defeat of

INTRODUCTION. O

the Philistines and other idolatrous nations, that
David, their commander and king, caused the
greater part of the horses of the cavalry prisoners
to be cut down, from his ignorance of any use to
which he could apply them. In the reign of Solo-
mon, however, a cavalry force was established, but
to no great extent.

In the infant state of all nations, indeed, we can
readily account for the restrictive use of horses.
A great deal of land that might be applied to the
production of human food is requisite for their
maintenance in all countries ; and, in hot and ste-
rile ones, the camel answered better, and was found
ready at hand. It is true they were used in the
armies of the ancient Greeks and llomans, which
were not considered as complete without them. In
Greece they were not so numerous ; but in a war
with the Italic Gauls, the Romans are said to have
had no less than seventy thousand horses, and
seven hundred thousand foot, to attack their for-
midable enemies.* The army of Xerxes, when
reviewed by him at Dorsica in Thrace, after it had
passed the Hellespont, is reported by Herodotus,
contemporary with him, to have contained eighty
thousand horse ; but the judicious reader will be
inclined to make considerable abatements from the
boasted amount of that celebrated but ill-fated ex-
pedition, resting, as it does, entirely on the autho-
rity of Grecian writers, who represented facts in
the light the most unfavourable to their enemies,

* See Duncan's Discourse on the Rovian Art of War.

4 THE IIOKSE.

and the most glorious to their oavr gallant country-
men.

As, in the scale of excellence, the horse ranks
first of all animals coming under the denomina-
tion of cattle, and, as Buffon justly says of him,
" possesses, along with grandeur of stature, the
gTeatest elegance and proportion of parts of all
quadrupeds,'" it is not a matter of surprise, that, as
an image of motive vigour, he should have been the
subject of the chisel and the pencil of the first
artists in the world, or that the description of him
by the pen should have been not considered as
unworthy the greatest writers of antiquity. But
it is in his native simplicity, in those wild and
extensive plains where he was originally produced
— where he ranges without control, and riots in all
the variety of luxurious nature — that we can form
an adequate idea of this noble animal. It is here
that he disdains the assistance of man, which only
tends to servitude ; and it is to a description of his
release from this servitude, his regaining his natural
liberty, that we are indebted for two of the finest
similes of the immortal Greek and Roman epic
bards. The return of Paris, with Hector, to the
battle of Troy, is thus given in the sixth book of
the Iliad :—

" 'fij B' on Ti: ffTxro; 'I'T'z'o;, axoa-'ryiffa; It) (pdrvr,

TJuSu; Xoviffdat iV^oiTo; Toraf/.oTo,
Kv^iouV v-4'ov Ti Kag'A £;^£i, ot,[ji.(^\ dj ^cuTcti

'P/«(p« I youva. (p'i^ii f/.iTa, t' ^&ia, kx) vof/.ov 'ittmv."'

And Virgil is considered to have even exceeded

INTRODUCTION. O

Homer, in that splendid passage in the eleventh
book of the ^neid, where Turnus turning out fully
accoutred for the fight, is compared to a horse that
has just broken loose from his stall : —

*' Qualis, ubi abruptis fugit prsesepia vinclis,
Tandem liber equus, campoque potitus aperto,
Aut ille in pastus armentaque tendit equarum,
Aut, assuetus aqua? perfundi flumine noto,
Emicat, arrectisque fremit cerxicibus alte
Luxurians ; luduntque jubte per colla, per armos."

It is impossible, at this distance of time, to fix
upon the native country of the horse, as he has
been found, in various forms, and of various sizes,
in every region of the Old World. The difference
in size is easily accounted for. The origin of all
animals of the same species was doubtless the same
in the beginning of time, and it is chiefly climate
that has produced the change we perceive in them.
Warmth being congenial to his constitution, and
cold naturally injurious to him, he is produced in
the most perfect form, and in the greatest vigour,
when subject to the influence of the one, and not
only diminutive, but misshapen and comparatively
worthless, when exposed to the evils of the other.
Buff"on, however, is wrong in making the horse indi-
genous to Arabia, as is clearly proved by a refe-
rence to the Sacred Writings. In the reign of
Saul, horse-breeding had not yet been introduced
into Arabia ; for, in a war with some of the Ara-
bian nations, the Israelites got plunder in camels,
sheep, and asses, but still no horses. Even at the
time when Jerusalem was conquered and first de-
stroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, Arabia appears to have

6 THE HORSE.

been without horses, as the Tyrians brought theirs
from Armenia. That the earliest available uses of
the active powers of horses was adopted by the
Egyptians, the same authority satisfies us ; for we
read in the third chapter of Genesis, that when
Joseph carried his father's remains from Egypt to
Canaan, " there went up with him both chariots
and horsemen.'" One hundred and fifty years after-
wards, the horse constituted the principal strength
of the Egyptian army ; Pharaoh having pursued
the Israelites with " six hundred chosen chariots,
and with all the chariots of Egypt."' The earliest
period now alluded to was 1650 years before the
birth of Christ ; and 1450 years before that event,
the horse was so far naturalized in Grreece, that
the Olympic Games were instituted, including cha-
riot and horse races.

The origin of the native horse of our own coun-
try is now merely a question of historical interest,
the discussion of which would not lead to much
practical benefit. That experiments, founded on
the study of his nature and properties, which have
from time to time been made to improve the breed,
and bring the different varieties to the perfection in
which we now find them, have succeeded, is best con-
firmed by the fact of the high estimation in which
the horses of Great Britain are held in all parts of
the civilized world ; and it is not too much to
assert, that, although the cold, humid, and variable
nature of our climate is by no means favourable to
the production of these animals in their xery best
form^ we have, by great care, and after a lapse of

INTRODUCTION.

nearly two centuries, by our attention to breeding,
high feeding, and good grooming, with consequent
development of the muscles, brought them to the
highest state of perfection (with one exception*) of
which their nature is susceptible. They may be
classed under the following heads, and treated of
individually, viz. the Race-Horse, thorough-bred
and not thorough-bred; the Hunter; the Hack-
ney, for various purposes ; the Charger ; the Troop-
Horse ; the Coach, Chariot, and Grig Horse ; the
Stage-coach and Post Horse ; and the Draught or
Cart Horse.

* The exception is the English cart-horse, as will be stated here-
after.

4^^^-

THE RACE HORSE.

PROGRESSIVE IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENGLISH BREED

MEANING OF THE TERM "BLOOD" EASTERN HORSES

BREEDING WHAT CONSTITUTES A THOROUGH-BRED

HORSE ? REARING OF YOUNG RACING STOCK IM-
PORTANCE OF WARMTH AND DRY FOOD FORM

ACTION WIND TEMPER SPEED EXPENSES OF A

BREEDING RACING STUD VALUE OF STAKES AND

PRIZES COLOUR OF THE THOROUGH-BRED HORSE

THE HALF-BRED RACER WETHERBy's STUD-BOOK.

Although we may safely pronounce that the
native-breed of English horses, however esteemed
for other purposes, could not jrice^ in the present
acceptation of that word, yet it is equally obvious
that they formed the parent stock of the renowned
English racer. The first step to improve it by a
cross with eastern blood, appears to have been
taken by James the First, who gave the enormous
sum (in those days) of £500 for an Arab stallion,
which, however, the Duke of Newcastle, in his work
on Horsemanship, (great authority at that time.)
wrote down, on account, chiefly, of his compara-
tively diminutive size. At the Restoration, how-
ever, there appears to have been a tolerably good
breed of horses in Enaland, which Charles the

EASTERN BLOOD. 9

Second improved by an importation of Barbs and
Turks, whose blood was engrafted on the original
stock, already very considerably ameliorated by the
services of a stallion called Place's White Turk,
imported by Oliver CromwelPs Master of the Horse,
who bore that name ; and afterwards by those of
the Helmsley Turk, followed by Fairfax's Morocco
Barb. The change was at this time so visible, that
the Lord Harleigh of that day expressed his fears
lest it mioht be carried to such an extreme as to
extirpate the strong and useful horse, which, per-
haps, the majority of his countrymen were well
satisfied with before. In the latter end of Queen
Anne's reign, however, the first great trump turned
up, to secure future success. This was a stallion,
called Barley's Arabian, purchased in the Levant,
by a Yorkshire merchant of that name, although
without any real attestation of his pedigree, or
country. The prejudice against Arabians, and other
eastern horses, the efiect of the Duke of Newcastle's
anathema against them, having now, for the most
part, subsided, a good deal of their blood had been
infused into the mares of that day, when another
stallion, whose services were still more signal, ac-
cidentally made his appearance. We allude to the
Godolphin Arabian, as he was called, purchased out
of a cart in Paris, and consequently of uncertain
caste, but evidently the horse of the Desert ; who,
as will be hereafter shown, may be said to have won
the game. Although at first thought so meanly of,
as only to be used as a teazer, yet, fortunately for
the Turf, he lived twenty years after his services

10 THE RACE-HORSE.

became notorious (by the accident of his being the
sire of a capital racer, out of a mare which the stal-
lion to which he was teazer refused to cover,) and,
strange to say, no very superior race-horse has
appeared in England, for many years, that cannot
be traced to his blood. The success of this horse
was much facilitated by the lucky coincidence of
his arrival in England at a critical time, that is to
say, when the stock from Barley's horse, and the
several Arabs, Barbs, and Turks, together with the
Royal Mares imported by Charles the Second, had
been " crossed," as the term is, on each other ; and
had produced mares worthy to be the channel of
imparting his own transcendent qualities to poste-
rity. Taking it for granted, then, that the Eng-
lish race-horse is descended from Arabian, Turkish,
and African (Barb) blood ; and also taking into
consideration the various .peculiarities in the form
and power of each of those kinds, requiring modifi-
cation of shape, qualities, and action suited to the
purposes for v/hicli they were intended, it cannot
be denied, that a task of no ordinary difficulty was
imposed on the English horse-breeders, and that
they have executed that task with a masterly hand.
If other countries furnished the blood, England has
made the race-horse.

With the exception of one Eastern horse, called
the Wellesley Arabian, the grandsire of a winner
of the Oaks in 1826, also of Dandizette, who ran
second for that stake in 1 823, and was the dam of
Exquisite, who ran second for the Derby in 1829,
the English Turf has benefited nothing, during the

MEANING OF THE TERM ••' BLOOD.'' 1 1

last half century, from the importation of foreign
blood. The fact is, that having once gotten posses-
sion of the essential constitutional parts necessary
to form the race-horse, and which will be described
hereafter, we ourselves have, by a superior know-
ledge of the animal, and the means of atailing our-
selves of his capabilities, not only by rearing and
training, but by riding him also, brought him to a
pitch of excellence which will not admit of further
improvement. Superior as is the air of the Desert,
which is said to be so free from vapours, that the
brightest steel is not affected with rust, if exposed
to it for a night, to that of our humid and ever-
varying climate ; and propitious as it must be to
animals found, as the horse teas found, in the great-
est perfection when reared in it ; yet were the
finest Eastern horse that could be procured, brought
to the starting-post at Newmarket, with the advan-
tage of English training to-boot, he w^ould have no
chance at any weight, or for any distance, with
even a second-rate English race-horse. It may not,
however, be uninteresting to point out what are the
essential racing points originally imparted to the
horse of our own breed by these foreign stallions
and mares, and without which they never would
have arrived at any thing approaching the excel-
lence which they have, for the last century, at-
tained.

A good deal of pains has been taken to define
the meaning of the term '' blood,"' as applied to the
horse called thorough-bred. Osmer, an old but
accredited writer on the Horse, pronounced it to

12 THE RACE-HORSE.

be a certain elegance of parts, derived from air,
climate, and food, which, being suitable to the true
natural conformation of the animal, enables him to
perform extraordinary feats of activity and motion,
coupled with great endurance of the highest bodily
exertion ; and hence the expression, " he shows a
vast deal of blood,*' means nothing more than that
he is a truly formed race-horse. Where, he asks,
is the blood of the Ostrich, whose speed is so great,
that it can " laugh at the horse and his rider?''
" If the good qualities of the race -horse," says he,
" depend upon blood, we could not, as we often do,
see one horse very good, and his own brother, with
equal advantages of good keep and training, very
bad." It was the opinion of this writer, that it
has been to the folly of expecting, that what is
termed high-blood, in the Eastern horses, unaccom-
panied Avith essential form, will produce a racer, so
many failures in the attempt to breed race-horses
have occurred ; that the virtue of what racing men
call " blood," has been too much insisted upon, not
being sufficiently influenced by the fact, that it can
never be considered as independent of form and
matter. We conceive there is a great deal of truth
in each of the foregoing observations. Blood can-
not be considered independently of form and mat-
ter, inasmuch as the excellence of all horses must
depend on the mechanism of their frames, which, if
duly proportioned, and accompanied with superior
internal, as well as external organisation, gives
them stride, pace, and endurance. The quickness
of repeating this stride also, and the power of con-

MEANING OF THE TERM " BLOOD,'''' 13

tinuance, will depend upon vigour of muscle, capa-
city of chest, and strength of the constrained lungs.
The result, then, of this argument is, that when we
speak of some of the celebrated stallions of former
days having transmitted the good properties of their
blood, or high eastern descent, to the race-horses of
the present time, we can only imply, that they have
imparted that true formation of parts, that firmness
of bone and sinew, and that general superior orga-
nisation, competent to give facility of action ; toge-
ther with great powers of respiration, which will
enable horses to last under the severest trials of
their powers. In fact, their excellence is in a great
manner mechanical. Were it not so, indeed, did
they not excel each other according to the degrees
of difference in their form and shape, and all the
constituent parts, full brothers and sisters would
prove of equal goodness on the race-course, health
and condition being on a par. But this is very far
from being the case ; and, again, if it depended on
blood, the same horse would run alike on every
description of ground, which we know rarely hap-
pens ; but of this we may be assured, that it is a
superiority of muscular substance, united with justly
proportioned shape, and not innate blood, which
enables a horse to bear to be pressed, on any descrip-
tion of ground, still more so upon such as is severe,
as several of our race-courses are.

Yet, if there must be this elegance of form, these
nice proportions in the limbs, or moving levers of
the race-horse, how is it that so many of those
called " cross-made," i. e. plain, and apparently dis-

14 THE RACE-HOKSE.

proportioned horses, possess the power or parts con-
ducive to speed and action ? If blood can be defined
the peculiar elegance in the texture of the external
parts, how happens it that several very ugly horses
and mares have at all times distinguished themselves
on the Turf? Are there certain occult causes, not
discoverable to the eye, that produce this excel-
lence, to which the rules and laws of action appear
to be opposed I On these points it may be observed,
first, that the force and elfect of muscular motion
is nearly beyond our ken ; and, secondly, such
horses are really not misshapen, inasmuch as they
are hidden virtues in the mechanism of their inter-
nal frames, which the eye cannot detect ; and w^liere
deficient in one point, tliey are recompensed by
additional powders in others. They possess the
essential points, although not so elegantly dis-
played ; and this, we believe, is the case with other
animals than the horse ; although, generally speak-
ing, true symmetry in all is attended with corres-
ponding excellence in their .useful properties, and
adaptation to the purposes of man.

Those persons who insist upon an innate quality
in wdiat is termed " blood,"*"* are led to believe that
there is something in the nature of a thorough-bred
horse, which enables him to* struggle in a race far
beyond his natural capabilities, and which is distin-
ofuished bv the term " same.'' We do not think
there is. We learn from experience that horses
often allow themselves to be beaten by others which
are inferior to them, from sheer ill temper ; but
their efforts to loin a race, we consider to be merely

MEANING OF THE TERM " BLOOD. '''' 15

limited by their physical powers, the effect of a
proper arrangement of their parts ; and that the
operation of the mind, or spirit, has nothing at all
to do with it. The hero at the Olympic Games had,
and the champion of the British boxing ring may
have had, feelings which, from the superiority of
their nature, and the fact of their character, inte-
rest, and future happiness, being all involved in the
event, might have induced them to struggle even
to the very verge of life ; but the same sense of
honour, and the same spirit of emulation, cannot
be ascribed to the race-horse. If his own act-
ing powers be unequal to those of others opposed
to him in the race, he yields to that superiority,
although it must be admitted, that what are called
sluggish horses will not try to exert themselves to
the utmost, unless urged to it by the spur and
whip ; and others, when spurred and whipped,
slacken, instead of increasing, their speed. The
final result of this discussion then is, that when, as
has been previously suggested, we speak of such
horses as King Herod, Highflyer, or Eclipse, having
transmitted their blood to the past and present
generations of running horses, we can only admit
that they have transmitted that true formation of
parts necessary to enable them to run races at a
prodigious rate of speed, and to endure the severity
of training for them.

Although we have spoken in disparagement of
horses of the East as racers, upon the same terms
with, those of our own breeding, we are willing to
allow them the merit of being the parent stock of

16

THE RACE-IIORST

all our racing blood ; as it is quite evident the
indigenae of our own country, or of those European
ones which approximate to it, would never have
produced the sort of race-horse now seen on the
British Turf. The nature and character, indeed,
of the horse of the Desert, are peculiarly adapted
to an animal who, like the race-horse, is called
upon to put its physical powers to the severest test
to which nature, aided by art, can submit. In the
first place, the Arabian horse possesses a firmness of
leg and sinew unequalled by any other in the world.
This excellence, w^iich he owes to climate, arises
from his having larger muscles and smaller bone
than other horses have ; — muscles and sinews being
the sole powers of acting, and on them depend the
lasting qualities of an animal going at the top of
his speed. Bones being the weight to be lifted,
serve only to extend the parts ; and it is evident,
that such as are small, but highly condensed, like
those of the deer, and the horse of the Desert, are,
by occupying less space, and containing less weight,
more easily acted upon by muscular force, than
such as are large and porous, and for a greater dura-
tion of time, without fatiguing the acting powers.
But the excellence of the Arabian horse, or horse
of the Desert, does not end with his hiji^hlv con-
densed bone, and flat and wiry leg, so much
esteemed by the sportsman. All the muscles and
fibres of his frame are driven into closer contact
than those of any other breed ; and, by the mem-
branes and ligaments being composed of a finer and
thinner substance, he possesses the rare quality of

PRESENT ENGLISH BREED. 17

union of strength with lightness, so essential to the
endurance of fatigue in all quick motions. He thus
moves quicker and with more force, by reason of
the lightness and solidity of the materials of which
his frame is composed ; and when, to these qualifi-
cations, are added the peculiar and deer-like ele-
gance of his form, and extraordinary share of mus-
cular power for his inches, he appears to furnish all
the requisites of the race-horse on a small scale.

We have already accounted for the present breed
of English race-horses being no longer susceptible
of improvement from any foreign blood. But it is
worth inquiring into the reason of the improvement
of the horse of the Desert, and indeed of all the
countries of the East, not advancing towards per-
fection, as that of our own breed has done. No
doubt, it was intended that we should improve
upon animal nature, as we improve our own, and
nowhere has the attempt been so successful as upon
our varieties of domestic cattle ; but the horse of
the Desert now, if he have not retrograded in his
good qualities, is the same animal that he was
nearly two centuries back. With the exception of
the Wellesley Arabian, said to have been bred in
Persia, (but the assertion is unaccompanied by
proof,) who measured fifteen hands two inches
high, all the rest that have been imported have
been little better than Galloways, which must be
attributed to two causes ; first, the want of being-
forced, as our own horses are, in their colthood, by
high keep ; and secondly, by adhering too closely
to the indigenous breed, or that whose blood is un-

18

THE RACE-HORSE.

mixed, by which means it has dwindled. Accurate
observers must have noticed, that the greater part
of the horses brought to this country as Barbs and
Arabians have exhibited a palpable deficiency in
the points contributing to strength, and the want
of general substance is apparent at first sight. It
is true that, of late years, their estimation has so
diminished in this country, that no great pains
have been taken to procure stallions of the highest
caste, and scarcely any mares have been imported,
and several of those sent over have been accompa-
nied by very unsatisfactory pedigrees. We are,
however, inclined to think that, as the immediate
descendants of such horses are found quite ineffi-
cient as race-horses, and but few of the second or
third generation have turned up tramps, unless as
a rational experiment, the breeding of race-horses
from Arabians is at an end.

In corroboration, however, of the good qualities
of form and texture of this comparatively Lillipu-
tian breed, we give the following extract from a
letter of the late Captain Gw^atkin, head of one of
the Honourable India Company's studs, on the sub-
ject of crossing the English thorough-bred horse
with foreign blood, dated Hauper, Bengal, Septem-
ber 1828, to show, by their rate of going, their
great endurance under the combined pressure of
weight and speed ; for to have run these lengths
in the time specified, their height only averaging
fourteen hands one inch, and of course unfavourable
to speed, in addition to the ground being sandy,
and therefore void of elasticity, the pace must have

RACES IN INDIA.

19

been severe from end to end of the course. Unfor-
tunately the ages are not given, or a still better
judgment would be formed of the lasting powers of
these little animals under more than average
weight.*

Run ai

: Bengal

Name.

Weight.

Time.

DistaTice.

Patrician,

.

St. fb.
9 0

711. s.

5 34

( 280 yards, less 3
1 miles.

1807. Antelope,
1809. Patriot, ,

"

9 0
9 6

6 4
6 46

23 miles.
( 3 miles and 325
( yards.

Sulky, (sent to

England,)

9 0

6 25

; 3 miles and 325
1 vards.

Oddsbobs,
1818. Sir Low]-Y,

.

9 0

7 4

f ran second in the above
1 race.
4 0 2 miles.

1820. Nimrod,"

8 10

4 6

2 miles.

Sultan, (not 14 hands,) .

1826. Paragon, (sent to England,)
Esterhazy,

Cavalier, (not 14 hands,)

1827. Champion,

1828. Barefoot,

8 12
11 0
11 7

8 7
11 7

8 4

6 16
4 20

3 42

4 4
3 44

6 7

3 miles.

2 miles.

1| miles.

2 miles.

If miles.
( second heat of
( 3 miles.

Cornet, .

8 4

Ran second to Barefoot.

Chapeau de Faille,

Redgaunt'et,

Botheremj

8 3

9 0
9 3

2 58
5 6
2 58

1| miles.
2^ miles.
1| miles.

Run at

POONAH.

1827. Pyramus, (not

1828. Dragon, .

13 3,) .
Run at

9 0
8 8

Bombay.

4 8
4 4

2 miles.
2 miles.

1827. Slyboots,
Gaslight,
Creeper,

8 5

9 0
8 G

4 2
6 16
4 2

2 miles.

3 miles.
2 miles.

See Old Sporting Magazine, \o\. xxiv. New Series, p. 12

-0 THE RACE-IIORSE,

Run at Baroda.
Name. Weight. Time. Distance.

ft. III. II,. s.

1827. Harlequin, . . . 8 4 b" 9 Smiles.

Run at Madras.
18-28. Oi-elio, .... 9 0 4 0 2 miles.

We have reason to believe, that the best use to
be made of Eastern horses, would be for the pro-
duction of the English hunter, by the best shaped
hunting mares, nearly thorough-bred. By the
lielp of the dam, and our present improved system
of keeping young horse-stock, there would be little
fear of the produce not coming to a good size, even
in the first generation, as it is, for the most part,
the property of these horses to beget stock larger
than themselves ; but by crossing the female pro-
duce in the second w^ith our laroe thorough-bred
horses, hunters for heavy weights might be looked
for, with every prospect of success. We know thai
the virtue of the blood, or constituent parts, of the
horse that was no racer, (Marske, the sire of
Eclipse, for example,) has produced a racing son,
by acquiring proper formation of parts from the
dam ; and if to the fine form of the English hunter
could be added the firmness of leg and sinew for
which the Eastern horse is so conspicuous, but in
which the English hunter is too often deficient, in
conjunction with the larger muscles, more highly
condensed bone, and well-known powers of endur-
ance of the Eastern horse, not omitting his action,
which is generally first-rate, but of which a proper

EASTERN HORSES.

21

judgment could be formed previously to the choice
of the stallion, a great improvement upon our pre-
sent race of hunters would be effected ; and all
such as were known to be thus bred would meet a
ready sale. It is a well-known fact, that some of
the most brilliant hunters England ever produced,
were got by Arabian stallions ; and one, by Lord
Olive's Arabian, was one of the best horses in Leices-
tershire, in Mr. MeynelFs day, over every descrip-
tion of country. He was the property of the late Mr.
Childe, of Kinlet Hall, Shropshire, who is said to
have been the first to introduce the present very
spirited style of riding after hounds. A powerful
Toorkoman stallion would not, we think, fail in
getting hunters out of good English mares. That
breed is the largest of any of the Eastern horses,
owino^ to beino^ reared on better land.

One word more on the subject of the Eastern
horse, as connected with the English Turf. Owing
to the doubts and uncertainties that hang over the
pedigrees and countries of the most celebrated stal-
lions and mares which laid the foundation of our
present breed of racers, it is impossible to deter-
mine to which individual breed, whether to the
Turkish, the Barb, the Arabian, or the Persian,
are the greater advantages derived from them to
be attributed. They appear to us to be pretty
equally divided. To the Byerly Turk we are in-
debted for the Herod blood (sire of Highflyer) ; to
the Godolphin Arabian, said to be a Barb, for the
Matchem blood, the stoutest of any ; to the Darley
Arabian, (the sire of Flying Childers,) for the

09

THE RACE-HORSE.

Eclipse blood ; and to the Wellesley Arabian,
believed to be a Persian horse, to the only real
advantage gained to English race-horses, by a
foreign cross, in later years. It must, however, be
observed, that the most famous horses of the last
century, such as Childers, Old Crab, Eclipse, and
King Herod, did not appear on the Turf before
they were five years old ; which leads us to sup-
pose, that the failure of horses subsequently bred,
as they themselves were bred, from Oriental blood,
and trained at an early age, may, in great part, be
attributed to the fact, of the immediate produce of
such horses requiring more time to come to matu-
rity, or even to a certain degree of maturity, than
those, like our present breed of race-horses, farther
removed from such blood ; and the cause may be
attributed to climate. It is reasonable to suppose,
that the produce of stallions and mares bred in the
Torrid Zone, would come slower to perfection in a
damper and colder country than it would have done
in its own ; and we may infer from this, that, in
proportion as horses were brought earlier to the
post, and races shortened in distance, Eastern blood
got into disrepute.

As to the comparative speed of Arabian and
English race-horses, England is not the arena on
which it can be fairly decided, inasmuch as the
total chano^e of food, svstem, and climate, must
operate more powerfully on the Arab brought to
Eualand after a certain as^e, than on the English
horse, taken to India under similar circumstances,
for reasons too obvious to require to be mentioned.

ARABIAN AND ENGLISH RACERS. Zo

It may, however, be stated, on the best Indian
authorities on this subject, that the best Arab, on
his own ground, has not a shadow of a chance
against an imported Enghsh racer, in any thing
like a good form. The celebrated race on the Cal-
cutta course, between Pyramus and Recruit — the
former the best Arab of his year, the latter a
second-rate English race-horse by Whalebone, the
property of the Marquis of Exeter — settled this
point, inasmuch as allowance was made for the
comparatively diminutive size of the Arab, it being
what is termed a give-and-take match, or weight
for inches, in which Recruit carried 10 stone 12
pounds, and Pyramus only 8 stone 3 pounds, an
extra allowance of 7 pounds having been given to
him as an Arab.

" Pyramus,'' says the reporter of this race, " is
as good an Arab (he had previously beaten all the
best Arabs in Calcutta for the gold cup) as has
appeared for many years. His condition was un-
deniable ; the distance was all in his favour ; and
he was ridden with superior judgment ; so that the
result of his match with Recruit may be considered
to have established this as an axiom, that no allow-
ance of weiofht within the bounds of moderation
can bring the best Arab, even in the climate most
congenial to him, upon a par with an English
thorough-bred horse of moderate goodness. In
addition to all these circumstances in favour of
Pyramus, it must be remembered that Recruit
only landed on the 28th of May, (the race was
run in January,) after a voyage of five months."

24

THE RACE-HORSE.

This statement is borne out by one of the articles
of the Auckland Cup, the annual gift of the Gover-
nor of Bengal, in which, for the year 1840, English
horses were weighted at 2 stones 7 pounds beyond
that carried by Arabs.

Breeding the Race-Horse. — Amongst the manv
things in the history of Ancient Greece that have
called forth the admiration of mankind, the cele-
brated games of Olympia claim the foremost place.
Independently of their religious association, and
advancement of literary spirit, they were highly
serviceable to the country ; and none proved more
so than those at which horse-racing was introduced,
which appear to have been completely established
in the 25th Olympiad. That the improvement of
the native breed of horses was the chief object of
the Government, is beyond all doubt, as it has
been that of all others who have mven encouras'e-
ment to racing ; and it is equally apparent, that
the Thessalian courser, so highly extolled by Pin-
dar, and likewise so terrible in war, was the result
of a foreign cross. So essential, indeed, was this
object considered in Greece, where horses were very
scarce even after the time of Pindar, that it is
stated, on the authority of Aretius, in a note on
Pindar's second Isthmian Ode, that there was a
general law in Greece, requiring all who were able
to breed horses. The state of perfection their horses
had approached at this early period is beyond the
power of conjecture ; but in Great Britain, from
the hiohlv cultivated knowleds^e of the mechanical
structure of living bodies, with the junction of best

ENGLISH AND COSSACK RACERS. 25

shapes — although, but for the stimulus given by
racing, this knowledge would have been compara-
tively in its infancy — the horse has arrived at the
highest state of perfection of which his nature is
capable ; and in whatever country and in whatever
climate his racing powers are put to the test, he
has scarcely found a rival, excepting under very
disadvantaofeous circumstances. It is true, his
lasting qualities were doubted, and he was chal-
lenged to rebut the charge ; and the following was
the result. On the 4th of August 1825, two
second-rate English racers. Sharper and Mina,
contended asjainst the most celebrated Cossack
horses from the Don, the Black Sea, and the Ural,
in a race of the cruel length of forty-seven miles.
At Starting, Sharper and Mina ran away with
their riders more than a mile, and up a steep hill,
when the latter horse broke down, and pulled up.
Half the distance was run in an hour and forty
minutes. In the last half, only one of the Cos-
sack horses was able to contend with Sharper,
who, notwithstanding every foul advantage was
taken by changing the weight, and dragging along
his opponent by a rope, won his race in gallant
style, performing the distance in two hours and
forty-eight minutes. At starting, the English
horses carried three stone more weight than the
Cossacks ; and, during the latter half of the race,
the one Cossack who remained in it was ridden by
a mere child.

From the export trade to the Continent of
English horses, and particularly those of full blood,

26 THE RACE-HORSE.

joined to the low price of horse food during the last
twenty years, and on which there is not much
prospect of an advance, occupiers of land cannot
turn their attention to a much surer source of pro-
fit than that of breeding horses, provided they go
judiciously to work. But, unfortunately for the
speculators in this branch of rural economics, too
much is left to chance and experiment, and thus
horse-breeding becomes absolutely a matter of
speculation, instead of a matter of judgment. It
is true, those noblemen and gentlemen whose studs
have become eminent on the Turf, cannot be in-
cluded in this charge ; but, even with the benefit of
great experience, and various other advantages, the
utmost exercise of their judgment is required, to
ensure even a prospect of success against such a
field as they have to contend with. Having said
this, we will lay down a few practical rules for
bi>eeding and rearing the various kinds of horses
now used in Great Britain, commencing, as before
stated, with that of the Kace-Horse.

In the first place, it may be observed, there has
been a great deal of discussion in various publica-
tions on Sporting, but to very little purpose, on
the much agitated question, " What constitutes
full blood, or, what is termed, a thorough-bred
horse r' We consider this question as very easily
decided ; the term " thorough-bred horse" merely
implying one that can be traced through the Stud-
Book, by sire and dam, to any Eastern stallion, or
to what were called the Eoyal Mares, imported by
Charles the Second, as the}^, together with two or

EFFECT OF CROSSING BLOOD. 27

three of the first imported stallions, form the ne
plus ultra of all racing pedigrees. As to the asser-
tion, that, for a horse to claim the title of thorough-
bred, it is necessary he should be of pure Oriental
descent, it cannot for a moment be supported ; as,
independently of the fact, that only two mares are
stated in the Stud-Book, or elsewhere, on autho-
rity, to have been imported into England, in the
early days of racing, it is well known that the first
British race-horses were those of British breed,
changed, ameliorated, and, at last, perfected by the
admixture of Eastern blood, and judicious crossing
afterwards.

The effect of what is called crossing blood is as
follows : The first cross gives one-half, or 50 per
cent. ; the second 75 per cent. ; the third 87i per
cent. ; and the fourth 93 1 per cent. In sheep,
after this, if the ewes have been properly selected,
the difference in the wool between the original
stock and the mixed breed is scarcely perceptible ;
but with the horse, the breeder must not stop here,
if he means to produce a race-horse ; and a curious
fact is stated respecting sheep, on the authority of
the Count Veltheim, of Brunswick, an extensive
breeder of that species of stock. " It has fre-
quently occurred to me,"*"* says he, " that rams,
which, after an improvement of four or five descents,
have rivalled all the msihle qualities of the purest
Merinos, when employed in propagation, have got
very ordinary lambs, and consequently they are
not fit to be used for breeding. On the other hand,
a fact may be stated, wherein, after a yqyj oppo-

28 THE RACE-HORSE.

site cross, pure blood, with evident improvement
upon the original stock, was procured on the eighth
descent. The late Lord Orford, very celebrated
for his greyhounds, finding them degenerating in
courage, crossed his best bitches with a bull-dog.
The result was, after several re -crossings with pure
blood, that breed of greyhounds for w^hich he was
so eminently distinguished. The immediate descen-
dants, however, of the Eastern horses, have, almost
without an exception, proved so deficient of late
years, that our breeders will no more have recourse
to them, than the farmer would to the natural oat,
which is little better than a weed, to produce a
sample that should rival that of his neighbours, in
the market."'

Much speculation has also been indulged in, as
to the efiiect of close affinity, in breeding the race-
horse, or what is called breeding in-and-in ; a sys-
tem which has eminently succeeded in breeding
cattle, and also with Lord Egremont's racing stud.
Beginning with Flying Childers, several of our
very best racers have been very closely bred ; and
it certainly appears reasonable that, as like is said
to produce like, if we have high form and superior
organisation in an own brother and sister, that high
form and superior organisation would be very likely
to be continued to their incestuous produce. In a
work called " Observations on Breeding for the
Turf,'' published a few years back, by Nicholas
Hankey Smith, who resided a long time among the
Arabs, the author gives his opinion, that colts bred
in-and-in show more blood in their heads, are of

CHOICE OF STALLIONS AND MARES. 29

better form, and fit to start with fewer sweats,
than others ; but when the breed is continued in-
cestuous for three or four crosses, the animal, he
thinks, degenerates. By breeding in-and-in, how-
ever, he does not insist upon the necessity of breed-
ing from brother and sister, or putting a mare to
her own sire, or the sire to his own dam ; but after
the first cross, to return to original blood. A re-
cent proof of the good effect of a close affinity in
race-horses may be found in the produce of the
dam of his late Majesty's favourite mare Maria.
By those celebrated stallions, Rubens and Sooth-
sayer, they were worthless ; but by Waterloo and
Rainbow, grandsons of Sir Peter, and thus com-
bining much of her own blood, they could run to
win.

We now come to the most certain source of pro-
ducing good racers, namely, the choice of stallions
and mares, and the treatment of the produce in
their colthood. But as regards the two first-named
requisites, reference must be had to the parts of
the country in which horses are intended to run.
If, for the short races of Newmarket, so much the
fashion of the present day, a differently formed
animal would be required to one intended to clear
his way on the provincial courses. But whether it
be one description of a race-horse or another, al-
though the laws of nature are not always certain,
a proper junction of shape, or similarity in forma-
tion of horse and mare, together with a due regard
to blood, gives the fairest prospect of success. We
admit it is difficult to account for the degrees

30 THE RACE-HORSE.

of excellence between the running of two full bro-
thers or sisters, where it does not arise (a common
case we conceive) from some violence or impression
on the womb, when the foetus is in a soft state, or
from a decline in the constitution of the mare, sub-
sequent to her last produce; but when we find the
produce of two highly-bred animals, both apparently
well formed and sound, and with a proper admix-
ture of blood, unable to race, we can attribute it to
no other cause than a dissimilitude of parts in the
horse and the mare, or a similitude of some parts
tending to an extreme in both. Without going so
far as to assert that there is no innate quality in
blood, w^e may safel}^ pronounce it so far from being,
as some have supposed it to be, independent of form
and matter, that, unless accompanied with suitable
form and action, it is of very little value in a race-
horse. " Sometimes," as Sancho says, " we look
for one thing and find another ;" but we know of
no instance of a bad, misshapen horse and a bad,
misshapen mare, however highly bred, producing
good runners.

The first and most important point in the choice
of a brood-mare for a racing stud, is the soundness
of her constitution and limbs ; although, of course,
it is desirable she should be of good size and shape,
with substance. How highly soever she may be
bred, and however well she may have run, if she
have not a sound frame, she cannot be depended
upon to breed racers. If she have never been train-
ed, of course the risk is increased ; but, in either
case, her form and action must not be overlooked,

CHOICE OF STALLIONS AND MARES. 31

as it too often is, rendering the breeding of tho-
rough-bred stock a mere matter of chance. Should
she have appeared in public, her racing capabilities
are to be consulted. For example, if pace (speed)
was her best, as the jockies say, a stallion should
be selected, who, by the known stoutness of his
running, is likely to tie her produce to pace, or, in
other words, to give them both speed and endur-
ance in a race. Her frame should be roomy, or
her produce will be apt to be small, although, it
must be admitted, there are exceptions to this rule.
She should be of, what is termed, fashionable blood,
for, if she be not, and her produce should come to
the hammer, previous to trial, they would prove
utterly worthless in the market.

It cannot admit of a doubt, that it is trespassing
on the powers of nature to expect a mare, or any
other female animal, to nourish her foetus, in em-
bryo, so perfectly during the time she is giving
suck, as if she were dry or without milk. Never-
theless, it is customary to put all blood mares to
the horse the ninth day after foaling, and it is
almost too much to expect that the owners will let
them lie fallow, although they may in some mea-
sure resemble the man who cut up his goose to get
at the golden egg. During the period of gestation,
however, the thorough-bred mare should be highl}'-
kept. All animals well fed, produce their species
of a superior description to those which are not
well fed ; and nothing more forcibly shows the
beneficial effect of warmth in rearing superior va-
rieties of the horse, than that the half-starved

dZ THE RACE-HORSE.

horse of the Desert should be as good as he is even
now found to be.

In a racing-stud, the period of putting mares to
the horse is much earlier in the year than that of
any other sort, by reason of their produce being
almost always called upon to go into work before
they are two years old. In fact, they can scarcely
be dropped too soon in the commencement of a new
year, where proper accommodations are provided
for them. A peep into the three volumes of the
Stud-Book will satisfy inquirers into these matters,
that some mares have produced more than twenty
colts and fillies, and, in a few instances, the greater
part of them proved good runners ; but, we should
be inclined to think that the average would not
exceed six, as the produce of each mare. It some-
times occurs that mares are put into a breeding-
stud, when affected by severe lameness in the feet.
When this is the case, the operations of neurotomy
or unnerving is recommended ; as pain, by produc-
ing fever, not only is injurious to the formation of
the fcetus, but often causes abortion. Bad, putrid
smells, or being struck on the nose, also produce
abortion in brood mares.

Virgil, in his excellent remarks on breeding
horses, tells those of his readers who wished to gain
a prize, to look to the dam ; and, until of very late
years, it was the prevailing opinion of Englishmen,
that, in breeding a racer, the mare is more essen-
tial than the horse to the production of him, in his
highest form, and we know it to have been the
notion entertained by the late Earl of Grosvenor,

CHOICE OF STALLIONS AND MARES. 33

the most extensive, though not perhaps the most
successful, breeder of thorou":h-bred stock England
ever saw. The truth of this supposition, however,
has not been confirmed by the experience of the
last half century, and much more dependence is
now placed on the stallion than on the mare. The
racing calendar, indeed, clearly proves the fact.
Notwithstanding the prodigious number of very
highly bred and equally good mares that are every
year put to the horse, it is from such as are put to
our very best stallions that the great winners are
produced. This can in no other way be accounted
for, than by such horses having the faculty of im-
parting to their progeny the peculiar external and
internal formation absolutely essential to the first-
rate race-horse ; or, if the term " blood" be insist-
ed upon, that certain innate but not preternatural
virtue, peculiarly belonging to some horses but not
to others, which, when it meets with no opposition
from the mare, or, in the language of the stable,
when " the cross nicks'' by the mare admitting of
a junction of good shapes, seldom fails in producing
a race-horse, in his very best form. It is obvious,
then, that owners of racing-studs should not hesi-
tate at paying the difterence between the price of
a first-rate stallion and an inferior one ; and there
is always one of the former to be found, to suit
every description of mare. Breeders of all kinds
of horses, but of the race-horse above all others,
scarcely require to be cautioned against purchasing,
or breeding from, mares, or putting them to stal-
lions, constitutionally infirm. By " constitutionally

34 THE RACE-HORSE.

infirm,'''' is chiefly implied having a tendency to fail
in their legs and feet, during their training, which
too many of our present racing-breed are given to ;
although the severity of training is not equal to
what it was some years back. It would be invidi-
ous to particularise individual sorts ; but we could
name stallions and mares, from which the greatest
expectations were raised, whose progeny have sacri-
ficed thousands of their owners' money, entirely
from this cause. It having been clearly shown,
not only in theory but in practice, that the diseases
and defects of horses are for the most part heredi-
tary, we may be induced to give credit to the as-
sertion, that the Arabians, after having brought
their breed of horses to the highest pitch of im-
provement of which they themselves considered
them capable, have preserved their chief perfec-
tions, namely, great endurance of fatigue, with
highly organised matter, and natural soundness of
limb — by restricting the use of stallions until ap-
proved of by a public inspector of them. Indeed,
in several European states, similar precautions are
taken, and stallions are provided by their govern-
ments, for the use of farmers and others who breed
horses, and care is taken in the selection of them
to avoid all such as have proved naturally unsound,
or been affected by any disease, the influence of
which may be hereditary. No part of veterinary
pathology is more interesting than that which re-
lates to the hereditableness of disease ; and, as an
eminent French writer (Professor Dupuy,) on the
veterinary art, observes, " That person will render

HEREDITARY DISEASE. 35

an important service to his country, and to rural
economy in general, who may show, by incontes-
tible evidence, that those organic diseases (farcy
and glanders) are very often hereditary. I knew a
mare whose body on dissection presented every ap-
pearance of glanders ; her filly died at the age of
4i years of the same tuberculous affection. The
other ofispring of this mare inherited her particu-
lar conformation, and her propensities to bite and
kick." The Professor produces three similar in-
stances of inherited disease, all of which, he says,
were too evident and well-marked to admit the
possibility of any serious mistake, and were attest-
ed by the professors of the Veterinary School at
Alford. Similar observations follow in relation to
the diseases of oxen, cows, sheep, and swine, as also
of ophthalmia in horses, all of which are transmit-
ted from one generation to another, the effect of
hereditary influence. " These considerations," con-
tinues the Professor, "to us are of the greatest
moment, since we have it in our power, by coupling
and crossing well-known breeds, to lessen the num-
ber of animals predisposed to these diseases. Act-
ing up to such ideas, our line of conduct is marked
out. We must banish from our establishments,
designed to improve the breed, such animals as
show any signs of tuberculous disease, or any ana-
logous afiection. Above all, no stallion should be
allowed to remain in a wet or cold situation, in con-
sequence of the evils likely to result therefrom."

In consideration of the preference given to the
stallion over the mare, in the propagation of racing-

36 THE RACE-HORSE.

stock, may be quoted the following passage from
PercivaPs Lectures on the Veterinary Art (Lon-
don 1826.) " It might be supposed that the part
the male takes in fecundation is comparatively a
very unimportant one ; it must be remembered,
however, that the copulative act is the essential
first cause, that therein the action of the organs is
natural and sympathetic, and that the result is the
generation of a new animal, bearing a likeness to
one or both of the parents ; from which it would
appear, although the physical part of the male is
simply to project the sperm into the female, who
alone has the power of rendering it efficacious, that
the influence of the sperm is much greater in the
generative process than we seem to have any notion
of, or at least than we have been able to reveal the
nature of in physiology.'' *

Rearing of Young Racing Stock. — Under all
circumstances, there is too much resemblance be-
tween the speculations of the Turf and a lottery ;
but, as the prizes it exhibits are valuable, the most
efl'ectual means of obtaining them should be adopt-
ed. It signifies little what care and circumspection
have been exercised in the selection of stallions and
mares, with a view of breeding racers ; the prospect
of success is very limited indeed at the present
day, unless the produce be reared according to the
improved system acted upon in our first-rate racing
establishments. Such was the pertinacity of opi-

* Lecture 59, On the Physiology of the organs of Generation,
Male and Female, page 94.

REARING OF RACING STOCK. 87

nion, combined with long-established prejudices,
and in direct opposition to the daily acknowledged
fact of dry and warm countries having been the
first to produce the horse in perfection, that it is
only within a very few years that young thorough-
bred stock has been reared in the manner in which
it should be reared. A thorough-bred colt mav
now be said to be in training from the day on which
he is dropped, so great is the care taken to force
him into shape and substance.* Not only is he
drawing from the teats of his dam the milk of a
highly fed animal, and consequently, in itself high-
ly nutritious, but, before he is twelve months old,
he eats nearly two bushels of oats per week. The
time for expansion of frame is youth, and, when
we see a two-year-old at the post, with eight stone
four pounds on his back, which is to be seen in
every meeting at Newmarket, and looking like a
horse able to carry a light man after hounds, we
most cordially assent to the answer given by the
most experienced Newmarket trainer of the present
age to the question. What is the best method of
rearing a racing colt ? " First observe,'"' said he,
" that the blood, or cross, is good ; secondly, breed
him as you would a sheep, from a roomy dam ; and

* An American gentleman, who visited several of the studs in the
neighbourhood of Doncaster, thus expresses himself : " I was much
astonished to find that the little foals of a few months old had shoes
on, and gave evidence of ha\ing been carefully groomed from the
time they were able to bear this attention. I think I saw foals of
eight months old as large as our yearlings — yearlings as large as our
two-year-olds, and two year old colts as large as our three-year-olds."
— Spirit of the New York Times, November 28, 1840.

38 THE RACE-HORSE.

thirdly, give him as little green meat as possible,
and as much corn as he will eat.'"" The trainer we
allude to has now retired, but he had all the young
stock of the Duke of Grafton, and many of the
first and most successful sportsmen in England,
through his hands, and the annual disbursements
of his establishment exceeded ten thousand pounds.
That dry, and " hard food," as it is called, is the
natural food of the parent stock from which our
race-horses are descended, is beyond all doubt ; and
that the firmness of their acting parts is attributable
to that, and to the warmth and dryness of the cli-
mate, is also admitted. Is it, then, to be wondered
at, that breeders of horses, and not only of race-
horses, have at length found out that dry food and
warmth have the same effect in the Temperate as
they have had, and now have, in the Torrid Zone ?
that they have discovered that, when colts are bred
on rich succulent food, and subject to a humid at-
mosphere, the bulk of the body increases out of
proportion to the strength of the bones ; and to
these predisposing causes are also to be attributed
most of the false points which we find in horses,
such as fleshy shoulders, deficiency of muscle, weak
pasterns, and flat feet? Virgil discovered this
nearly two thousand years ago, and, when speaking
in praise of Epirus, as suitable to the breeding of
horses, emphatically observes : —

" Continuo has leges aetemaque fcedera certis,

Imposuit natura locis.^' Georg. \, 1. 60.

So careful, however, now are some of our princi-
pal and most successful breeders of race-horses to

REARIXG OF RACING STOCK. 39

avoid these evils, tliat not only is a thorough-bred
colt eating grass ad libitum become a rare sight,
but he is not suffered to be exposed to rain, even in
the midst of summer, no, not even to a temporary-
shower. The effect of rain upon horses' backs is
found to produce the worst of diseases — glanders,
for instance, as is well known to all cavalry officers
who have been on service with their regiments ;
and it cannot be innocuous to the highly-bred foal,
or colt. That he should be sheltered from the cold
of winter, need scarcely be insisted upon here, al-
though we are rather inclined to think, that, in the
generality of breeding establishments, he is more
exposed to weather in the winter than he ought to
be. There is no objection to a moderate allowance
of carrots, and a little green food ; but, according
to the old Greek proverb, AXkog ^log, aXXa d/uiruy
another life^ another diet, we must hear no more of
the " natural food" of an animal insisted upon by
many, who is so far called upon to outstrip the laws
of nature as to begin to work at fourteen months
old, and to appear at the starting-post at two years
old, displaying the form, character, and strength of
one nearly arrived at maturity. Neither is the
land on which a racing-stud is situated oftentimes
sufficiently considered ; but a want of such consi-
deration has been the source of great loss. It is
in vain to expect success unless upon that which
is dry, and consequently of sound subsoil ; and
what is termed " upland ground" is most favour-
able. Walls, independently of security, are pre-
ferable to hedges, for inclosures to breeding pad-

40 THE RACE-HORSE.

docks, as the latter harbour flies, which are very
injurious to young stock, and also to their dams, in
hot weather ; but the present small dimensions of
breeding paddocks, not exceeding a quarter of an
acre, and many still less, preclude the use of hedges.

Racing colts are physicked when foals, and perio-
dically afterwards ; their hoofs, also, are pared with
a drawing knife, that, by shortening the toe, the
heel may have liberty to expand. Physic, in this
case, may be termed the safety valve, and such it
is in reality, for this system of forcing nature can-
not be free from danger. It is found, however,
materially to promote growth, as indeed does the
work that our racing-colts perform at such a very
early age. Muscular action produces muscular
strength, and growth will be the result. We have
seen a colt that measured upwards of fifteen hands
in height on the day twelvemonth which he had
been weaned from his dam.

Racing colts can scarcely be handled too soon : —

" Dum faciles animi juvenum, dum mobilis setas,"

as Virgil says of the bulls ; and Horace illustrates
the necessity of early erudition of the human species
by the excellence of horses which have been well
broken in when young. The first breaking in of
colts is also alluded to by Ovid, who, like Horace,
is in favour of very careful treatment of them, and
reminds us of the necessity of it in the following
beautiful line : —

" Fraenaque vix patitur de grege captus equus.''

The system of breaking colts, however, is not only

FOALING, 41

thoroughly well understood in our racing establish-
ments, but is accomplished with much less severity
than it formerly was, and consequently with less
danger to the animal.

The time of foaling is one of great interest to
owners of valuable brood mares, and particularly so
when the produce is engaged, perhaps heavily, or
when they are of what is termed a running family.
The attention of the stud-groom is directed by
sundry forewarnings, the most palpable of which is
what is called " waxing of the udder," and appear-
ance of milk, which generally precede parturition
two or three days, but in some instances more. As
the mare brings forth on her legs, there is little
fear of the foal being overlaid by the mother ; but
the less she is disturbed the better, lest she should
trample on its legs. Her treatment afterwards is
now so well understood, that nothing requires to
be said about it ; but a bran mash, with from
four to six ounces of nitre dissolved in it, given as
soon as she has brought forth, keeps off fever. The
great preventive of accidents to foals, is the simple
contrivance of rollers on the sides of the door-frames,
which secure them from being injured as they rush
out of the hovel or shed by the side of their dams,
especially in cases of alarm.

Some persons prefer purchasing to breeding young
racing stock, and it is difficult to determine between
the advantages and disadvantages of the systems.
It is true that, in the first case, the purchaser has
a certainty of some return for his money, inasmuch
as he gets his colt or filly, which the breeder may

42 THE RACE- HORSE.

never get, after incurring a great expense on the
mare. The price of a promising yearling, from
three to five hundred fyuineas, is a laro^e sum to
begin with ; and we cannot, in this instance, say
with Varro, " that a good horse is known from the
first."*' If purchased after he has appeared in pub-
lic, at two years old, of fashionable blood, and having
run in front, he is not to be purchased much under
a thousand guineas, which is a large sum to realise,
when added to concomitant expenses. Nothing but
the immense amount of stakes for young racing-
stock can justify such a speculation. For example,
in 1824, a filly of the Duke of Grafton's won four
thousand four hundred and fifty guineas, public
money, by only starting twice.

One of the principal drawbacks from the pros-
pects of success in a racing establishment, is a com-
plaint called the Distemper, a sort of catarrhal
fever, the cause of which is generally attributed to
atmospheric influence, and also to any other which
may produce what is termed a cold. Unlike com-
mon catarrhs, however, the distemper will run
through a whole stud of horses ; and if it do not,
as it frequently does, end in an afi'ection of the
lungs, it leaves a lassitude behind it, which requires
some time to remove. As a hot sun, with cold
winds in spring, and the humid air of the autumn,
are the chief predisposing causes of this complaint,
an even temperature in the stable, and warm cloth-
ing when out of it, together with avoiding exposure
to extremes of heat and cold, are the best safeguards
against its attacks. It may be compared to a frost

FORM OF THE RACER. 43

over the blossoms, which in one night blasts all
former hopes of a crop.

A most interesting event to a breeder of tho-
rough-bred stock is the trial of their racing powers,
which at once decides the question of their being
worth the expense of training to run or not. There
is a great deal of judgment necessary in the act of
trying even old horses, but still more is required to
form a just estimate of a young one, from the diffi-
culty of knowing when he is quite up to the mark,
as well as of keeping him there till it may be con-
venient to try him ; — and it is not always so,
owing to bad weather, the trial of young things
being generally very early in the year. This sub-
ject, however, coming more properly under the
head of Training the Race -horse, will be treated of
at a future time.

But we have not yet spoken of the form of the
race-horse, which we will now describe ; and as
nothing can be considered characteristic of a species
but what is perfect of its sort, we will so far endea-
vour to make the pen perform the task of the pen-
cil, as to portray his cardinal points, as nearly per-
fect as such means will admit of. Nature herself,
perhaps, rarely exhibits perfect models in the ani-
mal world, leaving the completion of her skill to
human sagacity ; neither is undeviating symmetry
absolutely necessary in a race-horse. In every
composite, however, beauty consists in the apt con-
nexion of its parts with each other, and just pro-
portions in the limbs and moving levers, coupled
with that elegance of form iii ichich there is no

44 THE RACE-HORSE.

unnecessary v^eight to oppress the muscles^ so peculiar
to the highly bred race-horse, is all that need be
insisted upon in a racer. It is nevertheless hard
to say what horse will make a racer, and also what
will not, until put to the test ; for how many horses
have appeared which the eye of the sportsman
would not wish to study, and yet have proved
themselves very capital runners ? This excellence,
however, in those " cross-made horses,"*' as they are
termed, not mis-shapen ones, arises, as has been
before observed, from their possessing parts con-
ducive to speed and action, not, perhaps, very
strikingly displayed, but by means of greater
length and depth, and a peculiar manner of setting
on of the acting parts, enabling them to excel
others, much handsomer to the eye, but wanting
in either proper declivity, length, or, what is still
more probable, in circular extent of those parts.
Thus, as the wise man, according. to the Stoics,
alone is beautiful, so is a race-horse to be admired
solely for those points which make him a good
race-horse.

Although symmetry and proportion form a per-
fect figure, and they become deformities when any
of the component parts exceed or fall short of their
due proportions, yet it is not always necessary to
measure by the standard of perfection. Suffice it,
then, to state the generally approved points of the
English race-horse.

We commence with the head, not merely because
it has always been considered as the most honour-
able member in the human frame, but as it is one

FORM OF THE RACER.

4.5

of the leading characteristics of the thorough-bred
liorse. His broad angular forehead gives him that
beautiful expression of countenance which no other
breed possesses ; and the tapering of the face from
the forehead to the muzzle forms a striking contrast
with the large face of the cart-horse, and the fore-
liead scarcely wider than the face.

HEAD OF A RACER.

HEAD OK A CART-HORSE.

The race-horse should have a black, lively, and
rather prominent eye, which denotes a sound con-
stitution ; and as horses do not breathe throuo^h
the mouth, but onlj through the nose, tlie nostrils
should be rather expanded and flexible, that they
may accommodate themselves to quickened respira-
tion, as the speed of the animal increases. But
they should not be over large. " Naribus 7ion
angustis^''^ says Varro, and he is right. Beaut}^ in
the head of the race-horse, however, is only a
secondary consideration to the manner in which it
should form a junction with the neck, as on that,
in a great measure, depends the goodness of his
wind in a race. His jaws should not only be thin,

46 THE RACE-HORSE.

and not approach too near together at the throat,
but they should not extend too high towards the
onset, or they will impede his freedom of breathing.
The neck of all horses should be muscular ; but
what is called a loose neck in a race-horse, is not
so objectionable as in a hunter, and is considered
as indicative of speed. But as the head of a horse
may be called the helm which guides his course,
changes and directs his motions, it is not only
desirable that, as he cannot move his head but with
the muscles of his neck, those muscles should be
pliant, but that he should also have what is termed
a good mouth. It is asserted, that the weight of
the head and neck, the effect increasing with their
distance from the trunk, adds to the speed of the
horse by throwing his weight forward ; but this is
no argument for additional weight or length in
those parts, which ought to be duly proportioned
to the trunk. The neck of the race-horse should
be in no extreme, but rather long than otherwise,
and not too much arched.

As horses are said to go with their shoulders,
these may be considered as highly important points.
They vary in form more than any other part of the
horse's frame. Those of Flying Childers rose very
high and fine towards the withers ; whereas a fir-
kin of butter is said to have rested, unsupported,
on the withers of Eclipse, when in covering condi-
tion. Upright shoulders, however, being an im-
pediment to speed, obliquity of the scapula is
absolutely necessary, but we do not insist upon
their running fine at the withers. We consider the

FORM OF THE RACER. 47

shoulders of Eclipse to have resembled those of the
grey-hound, wide at the upper part, and nearly on a
line with the back. Large, or even what are called
coarse shoulders, contribute greatly to strength,
and are no impediment to speed, if there is proper
declivity of the scapula or shoulder-bone. The
withers, when high or thin, should enlarge gra-
dually downwards, and there should be four or five
inches between the fore-thighs, but less between
the fetlocks or ankles and the feet.

The true position of the limbs is a most material
point in the race-horse, as it causes him to stand
over more ground than one which is otherwise
formed, although possessing a more extended frame.
One of these essential points is, the setting on of,
and length in, the fore-arm, or part from shoulder
to knee in the foreleg ; and another is the declen-
sion of the haunch to the hock in the hind-leg,
which is termed " well let down in the thigh." It
is from having those points in excess that enables
the hare to describe a far greater circle, and cover
more ground at one stroke than any other animal
nearly double her size. In fact, the arm should
be set on at the extreme point of the shoulder,
which insures this act of extension, and also adds
to the declivity of the shoulder. The knee should
be broad and flat, and if appearing somewhat pro-
minent, the better. All the Herod legs had pro-
minent knees, and no legs stood work better than
they did. Concussion in galloping is diminished
in legs so formed. The cannon or shank, from
knee to fetlock, should be of moderate length in

48 THE RACE-HORSE.

the race-horse, (longer than in the hunter,) and,
above all, the leg should appear flat, not round,
with sinews and bones distinct, and the former
appearing to be very firmly braced. The pastern
of the race-horse should be long, lax, and rather
small than otherwise ; length and laxness serving
as springs, and smallness contributing to agility,
and consequently to perseverance or bottom. Some
comparison will hold good between this point in a
horse, and the " small of the leg,'"* as it is called,
of a man, in contradistinction to the calf. Under
the pressure of fatigue, no man complains of the
'^ small oi his lear'' sivins: him uneasiness, but his
calves often give him notice that he has done too
much. The hoof of the race-horse should be of
moderate size, in proportion with the leg above.

We have already alluded to the bone of the
thorough-bred horse, which much exceeds that of
any other variety of this animal in its compactness
and solidity ; which qualities, as the span in the
gallop must give a shock in proportion to its length,
are admirably adapted to the race-horse. We can-
not say of him, what Job said of the behemoth,
that " his bones are like bars of iron ;" yet, as in
proportion to the muscular power of the animal, is
the dense quality of the bone, that of the race-
horse need not, nor should not, be large. Expe-
rience teaches us, that bones very rarely break ;
fractures, when they do occur in racing, being
almost invariably in the joints ; and rather small
bone in the leg of a race-horse, supported by broad
and well-braced sinews and tendons, placed distinct

MILK OF THE MARE. 49

from the bone, and forming what is called a flat
and wiry leg, is most desirable, and found to be
indicative, not only of speed and endurance, but
likewise of soundness in severe work. It is only
those who are ignorant of the anatomical structure
of animals that fix the basis of strength in the bony
substances alone, not considering the muscular
appendages, which constitute the mainspring of
strength and action.

As the stronojest bodies owe their viojour to the
milk they receive in their infancy, our recommen-
dation to keep brood mares well will not be con-
sidered as unsuitable ; but the connexion between
milk and bone is also deserving of a remark. When
animal bones are divested of their oil and jelly, the
earth which remains is chiefly lime, united with
phosphoric acid. It is worthy of notice, that phos-
phate of lime is found in abundance in milk. This
seems to indicate, that Nature thought fit to place,
in the first nourishment of animals, a quantity of
osseous matter, with a view to the necessary cele-
rity of the formation and growth of the bones in
the earliest stage of their lives. This is one of the
numerous instances of the beneficence of the Creator,
exemplified by the science of chemistry, and shows
the advantages to be expected from a good flow of
milk in a mare that is well fed ; and it is a re-
markable fact, that the nearer the female approaches
to the period of parturition, the more is the milk
charged with this calcareous phosphate. Nor is it
until the digestive organs of the food are sufiicient-

E

50 THE RACE-HORSE.

ly streno:thened, to answer the purposes and work
of animalization, that this earthy salt disappears.

But to proceed with the form of a race-horse.
The race-horse should have length, but the length
should be in his shoulders and in the quarters ;
that is, the part posterior to the hips, and not in
his back. To give him that elegance of form for
which he is so conspicuous, there should be no acute
ans^le nor any straight line. His shoulders should
go into his neck at the points, unperceived^ and his
back should sink a little behind the withers, which
ogives his rider a good seat, and does not in the
least diminish his strength. On the contrary,
horses w^ith very straight backs are generally defi-
cient in their fore-quarters, as well as in their
action ; and we have known some very good racers
even what is termed hollow-backed. There should
be a little rise in the loins, just behind the saddle ;
but the race-horse should not be too closely ribbed
up. The ribs should stand out from the spine,
producing what is called a round barrel, together
with depth of carcass, a formation which not only
gives strength of body and constitution, but, by
admitting the intestines to be comfortably lodged
within the ribs, imparts freedom of breathing, ac-
tivity and beauty to the whole frame of the horse,
other parts being proportional. These useful points,
however, must not be carried to an extreme, or the
horse may be what is termed '' too heavy for his
legs ;'' and we know that lijxht-bodied horses save
their legs much in their gallops, which accounts

FORM. 51

for mares and geldings standing the severity of
training to a later period of life than stallions, by
reason of the former requiring less work, from not
generally carrying so much flesh as the latter.

There is no part, excepting the head, so truly
characteristic of high breeding in the horse, as his
haunch. If a little of the elegance of the parts,
however, is diminished by the width of the hips, it
will be recompensed by increased strength in the
animal, as is the case with broad-shouldered men ;
and when accompanied with good loins, these pro-
tuberances of the ilium can scarcely be too wreat
for the purposes of power and action. We next
come to the thigh, the form and substance of which
is most material to the race-horse ; for althouofh
horses are said to go with their shoulders, the
power to give the impetus in progressive motion
comes from behind. With all animals endowed
with, and requiring extreme rapidity of, motion,
the thigh is furnished with extraordinary powers
and length ; the hare, for example, whose thighs
are let down to a great extent for their size, and
the lower part of the hinder leg placed under them,
as that of the racer should be, from a proper curve
of the hock. The speed of the ostrich arises from
the power of the muscles from the pelvis to the
foot ; and the thigh of the fighting cock is a point
much considered by breeders of those birds. It is
not necessary that a race-horse's thigh should be
very large, but it should exhibit well developed
muscle. Descending lower in the limb, we arrive
at the hock, a very complicated joint, but the form

52 THE RACE-HORSE.

of which is most important in the race-horse. It
should be large and lean, and the point of it pro-
jecting behind the body, which greatly increases
the power of the lever in action, as will presently
be most satisfactorily shown.

The medium height, about fifteen hands two
inches, four inches to a hand, is the best for a
race-horse. As the long beam breaks by its own
weight, so large animals have rarely strength in
proportion to their size. In fact, if there were any
land animals larger than those we know, they
would hardly be able to move at all. On the Eng-
lish Turf, hov/ever, the very large horses that have
appeared at various periods of its existence, have,
with a very few exceptions, not been found so good
under high weights, as those of a medium height ;
and several instances are on record (Meteora,
Whalebone, Barker, Phantom, Lapdog, and others,
for example) of the best horse of his year being
very nearly the lowest.

Action. — As amongst the Egyptians, the lion
was the hieroglyphic of strength, so was the horse
of agility ; and truly nothing displays it more ele-
gantly than he does, when gamboling in a state of
liberty. In the race-horse, action, as in eloquence,
is the next thing to substance ; and virtus in
actione, should be the horse-breeder's motto. But
the action of the race-horse is of a nature peculiar
to his calling. He must not only possess great
stride in his gallop, the result of just proportion in
his limbs and moving levers, but also a quickness

ACTION. 53

in repeating that stride, or he would lose in time
what he gains in space. It is then when stride and
quickness are united, that the fleet courser is pro-
duced ; and in his race with Diamond, Hamble-
tonian is asserted to have covered twenty-one feet
at a stroke at the finish of it ; and Eclipse is gene-
rally believed to have covered eighty-three and a
half feet of ground in a second, when going at the
top of his speed, which, by a calculation by Mon-
sieur Saintbel, amounted to about twenty-five feet
of o:round covered at a stroke.

The action most approved of in a racer, as de-
scribing the greatest extent, with the least fatigue
to the animal, is what is termed on the Turf
" round action ;" that is, when, on a side view
being taken of a horse in his gallop, his fore-legs
appear to form a wheel or circle. Different ground,
however, requires different action ; aiid the large,
long striding horse may be beaten on a hilly, or
turning course, by one of a smaller size, but with
a shorter stride, which prevents the Newmarket
courses being a certain criterion of a good runner
at Epsom, which is very trying ground, by reason
of its acclivity, for the first half mile. The state of
the ground, likewise, whether wet or dry, soft or
hard, tells so much in a race, as often to give it to
Ji horse very little thought of at starting, as was
the case with Tarrare, winner of the St. Leirer, at
Don caster, in 1826. The celebrated Euphrates,
the winner of so many gold cups, and who ran till
he was in his teens, was nearly a stone below his
usual form, after even a hard shower of rain. This

54 THE RACE-nOESE.

variation of fleetness corroborates our assertion,
that the virtue of what is termed blood is me-
chanical, or, what is the same thing, that the ex-
cellence of all horses is mechanical, and that the
smallest deviation from a true formation of the
acting parts operates so powerfully as to render
them, under certain exertions, nearly valueless.

Wind. — It is true, " speed wins the race ;'' but
to make it available to the race-horse, it must be
accompanied by endurance, or " bottom." A great
promoter of this is clear wind, or freedom of re-
spiration, the want of which makes the war-horse
rebel in the manege, the hunter run into his
fences, the draught-horse fall, as if he were shot,
and the racer either stop, or bolt out of the course.
In fact, when the organs of respiration are fatigued,
all animals are nearly powerless. The cause of
good wind may be distinguishable to the eye, and
arises chiefly from depth in the forequarters, which
implies a capacious thorax or chest. However wide
a horse may be in his foreparts, he will not be
good-winded unless he is, at the same time, deep.
But still wind in the race-horse depends on some-
thing more, on the nature of his constituent and
component parts, which, if in proper proportion,
impart to him strength and agility, giving him
that easy action which will not readily fatigue
these organs of respiration ; and so enable him to
run on, when others, less gifted by nature than
himself, are forced to slacken pace. The good
effect of clear wind in a race-horse is in fact two-

wixD. 55

fold ; first, it gives him signal advantage in a
race ; and, secondly, horses thus organised require
less work to make them fit to start.

The following passage on this point is worthy of
remark : — " When the animal powerfully exerts
himself, a more ample supply of pure blood is re-
quired to sustain the energies of life, and the
action of the muscles forces the blood more rapidly
through the veins ; hence the quick and deep
breathing of a horse at speed ; hence the necessity
of a capacious chest, in order to yield an adequate
supply, and the connexion of this capacity of the
chest with the speed and the endurance of the
horse ; hence the wonderful relief which the mere
loosening of the girths afibrds to a horse blo^^^l and
distressed, enabling the chest to expand, and to
contract to a greater extent, in order to yield more
purified blood ; and hence the relief aftbrded by
even a short period of rest, during which this ex-
penditure is not required, and the almost exhausted
energies of these organs have time to recover.
Hence, likewise, appears the necessity of an ample
chest for the accumulation of much flesh and fat ;
for, if a considerable portion of the blood be em-
ployed in the growth of the animal, and it be thus
rapidly changed, there must be provision for its
rapid purification ; and that can only be effected
by the increased bulk of the lungs, and the cor-
responding largeness of the chest to contain them.'"**

Certain thorough-bred horses would deceive an

* Library of Useful K/Xtuledfje, Fanners' Series, " The Horse,"
p. 182.

56 THE RACE-HORSE.

inexperienced observer as to the real state of their
organs of respiration, by an appearance of difficulty
of breathins:, which, in reality, they do not possess.
The term for this apparent defect is, in one in-
stance, hard breathing, or high-blowing, and in
another " cracking the nostrils,"' Of the first de-
scription was the celebrated Eclipse, whose breath-
inc^ in his gallop could be heard at a considerable
distance ; and of the latter (still more common)
may be reckoned many of the best racers of past
and present days. Indeed, a race-horse cracking
his nostrils in his exercise, and snorting well after-
wards, are considered indicative of goodwindedness.
On the other hand, when a race-horse becomes a
roarer, which is a common effect of a severe attack
of the epizootic, called the Distemper, he is rarely
able to struggle in a race, although there have been
several instances of winners under such very un-
favourable circumstances.

Temper. — Temper is a property of much import-
ance to the race-horse, subject as he is to its influence
under more trying circumstances than most other de-
scriptions of horses. In the first place, his fine and
nearly hairless skin, softened and cleansed as it is
by frequent copious perspiration, is so highly sen-
sible to the friction of the wisp and brush, as to in-
duce him to try to rid himself of his tormentor, by
attacking the person who is dressing him, and thus
becomes vicious in the stable. It will also be re-
collected that he is at tJiis time, perhaps, in the
very highest state of condition and good keep of

TEMPER. 57

which his nature is susceptible. On the race-course,
again, he has often to encounter the (to him) un-
natural sound of music, and many strange objects ;
perhaps two or three false starts before he gets into
a race ; and too often, when doing his best in a
race, very severe punishment both by whip and
spur. It is in his race, however, and chiefly in
the last struggle for it, that the temper of the race-
horse is most put to the test ; and, if really bad,
he either runs out of the course, to the great dan-
ger of his rider, and to the inevitable loss of his
owner and those who have betted on his winning,
or he " shuts himself up," as the term is, and will
not head his horses, although in his power to do
so. It is evident, then, that breeders should not
send mares to stallions of known bad temper, as
nearly all those propensities are found to be here-
ditary ; and we could name one or two of the best
horses of the present day, who are generally re-
jected as stallions to breed racers from, by reason
of these propensities.

It would be absurd to draw a comparison between
the English race-horse in training, and the horse
of the Desert, " educated,'' as Mr. Gibbon elo-
quently says of him, " in the tents, among the
children of the Arabs, with a tender familiarity,
which trains him in the habits of gentleness and
attachment.'' Nevertheless, we are inclined to be-
lieve that the tempers of many naturally quiet
horses are made uncertain, and oftentimes decided-
ly vicious, by want of proper judgment, as well as
of good temper, in those who have the manage-

58 THE RACE-HORSE.

meut of them. Brutes, like men, demand a pecu-
liar mode of treatment, when we require them to
do their utmost for us ; and it is certain that this
principle holds good in regard to both, namely,
that^ in general^ kindness gains its pointy owelty pro-
"cokes resistance^ and a proper degree of sererity pro-
duces obedience. The panther, in the fable, knew who
fed her with bread, and who pelted her with stones ;
and we may be assured, that so noble and high-
spirited an animal as the horse feels with acuteness
sensations of pleasure and pain.

We often hear it asserted that the British
thorough-bred horse has degenerated within the
last few years, and is no longer the stout and long-
endurino^ animal that he was in the byojone cen-
tury, particularly during the last twenty years of
it. We are inclined to believe that there is some
truth in this. We do not think we have such
good four-mile horses, as they are termed, as for-
merly, which we consider easily accounted for.
They are not wanted, very few four-mile races
being now run, even at Newmarket or in the coun-
try, and, therefore, a different kind of race-horse is
sought for. It may, however, be true, that the
inducement to train colts and fillies, at a very early
period of their lives, for these short races, has had
an injurious effect on their stamina, and, conse-
quently, on the stock bred from them. Formerly
a horse was wanted for a lifetime, now he is cut up
in his youth to answer the purposes of perhaps but
one day ; — a system, we admit, quite at variance
with the original object of horse-racing, which was

DETERIORATION OF THE MODERN BREED. 59

intended to benefit the community, by being the
means of producing, as well as displaying, the con-
stitutional strength of the horse in its very highest
perfection. Another cause may have operated in
rendering thorougli-bred horses less powerful than
they were, or less capable of enduring severe fatigue.
During the period of high weights and long courses,
horses and mares were kept on in training until
after they had arrived at the age of maturity,
neither did they begin to work so soon ; whereas
now, no sooner have they won, or run well for some
af our great three-year-old stakes, than they are
put into the stud to produce racing stock, which is
perhaps to be used much in the same manner as
they themselves have been used, or, we should have
rather said, abused.

But, admittinsr this alles^ed fallins: off in the
powers and performances of the British thorough-
bred horse, it may be the result of causes uncon-
nected with those already noticed. Although there
may be no era of greater intellectual brightness
than another in the history of any animal but man,
yet, as is signified by Plato in the eighth book of
his Republic, there have always been periods of fer-
tility and sterility of men, animals, and plants ;
and that, in fertile periods, mankind, as well as
animals, will not only be both more numerous, but
superior in bodily endowments, to those of a barren
period. This theory is supported by the relations
of ancient historians, in the accounts they give of
animals which nowhere exist at present, and in

60 THE RACE-HORSE.

the properties they. ascribe to some of those which
now do exist.

But to return to the alleged alteration for the
worse in the British race-horse. We admit the
fact, that he is not so good at high weight over
the Beacon at Newmarket, or any other four-mile
course, as his predecessors were, whose descent was
closer than his is to the blood of Herod and Eclipse,
and the descendants of that cross, said to be the
stoutest of any. Nevertheless he is, in his present
form, more generally adapted to the purposes to
which the horse is applied. He has a shorter, but
more active, stroke in his gallop than his predeces-
sors had, which is more available to him in the
short races of the present time than the deep rate
of the four-milers of old times ; and as he is now-
required to start quickly, and to be on his legs, as
the term is, in a few hundred yards, he is alto-
gether a more lively active animal than formerly ;
and, as such, a useful animal for more ends than
one. In former days, not one trained thorough-
bred horse in fifty made a hunter. Indeed, few-
sportsmen had the courage to try the experiment
of making him one. He went more upon his shoul-
ders, as well as with a straighter knee, than the
modern race-horse does, and required much greater
exertion in the rider to pull him together in his
gallop. All those sportsmen, however, wdio remem-
ber such horses as the late Earl Grosvenor's John
Bull and Alexander, must admit, that, in form
and substance, they were equal to carrying the

SPEED. 61

heaviest weight across a country, and the last men-
tioned horse was the sire of several very powerful,
at the same time very brilliant hunters. But as it
is action after all that carries weight, the thorough-
bred horses of this day are not deficient in that
respect, unless undersized ; and there are more
thorough-bred hunters at this period, and have
been more for the last thirty years, than were ever
known before. This improvement in action also
qualifies the full-bred horse for the road, whereas
formerly not one in a hundred was fit to ride off
turf. Indeed daisy-cutters and thorough-bred horses
were nearly synonymous terms ; but at present a
young lady on a bit of blood is an every day sight ;
and a young gentleman on any thing else in the
parks, or on his road to hounds, is become rather
a rare one. This is a very saving clause to breeders
of race-horses, as a market is now generally found
for such as are undersized, or tried to be deficient
in speed for racing ; whereas in former days, a bad
race-horse was, like Rosinante, neither saleable nor
pawnable.

Speed. — All animals in a state of domestication
exhibit powers far beyond those that are natural
to them in their wild state, and writers on the
horse have advanced to the utmost verge of possi-
bility, in recording the maximum speed of the
English race-horse. Most of the instances stated
by them, such as Flying Childers having run a
mile in a minute, are unsupported by authority,
and therefore not worthy of regard. That the

62 THE RACE-HORSE.

horse, however, has ever been considered the swift-
est beast of the forest, may be gathered from the
frequent allusions to his fleetness bj inspired as
well as by heathen writers. Thus, the chariot-
horses of Oenomaus, King of Elis, were said to be
begotten by the w^nds, emblematical of their pro-
digious swiftness ; and Homer represents the steeds
of Achilles to be the produce of Zephyrus (the
west wind, said to be the swiftest of any) and Po-
darge, whose name signifies speed. Nor is Virgil
far behind the rest in his encomium on the fleetness
of his colt, which he makes to challeno^e the verv
whirlwind itself. As it is speed, however, that
wqns the race, it is most essential to the race-horse
provided it be accompanied by stoutness ; and un-
less we wish to fly through the air like Pacolet on
his w^ooden horse, we may be contented with the
speed of the present English race-horse. Perhaps
the following is a fair specimen, and as it is of a
late date, the same uncertainty does not attach to
it that hangs over the unsupported traditions of
our earlier racing days. In 1832, Theodore, the
property of the Honourable Edward Petre, and
winner of the Doncaster St. Leger Stakes, ran the
distance, being one mile seven furlongs, or two miles,
all but one-eighth part of a mile, in three minutes
and twenty-three seconds, carrying 8 stone 6 pounds.
He was trained by the late Mr. Croft, who also
trained the second and third horses in the same race.

Expenses of a Breeding Racing-Stud. — Some
persons must be breeders of race-horses, but whe-

EXPENSES OF A BREEDING STUD. 63

ther to profit or loss depends on various circum-
stances. Amongst them may be reckoned the
following: — Judgment in selecting the parent stock
or blood ; conveniences for keeping the produce
well and warm, and on land suitable to breeding ;
and plenty of money at command, to enable a
breeder to purchase mares of the very best racing
families, and to put them to the best of stallions.
When this is the case, we think breeding (we
mean quite distinct from risk in racing) would sel-
dom fail to pay, if the foals were sold off at wean-
ing time, or even at a year old. A few years back,
eight of the Earl of Durham's foals realised £1^^
a-piece ; and, still later, several of ]\Ir. NowelFs
(of Underley Hall, Westmoreland) yearlings fetched
the enormous sum of i^oOO. No doubt, in all studs
great loss is sustained by a certain proportion of
the young stock which promise to be small and not
worth training ; but here breeders are often de-
ceived. For example, the late Lord Grosvenor
sent Meteora, the best mare in England of her day,
to Chester Fair, when two years old, to be sold for
=£16, because she was considered as too small ; and
he also suffered Violante, the best four-mile racer
of her day, to be sold, untried^ for .£^50, but fortu-
nately purchased her again. The great prices,
however, occasionally paid to breeders for some
horses, (4000 guineas, for example, to the Earl of
Jersey for Mameluke, the like sum for Priam, and
3000 guineas a-piece have lately been given for
other three-year-old colts,) make up for the loss
inseparable from such as, by mis-shape, diminutive

64 THE RACE-HORSE.

size, and casualties, are culled out, aud sold for what
they will fetch, which seldom amounts to much.

Value of Stakes and Prizes. — Agamemnon is
made to say, that that man would be rich who had
treasures equal to the value of the prizes the horses
had won, which he offers to Achilles. We are
inclined to think, that if this King of Argos could
come amongst us now, he would find prizes more
valuable than any contended for in his time ; and
that sterling cash, and not " the bubble honour,""
is the main object of the British sportsman on the
Turf. But here is the inducement to incur the
great expenses of a racing breeding-stud. It is
possible that a three-year-old colt might have won
last year, at three starts, the enormous sum of
8350 guineas.* But even this is comparatively
trifling when compared with the doings on the Turf
in the New World. A produce stakes of 5000
dollars each, 1000 forfeit, is to be run for over the
New York Union Course in 1843, for which the
produce of twenty-nine mares are named ; and,
supposing all to come to the post, the owner of
the winner would be entitled to receive 145,000
dollars ! The stakes closed in January 1839, and
the distance to be run is four miles.

Colour of the Thorough-bred Horse. — The
beauty of forms observable in the animal system is

* Vide Racing Calendar, 1834, for amount of the twentieth Riddles-
worth stakes, at Newmarket ; the Derby and Oaks, at Epsom ; and
the St. Leger stakes, at Doncaster.

COLOUR. 65

subordinate to their general utility, and they please
us in proportion to their aptitude to unite these
two objects. We admire the elegant make of a
swan, but the pleasure is doubled when we behold
the ease and dignity of its motion. The colours,
however, which Nature has bestowed with such
profusion upon the surface of some of these animals,
birds in particular, exhibit beauties independent of
aptitude, and could only have been intended for
their adornment. The prevailing colour of the
thorough-bred horse is peculiarly elegant and
chaste, being a bright bay, with black mane and
tail, and black legs to correspond, although occa-
sionally relieved with a small white star on the
forehead, or a white heel of the leg. It is remark-
able, that what may be termed vulgar colours, such
as light sorrel, or dun, or brown with mealy muzzle,
are very seldom met with in the thorough-bred
liorse ; and we know but one instance of the pie-
bald, and very few roans.* Black is not common
nor approved of, although several of our best racers,
almost all the Trumpator blood, have been of that
colour, Smolensko amongst them. The real chest-
nut prevails a good deal, and is quite equal to the
bay in the richness and brightness of its hues.
Such was the colour of Eclipse, and, as is the case
with game-fowls, in the breeding of which there
are instances of a reversion to the original colour,
after fifteen descents, it is not uncommon for
thorough-bred stock to be chestnuts, although got
by a bay stallion out of a bay mare, or from sire

* See The Cocker, by W. Sketchlet, Gent. Lond. 1814.

66

THE RACE-HORSE.

and dam of any other colour, provided the blood
runs back to his, Eclipse's, source. Indeed, a
small dark spot which that celebrated horse had
on his quarter has been frequently found in his
descendants in the fifth or sixth generation.

It is an old and trite saying, that " a good horse
cannot be of a bad colour ; '' nevertheless, colours
of horses are, to a certain extent, indices of their
physical powers. Such has proved to be the case
with men ; and it was found in the ill-fated Rus-
sian campaign, that men of dark complexions and
black hair bore the severity of the climate better
than men of an opposite appearance to them. It
is, however, rather a remarkable fact, that by far
the greater number of eminent English prize-
fighters have been men of light, not dark, com-
plexion. The ancients reckoned thirteen colours
of horses, giving the preference to bay (badices.)

The half-bred Racer. — A second-rate descrip-
tion of racer has lately been very prevalent in
England, Newmarket excepted, known by the term
" cock-tail,'' or half-bred horse, as he is called, but
improperly so termed, because the stain in him is
generally very slight indeed, and too often difficult
to be traced. Many objections are raised by sports-
men, who are thorough racing men, and who wish
well to the Turf, against the cock-tail racer, and
for very good reasons. In the first place, if really
half-bred, he resembles the royal stamp upon base
metal, for no half-bred horse is deserving the name
of racer, nor will he always stand the necessary

COCK-TAILS. 67

preparation. Secondly, what are called half-bred
stakes, some of which are very good, have been the
cause of a great many frauds being committed, by
bringing horses to run for them under false pedi-
grees, which will ever be the case, from the great
difficulty of proving a horse to be thorough-bred,
whose dam may have been purchased by accident,
or in some clandestine way, and still perhaps of
pure racing blood. Again, as there is no scale by
which the degree of impure blood, which qualifies
a horse for these stakes, can be measured, the
breeder of the cock-tail, of course, avails himself of
the parent stock in which the slightest possible
stain can be shown, which indeed has been at-
tempted to be show^n in some of the best race-
horses of later times. In this case, an animal is
produced against which no half-bred horse, in the
proper acceptation of the term, has a chance, and
he sweeps the country of all the good stakes ; and
some such horses (Habberley, for example) have
proved themselves superior to many of the thorough-
bred racers of their year. But the breeding of
horses for these stakes is any thing but beneficial
to the country, the great object of racing. It
encourages a spurious race of animals, often pos-
sessing the faults of the blood-horse without the
strength and activity of the hunter, and it was for
the latter description of horse that this stake w^as
first intended. Bona fide hunters' stakes would be
advantageous, if open to all horses bringing certifi-
cates of their having been regularly hunted through-
out a season, but not merelv ridden bv a bov to

68 THE RACE-HORSE.

see a fox found ; and giving no allowance to the
horse called " half-bred.'' Let the best hunter
win, which would encourage the breeding of strong
thorough-bred horses, w^hich make the best hunters
of any — a fact no one who has ridden many of
them will deny.

Weatherby's GrENERAL Stud-Boox. — To assist
in the detection of spurious blood, and the correc-
tion of inaccurate pedigrees, is the chief purpose of
this excellent publication, now increased to a third
volume, and forming a part of every sportsman's
library. Some attempts have been made by Mr.
John Lawrence, a voluminous, but by no means a
correct, writer on the Horse, to disturb the pedi-
grees of several of the first stallions of their time,
and from which several of the distinguished racers
of the present day are descended ; and all upon
hearsay evidence, without being able to substan-
tiate one single fact in proof of his vague assertions.
He has doubted the pedigree of Echpse, put the
blood of Sampson into Highflyer, where it never
existed, and has thought proper to pronounce
Sampson to have been a low-bred horse, on the
authority of some old Yorkshireman he picked up
on the road, although in his last work on the
Horse, he admits him to have been one of '• the
truest four-mile horses that our Turf has produced ;
was but once beaten, and also proved a capital
stallion, as sire of Bay Mollon, Engineer," &;c.
Such matters as this would be scarcely worthy of
notice, were it not with a view of cautioninfj the

PEDIGREE. 6*9

public, foreigners in particular, from being led into
errors respecting the purity of our racing blood.
Sampson was an animal of immense power, so were
John Bull and Alexander ; he might have had
coarse points — so have the stock of Partisan and
Blacklock, two of the best stallions of the present
day ; but who would deny their purity of blood on
that account ? Mr. Lawrence has been often called
to account for these and similar mis-statements,
but he is inaccessible to correction. Sic accept^
Anglice, " As I have heard,"" is the main founda-
tion of many of his assertions, and he claims the
woman's privilege of having the last word.

THE HUNTER.

THE HUNTER.

DIFFICULTY OF PRESCRIBING PRECISE RULES FOR BREED-
ING GENERAL DIRECTIONS TO BE FOLLOWED — TRAIN-
ING OF COLTS FORM SIZE COURAGE ACTION

LEAPING PURCHASE OF A HUNTER.

There is no description of horse which could be
applied to so many purposes, racing excepted, as
the powerful English Hunter. Setting aside his
own peculiar services in the field, he is fit to carry
a man on the road, on the field of battle, and he
answers for every kind of draught. Indeed, we
are inclined to believe no horse would equal him in
ploughing ; and as for road-work on harness, either
slow or fast, nothing could touch him, in a carriage
properly suited to his powers. It is, however, no
less true than singular, that out of a hundred
sportsmen assembled at the meeting of a pack
of fox-hounds, not half-a-dozen would be found
mounted on horses which they themselves had
bred. This arises from two causes, — first, the
greater part of them have not patience to await the
arrival of a youns: horse at his best, and conse-
quently sell the few they do breed, without giving
them a fair trial ; and, secondly, such has, of late
years, been the prejudice against riding mares in the

PRESENT PRACTICE IN BREEDING. 7J

hunting field, that they have been chiefly left in
the hands of farmers and yeomen, who are become
the principal breeders of English hunters. Neither
do hunters find their road direct from the breeder
to the studs of noblemen or gentlemen. They
generally go through the hands of an inferior
country dealer, from whom they are bought by the
principal London and country dealers, and sold by
them to the sportsmen of the various hunts. There
are, of course, exceptions to this proceeding. A
great proportion of English yeomen and farmers
are very excellent horsemen, and, as such, having
the capability of making their young horses into
hunters, and, distinguishing them by riding them
afterwards with hounds, obtain now and then as
high a price for them as they fetch after having
passed through the hands we have described. It
is, however, to be lamented that the last-mentioned
description of persons, the breeders and trainers of
young hunters, do not, for the most part, realize
such large prices as the first, although fully entitled
to it, as a reward for their trouble and skill.

It is impossible to lay down any precise rules
for breeding hunters, so many collateral circum-
stances being necessary to be taken into considera-
tion. For example. Pennant, in his Zoology, says,
" Our race-horses are descended from Arabian
stallions, and the genealogy faintly extends to the
hunter.'' From this we learn the interesting fact,
that a wonderful change, within the last sixty or
seventy years, has taken place in the form and
character of this sort of horse, inasmuch as, in the

72 THE HUNTER.

opinion of some of the first of our Enii^lish sports-
men, and sucli as put the powers of the horse to
the most severe test, the hunter of the present day
is not in his perfect form unless quite thorough-
bred. This part of the subject we shall discuss
hereafter ; but as there are several of our hunting
counties not at all suited to this description of
horse — namely, the thorough-bred hunter — and a
large portion of our sportsmen who, some by rea-
son of their weight, and others from prejudice
against them, neither can nor will ride them, we
may safely assert, that not more than a twentieth
part of English hunters are at this time of quite
pure blood. We will, however, set forth what we
consider the best properties of the full-bred and
the half-bred hunter, as also the most probable
means of breeding each kind to advantage ; at the
same time venturing an opinion, that, when their
individual capabilities are put into the scale of
excellence, the balance will incline to the former.

One great obstacle to the general success in
breeding hunters is, not so much the difficulty of
access to good stallions, but of making breeders
believe that it would be their interest to send their
mares to such as are good, although at an extra
expense. Most rural districts, in other respects
favourable to horse-breeding, swarm with covering
stallions, the greater part of which have proved
very bad racers ; but which, falling into the hands
of persons who are popular characters in their neigh-
bourhood, and covering at a low price, get most of
the farmers'* brood mares sent to them, their owners

PRESENT PRACTICE IN BREEDING. 73

never reflecting, as they gaze upon these mis-shapen
animals, that Nature will not go out of her course
to oblige them, but that, in the animal creation,
" like begets like." Neither does the evil stop
here. So much is this made a matter of chance
instead of one of judgment, should the produce of a
mare sent to one of these bad stallions be a filly
foal, and she proves so defective in shape and action
as to be unsaleable at a remunerating price, she
remains the property of her breeder, and in time
becomes herself a brood-mare. What, then, can be
expected from such produce ? Why, unless chance
steps in and supplies the defect of judgment, by
the procreative powers of the male, in the case of a
better sire being selected, so far exceeding those
of the female, as to produce a foal free from the
defects of the dam, another shapeless, unprofitable
animal is produced. Nevertheless, in the course of
time, perhaps this produce, if a female, however
bad she may prove, is also bred from, and thus a
suocession of shapeless horses is produced, to the
certain loss of the breeder, and much to the injury
of the community. Under the most favourable
circumstances, and with the aid of good judgment,
we cannot consider horse-breeding to be a certain
source of gain ; yet there are many inducements
to try it as one branch of rural economics. The
money goes out a little at a time, or by degrees,
and therefore it is suitable to such occupiers of land
as cannot embark in more extensive speculations,
and it returns in a lump, oftentimes at a most wel-
come moment, and, in many instances, of sufiicient

G

74 THE HUNTER.

amount to render the average of former less profit-
able years sufficient to cover expenses, if not to leave
a profit. There is likewise another inducement to
breeding horses ; we mean the pleasurable excite-
ment inseparable from all human speculations, from
which more than an ordinary return may be looked
for, which is the case here ; added to the nearly uni-
versal interest attached to the breeding and rearing
of every species of domestic animals.

With respect to brood-mares designed for breed-
ing hunters, we admit that circumstances, not al-
ways within control, have their weight. An occu-
pier of land is possessed of a mare or two w^hich he
thinks may breed hunters, and having them, it may
not be convenient to him to replace them by those
which might be more likely to breed good ones.
But the choice of a stallion is always within his
control, and he should not spare trouble, and mode-
rately increased price, in his selection. It is well
known to all hunting men, that the stock of certain
horses have been remarkable for making good hun-
ters (we could name many of present and past
times,) and that there are such horses always to be
found, on seeking for them. A few pounds extra,
laid out by the breeder in putting his mares to
such horses, are sure to be amply repaid ; for the
produce would be generally sought after and pur-
chased, even previously to their being tried. Eng-
lishmen know of no such restrictions, nor do we
wish the}" ever should ; but the interference of the
governments of several European states as to stal-
lions for the use of their respective countries, reads

DIRECTIONS FOR BREEDING. 75

US a useful lesson on this head ; for it is well known,
on the other hand, that a great number of stallions
to which English hunting mares have been put,
have been equally remarkable for begetting soft
infirm stock, quite unequal to endure, for any length
of time, the severe work of a hunter. It should
also be borne in mind, that even a first-rate racer
may not be a propagator of first-rate hunters. The
former is called upon to exert his powers on very
different ground, and under very difi"erent weight
to the latter, and the action which may suit one
may not suit the other. This accounts for the
stock of certain thorough-bred horses, which were
very indifferent racers, proving very excellent hunt-
ers. We have already given it as our opinion, that
a cross of Arabian blood is a great desideratum in
that of an English hunter, and we need not urge
this point farther; but if breeders would reflect,
that the expenses of rearing a bad colt equal those
of rearing a good one, they would attend more than
they do to the following nearly unerring directions.
Firsts Observe peculiarity of shape in horse and
mare. As length of frame is indispensable in a
hunter, if the mare be short, seek for a stallion
likely to give her length. Again, if the mare be
high on her legs, put her to a short-legged stallion,
and mce versa ; for it is possible that even a hunt-
er's legs may be too short, a racer's certainly may
be. In fact, to form a complete hunter, it is neces-
sary he should be more perfect in his shape than a
racer, which will admit of imperfections that would
quite disqualify the other.

76 THE HUNTER.

Secondly^ Look to constitution. As no descrip-
tion of horse endures the long-continued exertion
that a hunter does, this is a point to be attended
to. But it may be overdone. Horses of a very
hard nature, very closely ribbed up, consequently
great feeders, with large carcasses, seldom make the
sort of brilliant hunter now the fashion in England.
Besides, one of this description requires so much
work to keep him in place and in wind, that his
legs must suffer, and often give way when his con-
stitution is just in its prime. Horses with mode-
rately sized carcasses last longest ; and, provided
they are good feeders, will come out quite as often
as they ought to do, and are invariably good winded
and brilliant, if well-bred and of good form, with a
few other requisites. We never saw a very closely-
ribbed, large carcassed horse, brilliant as a hunter,
and we know such form is not approved of in the
race-horse.

Thirdly^ and lastly^ Let the breeder of any kind
of horse be careful in avoiding either sire or dam
that has proved constitutionally infirm. As has
been already shown on very high authority, perfect
or defective conformation is not less likely to be
the result of a proper or improper selection of horse
and mare, than disease to be inherited from parents
that have been constitutionally diseased, or health
from such as have been healthy. We could name
stallions whose stock have been blind ; others af-
flicted with splents, curbs, and spavins, and a mare
which produced three roarers by three different
sires. But it may be said, that splents, curbs, and

PREJUDICE AGAINST MARES AS HUNTERS. 77

spavins, are the result of malconformation of the
parts. Granted ; but avoid all such malformation
which is quite apparent to the eye, in a breedinfr
stud. It may perhaps be carrying this objection
too far, were we to say, we would not breed from a
mare or horse, which had become groggy or lame in
the feet, from diseased navicular joints. Had the
feet been more vigorously constituted, perhaps such
lameness might not have occurred ; yet it is but
too probable that here the predisposing cause may
be traced to over-severe treatment, and not to con-
stitutional defect.

We have already expressed a regret at the pre-
vailing prejudice against mares as hunters, admit-
ting, however, that they are not to be so much
depended upon at certain periods as the other sex.
Nevertheless, no year passes over our heads that
we do not hear of mares eminently distinguishing
themselves on the race-course, in the hunting-field,
and on the road. Indeed, the majority of the
extraordinary feats performed on the road have been
performed by mares. As relates to breeding hunt-
ers, however, this prejudice against them is most
injurious in two ways. First, it takes off so much
from the value of a filly, as in few cases to leave
the mere cost of breeding and rearing her; and,
next, many a mare, which would have proved a
capital hunter, had she been tried, and, as is rea-
sonable to suppose, a capital brood mare as well, is
lost to the hunting world by being sold for harness
purposes ; and then, if good, so ruined in constitu-
tion as to be totally unfit to breed from. On the

78

THE HUNTER.

other hand, were mares more generally used as
hunters, all such as proved themselves good, that
is, were stout, and had the peculiar kind of action
that enabled them to go well on deep ground, over
ridge and furrow, and were good leapers, might for
the most part be relied upon for producing good
ones to succeed them. It may likewise be observed
that, as in this case, the risk would be diminished,
more people would breed hunters than do at pre-
sent ; and it is very generally admitted, that, at
this time, so great is the scarcity of young horses
likely to make hunters, were it not for those annu-
ally imported from Ireland, the demand would far
exceed the supply.

Next in importance to the judicious selection of
sire and dam, is the rearing of the colt, which it is
intended should make a hunter. It was the remark
of a gentleman, who kept fox-hounds more than
half a century, that " great part of the goodness of
a horse goes in at his mouth," and nothing is more
true. In the work called " Nimrod on the Condi-
tion of Hunters,"" (p. 223, first edition,) is the fol-
lowing passage: — '' It is my confirmed opinion,
that unless a colt be what is called ' deformed,' it
is in the power of good keep, exercise, and physic,
to make him what is termed ' a fine horse,' and one
which will sell for a large price, either for harness
or the saddle. No one who has not witnessed it,
is aware of the improvement in shoulders, thighs,
gaskins, &c., from good old oats, accompanied by
regular work and proper riding." Breeders of hunt-
ers may be assured that such is the case ; and that

TRAINING OF COLTS.

79

it is of little use to breed colts with the expectation
of their making first-rate horses, unless they keep
them 'eery well in their colthood. They should also
be treated <zs horses at a very early age. They
should be ridden gently, and by a light man, or
boy, with good hands, at three years old, across
rough ground, and over small fences ; and at four
they should be shown hounds ; but they should
only follow them at a distance, and after the fences
are broken down ; for, if put to take large leaps at
that tender age, they are apt to get alarmed, and
never make first-rate fencers afterwards. Above
all things, avoid getting them into boggy ditches,
or riding them at brooks ; but they should be prac-
tised at leaping small ditches, if wath water in them
the better, in the middle of a field, the rider put-
ting them at them in rather a brisk gallop. This
gives them confidence, and, the natural result, cou-
rage. With respect to the use of the bar, and
teaching colts to leap standing over it, the practice
is now condemned, and the system of letting them
become timber jumpers, by taking it, as it comes,
in crossing a country, is preferred, the present rate
of hounds not admitting of the time occupied in a
standing leap.

Some sportsmen adopt, and we believe with good
effect, what is termed the " circular bar." Every
description of fence that a hunter is likely to meet
with, is placed within a prescribed circle of ground,
and in this is the colt exercised or " lounged,'" as
the term is, the man who holds him standing upon
a sta^re in the centre. As another man follows him

80 THE HUNTER.

with a whip, he is forced to take his fences at a
certain pace ; and, in a very short time, a good
tempered colt will take them with apparent plea-
sure.

At five years old it is customary to consider a
horse as a hunter ; but we are inclined to demur
here. It is true, that if a colt has been very well
kept, on the hard meat system, he is enabled to go
through a good day's work with hounds at five
years old, being quite equal to a six-year-old, which
has been kept on soft food, and not sufficiently
forced by corn ; yet it is always attended with dan-
ger of injury to his joints and sinews, if not to his
general constitution ; and we cannot pronounce a
horse to be a hunter until he has passed his fifth
year. As muscular action, however, produces mus-
cular growth, he should not be kept in idleness
during his fifth year, but should be ridden to cover,
or with harriers, before Christmas ; and when the
ground gets dry and light in the spring, a good
burst with fox-hounds may not do him harm. We
do not, however, consider any five-year-old horse
fitting or safe to carry a gentleman over a country,
as he cannot be sufficiently experienced to take a
straight line.

We have known some masters of fox-hounds who
have preferred purchasing yearling colts, or wean-
lings, at Michaelmas, to breeding them for their
own use. The classical reader cannot fail calling
to his recollection here the practical lesson which
Virgil, in his third Georgic, imparts on this head ;
neither can the purchaser of such animals do better

PURCHASE OF COLTS. 81

than follow it to the very letter. Should he fix
upon the one which, as he describes him, —

" Primus et ire viam, et fluvios tentare menaces
Audet, et ignoto sese committere ponti,"

he would be pretty certain of having in due time a
first-rate hunter, that would turn his tail to no-
thing.* Nor should the breeder overlook the poet's
advice to keep his young stock well, if he wishes to
have them in the high form (and can any thing be
finer?) in which the one of his own choice is pre-
sented to us in this most splendid passage.

There are undoubtedly certain advantages at-
tending purchasing yearling colts, with the view of
making hunters of them. Such only may be se-
lected as appear calculated for the country they are
intended to cross, and the weights they will be called
upon to carry ; whereas, were the master of hounds
to depend on the produce of his own mares, he
might be disappointed in being able to select the
number he would require to replace, in due time,
the vacancies which occurred annually in his stud.
We should consider the sum of thirty-five or forty

* The writer of this article recollects " a case in point," as the law-
yers say, with reference to this system of purchasing promising colts.
A farmer had, amongst others, a yearling colt, which he did not
dream of making a hunter of, by reason of his being out of a cart-
mare, until, on the hounds running over his farm, he perceived him
follow them, which he continued to do till the fox was killed at the
end of a long chase. His owner was, in consequence, induced to
ride him with hounds, when he became a horse, and a capital hunter
he made, in the late Sir Richard Pulerton's hunt, the property of a
yeoman of the name of Humphrey Hughes of Altrey, one of the best
riders in the said hunt. The writer himself offered seventy pounds
for this horse, when he was half worn out, but his offer was refused.

THE HUNTER.

guineas for a good colt, at weaning time, a fair re-
muneration to the breeder, and well laid out by the
purchaser.

Previously to giving directions for the purchase
of a full-grown hunter, we shall proceed to exhibit
him in his highest form, although we are aware of
the difficulty, on certain subjects, of conveying,
clearly, an idea from our own mind to that of an-
other. We shall, however, endeavour to make our-
selves understood by describing each individual
point. As to the form and shape of a hunter's
head, as we do not ride upon it, it is not of much
consequence, provided it be well hung on, and that
is of the very highest importance, not only, as we
have shown in the race-horse, on account of his
respiration or wind, but unless it be so, he cannot
be pleasant to ride. Not only must his jaws be
wide, but when we consider that the head of a
horse hangs in a slanting position from the extre-
mity of the neck, and that the neck itself projects
a considerable distance from the chest, on the mus-
cular strength and proper formation of the neck
must depend whether a horse be light or heavy in
hand, and consequently pleasant or unpleasant to
ride. A weak or loose neck may not be so mate-
rial, as we have before observed, to the race-horse ;
he is generally ridden in a martingale, and in
that case always ; add to which, his race is soon
run. Nevertheless, we like to see the neck of the
race-horse rise out of the shoulder with a tapering
curve, in which case he is pleasant to ride in his
gallop, and, if a hard puller, his jockey has much

FORM. 83

more power over him than if his neck be loose
and low. But, in a hunter, the proper position
of his head is a point of the greatest moment^ as
without it his rider cannot handle him properly
at his fences ; and if he be not a regular star-
gazer, he is always more or less dangerous to ride
over a country. The proper junction of the head
with the neck, and the carrying of it well or ill,
depend chiefly on two particular muscles contained
in the neck. The most important of these is called
the splenius muscle, which constitutes the principal
bulk of the neck above, and its action is sufiiciently
evident, namely, very powerfully to elevate the
head and neck. The principal beauty of the neck,
indeed, as well as the carriage of the head, depends
on this muscle ; and its ample development is a
point the sportsman should attend to in the choice
of horses that are to carry him with hounds. A
certain degree of muscularity of the neck is abso-
lutely necessary in a hunter, and it is greatly pro-
moted by good keep in colthood ; also by delaying
the period of castration till the second year, which
should invariably be done, when the want of this
muscularity is apparent in the first. It must, how-
ever, be observed, that there is a medium in this
muscularity of the neck, although excess is the bet-
ter extreme of the two ; for when the neck of a
horse appears, like that of a sheep, to rise out of
the chest, and so far from being arched above, and
straight below, is hollowed above, and projects be-
low, such a horse is nearly worthless for any plea-

84 THE HUNTER.

surable purpose, as his head cannot, by any means
whatever, be got into a proper place.

It has been said, that a horse with a long neck
will bear heavy on the hand. We do not believe
that either the length of the neck, or even the bulk
of the head, has any influence in causing this.
They are both counterbalanced by the power of the
ligament of the neck. The setting on of the head
is most of all connected with heavy bearing on the
hand ; and a short-necked horse will bear heavily,
because, from the thickness of the lower part of the
neck consequent on its shortness, the head cannot
be rightly placed. The head and neck, however,
should be proportioned to each other. A short
head on a long neck, or a long head on a short
neck, would equally oS'end the eye.

Although length of neck in a hunter is not de-
sirable, length of shoulder is indispensable. Horses
have raced well with short upright shoulders ; but
it is impossible that one so formed, however good
he may be in his nature, or even in his general
action, can be a safe hunter, and for this reason :
A hunter is constantly subject, by down-hill leaps,
leaping into soft ground, and getting his fore-legs
into grips, or unsound ground, to have the centre
of gravity thrown forward beyond the base of his
legs ; and it is more or less recoverable according
to the length or shortness of his shoulder. By
length of shoulder is meant obliquity of the scapula,
or shoulder-bone, by which the point of the shoul-
der is projected forward, and which, added to the

FORM. 85

obliquity of the scapula, enables the rider to sit
considerably behind, instead of nearly over the fore-
legs, or pillars of support, which, on a short and
upright-shouldered horse, he must do. One remark,
however, must be made respecting the oblique shoul-
der. It is sometimes not sufficiently supplied with
muscle, with which the upright shoulder generally
abounds. We therefore recommend purchasers of
young horses for hunters, to give the preference to
what may appear coarse shoulders, nay, even in-
clined to be somewhat round, or flat on the withers,
provided they are accompanied by the necessary
and absolutely essential obliquity of the shoulder-
bones.

The setting on of the arm, which should be
strong, muscular, and long, is of much importance
to a hunter. By the length of this part in the
hare, as we have already observed, added to the
obliquity of her shoulder, she can extend her fore-
parts farther than any animal of her size : in fact,
she strikes nearly as far as the greyhound that pur-
sues her, by the help of this lever. The proper po-
sition of the arm of the horse, however, is the re-
sult of an oblique shoulder. When issuing out of
an upright shoulder, the elbow joint, the centre of
motion here, will be inclined inward ; the horse
will be what is termed " pinn'd in his elbows,"
which causes his legs to fall powerless behind his
body ; and he is seldom able to go well in deep
ground. There are exceptions, but they are rare.
A full and swelling fore-arm is one of the most
valuable points in a horse, for whatsoever purposes

86 THE HUNTER.

he may be required ; and although we have occa-
sionally seen hunters with light thighs carry weight
well, we never have seen it so carried by horses de-
ficient in their arms.

If sportsmen were to see the knee of the horse
dissected, they would pay more attention to the
form and substance of it than they generally do.
It is a very complicated joint, but so beautifully
constructed that it is seldom subject to internal
injury. Its width and breadth, however, when
considerable, are great recommendations to hunters,
as admitting space for the attachment of muscles,
and for the accumulation of ligamentous expansions
and bands, greatly conducive to strength. Below
the knee is a point on which we will not say much
here, as we have already alluded to it in our re-
marks on the race-horse. We mean the shank, or
cannon bone, and its appendages. It can scarcely
be too short in a horse that has to carry a heavy
man ; round legs are almost sure to fail ; those of
the hunter should be flat, with the back sinews
strong, detached, and well braced. This consti-
tutes what sportsmen call a " wiry leg.""

The fetlock is also a complicated joint, and very
liable to injury. In a hunter, it should be large
and strong. But as regards his action, the pastern
is still more material, and also to his standing
sound. Very few horses with short pasterns can
go well in deep ground, and for this obvious rea-
son— the action of the joint is destroyed by get-
ting below the surface of the ground, and is of
course sooner immersed than when it is longer.

FORM. 87

But a greater evil than this attends a short pas-
tern. It is the predisposing cause of navicular
lameness, particularly in horses carrying weight,
owing to the foot being deprived of that elasticity
which a longer pastern affords, and which conse-
quently relieves the concussion on the foot coming
to the ground in gallopping and leaping, as well as
on the hard road. Horses with short, and, conse-
quently, upright pasterns, cannot be pleasant to
ride, and they seldom stand many seasons'* work.
Excess in either should be avoided, but of the two,
a hunter is less objectionable, from the extreme of
length, than of shortness, in this most material
part.

That the foot of the hunter should be wide, is
also obvious to the meanest capacity, independent
of its beino: the form most conducive to health.
The nature of the ground he. has to travel over
requires at times the widest base he can present to
it, as a foundation for his great bulk, and thus the
farmer carries out his manure upon tender land, in
a broad and not a narrow-wheeled cart. Xenophon
relates, that certain people of Asia were accustomed,
when snow lay deep on the ground, to draw socks
over the feet of their horses, to prevent them sink-
ing in it up to their bellies ; and we know why an
ox sinks less in soft ojround than a horse does. It
is because his foot enters it expanded, by means of
the division of the hoof, and when he draws it out
it is contracted. The foot of the hunter, however,
should not be too wide, or it may operate against
his speed.

88 THE HUNTER.

The position of the fore-legs of the hunter ad-
mits of more latitude than that of his hinder ones,
or indeed of any other part of his frame. We have
seen brilliant hunters standing in all positions and
postures as regards their fore-legs. Some very
much over the knees — that is, with the knees bent
and projecting outward ; many upon very twisted
fetlocks, turning the toes out ; and a few, though
only a few, turning the toes in. In the human
frame, a certain squareness in the position of the
feet is consistent with strength, as we see in the
statues of Hercules, but the lightness of a Mercury
is indicated by the direction of the toe outwards.
This is, to a certain extent, the case with the
horse. Although, if measured by the standard of
perfection, his toe is required to be in a direct line
with the point of his shoulder, yet we have seen
and heard of some of the speediest and best racers
and hunters, the position of whose fore-feet have
deviated considerably from this supposed essential
line ; but the inclination of the toe outwards is so
common in horses used for these purposes, that it
can scarcely be called a fault. Indeed, some per-
sons argue, that a leg so placed afibrds a broader
base to the superincumbent weight, than when
quite in a line with the shoulder — that is, provided
the twist arises from the fetlock, and not from the
settins: on of the arm at the shoulder. Be this as
it may, we are well assured that, provided the
hinder legs and quarters are good, a hunter will
admit of a considerable deviation from the true line
in the fore-legs, and carry his rider brilliantly. It

FORM. 89

is well-known, that a much more twisted fore-legged
horse could not well be seen, than the celebrated
Clipper, the property of the equally celebrated Mr.
Lindow, for many years said to be the most bril-
lian hunter in Leicestershire.

But there is one portion of the fore-quarters of
the hunter to which a rule must be applied that
will not admit of an exception. He must be deep
in his chest or brisket — that is, from the top of the
withers to the elbow. Numerous are the narrow
but deep horses, in their " girth," as the term is,
that have carried heavy weights, in the first style,
with hounds ; but no matter how wide a horse may
be, if he have not depth, he cannot carry weight,
and is very seldom a good-winded horse, even under
a light man. One of the greatest compliments,
then, that can be paid to a hunter, at first sight,
is, that he appears two inches lower than he really
is. Such, however, is the case with horses whose
growth has been forced in their bodies by good
keep when young, and thus they come under the
denomination of " short-legged horses," so much
esteemed by hard riders. They are likewise, for
the most part, better leapers than such as have less
growth in the body, and stand upon longer legs.

We have before observed, when speaking of the
race-horse, that large bone is not required in his
cannon or shank, (the part from knee to fetlock,)
neither is it in the hunter. The real power of all
animals is in the muscles, sinews, and tendons ;
and the leg best calculated to carry weight and
endure to a good old age, is that in which the bone

90 THE HUNTER.

is small, but of a dense and perfect texture, and in
which three convexities can be very plainly distin-
guished— namely, the bone ; the elastic ligament
behind the bone, called the sinew; and, behind
that, the flexor tendojis, large^ rounds and strong.
The rare combination of strength with lightness is
here beautifully displayed, and is one of the many
instances which might be produced, to show how
Nature delights to work with the least possible
expense of materials.

The hunter should have length in his shoulders
and quarters, and, to a certain extent, also in his
back. It is true that horses with short backs carry
weight best up a steep hill, which, as that is the
worst method in which this animal can employ liis
strength (in man it is the best,) shows that heavy
men should ride short-backed horses. For hunters,
however, that are ridden in our best hunting coun-
tries, which, previously to being laid down in grass,
were thrown up by the plough into high ridges,
with deep furrows, must have moderate length of
back, or they cannot go smoothly over such ground.
Good loins, with width of haunch (the tis a tergo
being so necessary in leaping, as well as gallopping
on soft ground,) need scarcely be insisted upon ;
and we now proceed to the hinder-legs, the proper
or improper form of which makes the difference
between a good or bad hunter, if a horse with badly
formed hinder-legs can be called a hunter at all.
But a horse with short, straight, and weak thighs,
cannot make a good hunter. Even admitting that
they are not weak, but short and straight, yet the

FORM. 91

objection remains, because he cannot, in the latter
case, be pulled together in his gallop, nor have his
stride collected to enable him to take his fences
properly ; and, what is not generally known, he is
almost certain to be a hard puller. Indeed, some
good judges go so far as to assert, that horses with
straight hinder legs, never have good mouths, and
there is much truth in the remark, as their form
will not admit of their being " pulled together,'" as
the horseman's term is, in their quick paces, and
without it no horse is safe. A long and muscular
thigh, then, with a clean well-placed hock, is one
of the most material points in a hunter, and also
one by which the duration of his services may very
nearly be measured ; as when much out of the true
form, either inclining inwards, like the cow, or out-
wards, like the bandy-legged man, disease is almost
certain to attack this very complicated but beauti-
fully contrived joint, when put to severe exertion,
especially in soft ground. The shank- bone of the
hinder-leg, below the hock, ought to be equally well
supported by sinews and tendons with that of the
fore-leg ; and the pastern of the hind-leg should re-
semble that of the fore-leg, moderately long, strong,
and oblique.

But such is the paramount importance of the
liock in the hunter, that we transcribe the following
admirable description of one most material point
in it : — " The most powerful of the flexor or bend-
ing muscles are inserted into the point of the
hock, or the extremity of the os calcis ; and in
proportion to the projection of the hock, or, in

92 THE HUNTER.

other words, the length of this bone, will two
purposes be effected. The line of direction will be
more advantageous, for it will be nearer to a per-
pendicular ; and the arm of the lever to which the
power is applied will be lengthened, and mechanical
advantage will be gained to an almost incredible
extent. Suppose this bone of the hock to be three
inches in length, the joint formed by the tibia and
the astragalus is evidently the centre of motion,
and the weight concentrated about the middle of
the shank is the obstacle to be overcome. If the
weight be four times as far from the centre of mo-
tion as the power, a force equal to four times the
weight would raise it. It is, however, here to be
remembered, that it is not merely the weight of
the leg which is to be raised, but the weight of the
horse, for the time resting upon the leg, and that
weight to be propelled or driven forward. At what
shall we calculate this ? We may fairly suppose
that the muscles, whose tendons are inserted into
the point of the hock, exert an energy equal to 4000
lb. Let us further suppose, that an inch is added
to the point of the hock, which will be an addition
of one-third to its length : a muscular power of less
than 3000 lb. will now effect the same purpose.
The slightest lengthening, therefore, of the point
of the hock will make an exceedingly great differ-
ence in the muscular energy by w^hich the joint is
moved, and a difference that will wonderfully tell
in a long day's work. On this account, the depth
of the hock, or the length of the bone of which we
are speaking, is a point of the greatest importance.

FORM. 93

There is, however, a limit to this. In proportion
to the length of this bone, must be the space which
it passes over, in order sufficiently to bend the
limb ; and in that proportion must be the contrac-
tion of the muscle, and consequently the length of
the muscle, that it may be enabled thus to con-
tract ; and, therefore, if this bone were inordinately
lengthened, there would require a depth of quarter
which would amount to deformity. A hock of this
advantageous length is, however, rarely or never
met with, and it is received among the golden rules
in judging of the horse, that this bone of the hock
cannot be too long."'*

Hunters which carry very heavy men cannot
excel in the field, unless they exhibit those just
proportions in their limbs, and all the moving levers,
necessary to produce full liberty of action, but not
too long a stride. Well placed hinder-legs, with
wide hips, well spread gaskins, and great depth of
chest, are essentials, together with as much of the
ms a tergo, as is consistent with a not unsightly
back, commonly called " a hog-back." Well knit
joints, short cannon bone, moderately oblique pas-
terns, with rather large feet, are not only points
from which great physical powers may be expected,
but they are necessary to the duration of them in
the horse we are now alluding to. As, however, it
is an axiom in the animal creation, that the parts
which add to strength diminish swiftness, hunters
to carry more than sixteen stones well with hounds,

* Library of Useful Knowledge, Farmers' Series, " The Horse,"
p. 272.

.94 THE HUNTER.

at the pace they now run, are always difficult to
be procured, and ought to command large prices.
The stamp of animal most approved of for this pur-
pose, is the short-legged, thick, but well-bred horse,
not exceeding sixteen hands in height, but appear-
ing, to the eye, half a hand below that standard.
As for his general appearance, it is " handsome is,
that handsome does," in this case ; and we must
not look for beauty in all his points.

Having now described each individual external
part of the horse essential to his being a good hun-
ter, we shall, in a few words, exhibit him to the
reader's view in what we consider his best form.
He should have a light head, well put on, with a
firm, but not a long neck ; lengthy, and conse-
quently oblique, shoulders, with very capacious
chest, and great depth of girth ; a long, muscular
fore-arm, coming well out of the shoulder, the elbow
parallel with the body, neither inclining inward nor
outward ; a short cannon or shank, with large ten-
dons and sinews, forming a flat, not round leg ; an
oblique pastern, rather long than short, and an open
circular foot ; the back of moderate length, with
well-developed loins and fillets, and deep ribs,
making what is termed by sportsmen a good " spur-
place." From the loins to the setting on of the
tail, the line should be carried on almost straight,
or rounded only in a very slight degree. Thus the
haunch will be most oblique, and will produce a
corresponding obliquity in the thigli bone, which
formation is peculiarly characteristic of the well
bred horse. The dock of the tail should be large,

SIZE. 95

the buttocks close together, and the fundament
small, and somewhat resembling the front or eye of
the pippin apple. The thighs should be muscular
and long, rather inclining inwards, with large lean
hocks, the points appearing to stand somewhat be-
hind the bod}^ which will bring the lower part of
the hind-leg, or shank, under it. The shank, fet-
lock, and pastern of the hinder-leg, should exactly
resemble those of the fore-leg, as also should the
foot. The legs should appear short, from the great
depth of chest, and well-proportioned substance of
the body, or middle-piece.

The stature of the horse is no more absolutely
fixed than that of the human body, but a medium
height is considered as best for a hunter, say fif-
teen hands, two or three inches. For one good
horse over this height, there are a hundred under
it. In fact, there are, in the operations of na-
ture as well as of art, limits which they cannot sur-
pass in magnitude, and it is known that no very
large animal has strength in proportion to its size.
That the horse has not, the pony affords proof, if
any other were wanting. Even the heaviest weights
find horses about the height we have fixed upon
best calculated to carry them. There have been
many extraordinary instances of horses, little more
than fourteen hands high, being equal to the speed
of hounds over the strongest counties in England,
for example, Mr. William Coke's " Pony," as he
was called, many years celebrated in Leicestershire ;
but they are not pleasant to ride, by reason of the

96 THE HUNTER.

fences, when high, appearing higher to the rider
than when he is mounted on a taller horse.

Temper and mouth are essential points in a hun-
ter. The former adds much to his value, not only
as it contributes to the pleasure and safety of his
rider, but a horse of a placid temper saves himself
much in a long day^s work with hounds, and espe-
cially when there is much leaping. Indeed, fretful
horses are proverbially soft, and not generally to
be depended upon at a pinch, which caused Shak-
speare to make them the symbol of false friends.
Thus Julius Csesar exclaims,

" Hollow men, lilie horses, hot at hand,

Make gallant show, and promise of their mettle ;
But when they should endure the bloody spur,
They fall their crest, and, like deceitful jades,
Sink in the trial."

A hunter should have courage, but nothing more,
to make him what he is required to be, namely, not
afraid to leap at any fence his rider thinks proper
to put him at. His mouth will depend upon two
things ; first, upon the judgment of the person who
breaks him in, in his colthood ; and, secondly, upon
the position of his hinder legs, but chiefly upon the
first. It ought to be endowed with so great sensi-
bility, that the slightest motion of the bit should
give him warning, and direct his course, which is
significantly implied by Horace, when he said, " the
ear of a horse lies in his bridle.'"* It is true, that
what we call the " mouth*" of a horse, is an artifi-
cial feature, at all events, a figurative term for his

THE MOUTH. 97

being easily acted upon by the bridle ; but it is a
point of the utmost importance in a hunter. With-
out it, in short, he is absolutely dangerous to ride ;
for although the skill and power o£ his rider may
prevent his running away, yet he is always in dan-
ger of being placed in some unpleasant situation or
other by him. In the first place, he cannot be a
large fencer, nor safe at all sorts of leaps, if he will
not suffer his rider to pull him together, to collect
him for the effort of rising at them. Secondly, he
is as dangerous in going through gates, only partly
opened. Thirdly, if the horse immediately before
him should fall at a leap, he is very apt to leap
upon him, or his rider ; and, lastly, his strength is
sooner exhausted than that of a horse, perhaps not
naturally so good, which is going quietly, and
within himself, by his side.

JNo doubt many of the ancient writers were good
judges of horses, although they were deficient, com-
pared with the moderns, in availing themselves of
their highest capabilities. Were a purchaser of
a hunter to look no further than the first chapter
of Xenophon 'tts^i i'Trmxyjg, he would find hints that
would be well worthy his attention ; and nothing
can be more expressive of the evils attending a bad
mouth, in a horse of this description, than the fol-
lowing sentence from Pliny, " Equi sine frsenis de-
formis ipse cursus, rigida cervice, et extento capite,
currentium," which may be thus translated : The
career of a horse without a bridle is disagreeable,
carrying his neck stiff, and his nose in the air.
When we consider how often it is necessary to

98 THE HUNTER.

pull up, or to turn a horse very short in crossing
enclosed countries, the value, even on the score of
comfort, of a good mouth, cannot be too highly ap-
preciated by the sportsman.

We now come to the action of the hunter, which,
after all, is the main consideration. He should
have energy in all his paces, but he may have too
much of what is generally called action. Nothing
conveys to us a better idea of that which is adapted
to his business, than the concluding sentence of a
huntsman of former days, when describing to his
master a capital run with his hounds. " The old
mare," said he, " carried me like oil.'''' The action
of the hunter should be smooth^ or it will not last.
His stride in his gallop should be rather long than
otherwise, provided he brings his hinder legs w^ell
under his body ; and the movement of the fore-legs
should be round, but by no means high. Above all
things, there should be no " dwelling^'''' as it is called,
in the limb coming to the ground ; a great obstacle
to speed, but often the accompaniment of excessive
action in the fore-legs. But the test of action in
the hunter, is in what sportsmen call '' dirt," that
is, in soft, tender ground, or when passing over such
as appears dry on the surface, but is not sufficiently
so to bear his weight. It is not exactly in the
power of the best judges to determine whence this
peculiar excellence, which some horses possess over
others apparently well-proportioned, arises, for which
reason the eye should never be depended upon in
the selection of horses for the field. Wisdom here
can only be the produce of experience ; and. many

ACTION. 99

sportsmen have paid dear for it on this particular
point. In fact, next to ascending steep hills under
great weight, nothing puts the physical powers
of a horse to so severe a test, as carrying a heavy
man, at a quick rate, over a country that sinks
under him at every step. Mere strength alone
will not do it. It must be the result of a combina-
tion of strength with agility, good wind and speed,
to produce which, the most perfect arrangement of
the acting parts — although the exact symmetry
and proportion of them may not be exactly discern-
ible to the eye — are requisite, and, we may be as-
sured, are present. As the beauty of all forms is,
in great part, subordinate to their utility, a horse
of this description, that is, one which can carry six-
teen stones well up to hounds in any or in all coun-
tries, at the rate they now run, not only, as has
before been observed, commands a very high price,
but, to a person who loves to study nature, presents
a feast to the eye.

A hunter should be what is called very quick as
well as very fast ; by which is implied, that he
should not only have great speed, but that he should
be very quick in regaining his speed after taking
his leap, or being pulled up from any other cause.
One so gifted will cross a country, especially a close
one, in less time than one that is more speedy, but
not so " quick on his legs," as Jockies term it. It
is also very agreeable that a hunter should be safe
in his slow paces on the road ; and, if a fast trot-
ter, he relieves himself by changing the action of

100 THE HUNTER.

the muscles, when the pace of hounds so far abates
as to allow him to break into a trot.

Leaping. — One of the greatest accomplishments
in a hunter is being a perfect and safe leaper. The
situation of a sportsman riding a horse that is " un-
certain,"*" as the term is, at his fences, may be com-
pared with that of the philosopher, which Cicero
describes in his Tusculan Questions, as seated on
the throne of Dionysius, gazing upon the wealth
and splendour that surrounded him, with a naked
sword suspended over his head by a single thread.
But a horse following hounds often leaps under very
great disadvantaofes, which accounts for the nume-
rous falls sportsmen get. Putting aside the labour
of rising from the ground, which, to the horse, with a
weight on his back, must be great, from the earth's
attraction and the body's gravity, he has often to
take his spring without any fixed point for support ;
whereas, in most other cases, leaping takes place
on a fixed surface, which possesses the power of re-
sistance in consequence of its firmness. Neverthe-
less, although the surface yield to a certain degree,
leaping can still be performed, notwithstanding the
retrograde motion of the surface produces a great
diminution in the velocity of the leap, compared
with that which is made from firm ground ; and
the velocity is always greater in proportion as the
resistance is perfect. Thus it is, that we find
horses able to cover much greater obstacles in Lei-
cestershire, and the other grass countries, where

LEAPING. 1 01

the taking off for the leap is generally good and
sound, than they can cover in ploughed and marshy
districts, where they have not that advantage,
from the less firm state of the soil. We shall now
endeavour to point out the form most likely to con-
stitute a good leaper.

The very worm that crawls on the ground first
carries its contraction from the hinder parts, in
order to throw its fore parts forward; and it is
chiefly from the ms a tergo^ or strength of back,
and hinder quarters, that the power of leaping in a
horse is derived. It must, however, be admitted
that oblique shoulders give him a great advantage,
by enabling him to extend his fore quarters ; but
if his loins be loose and weak, and his hinder-legs
ill placed, with weak hocks, he cannot make, in
any one''s hands, a safe and perfect leaper. But the
position of his head has something to do with it.
A plank placed in equilibrio cannot rise at one end
unless it sinks at the other ; and although a horse
in light harness cannot, for appearance' sake, carry
his head too high, provided he be obedient to the
rein, the hunter should carry his low. A colt,
running wild, never raises his head when he leaps,
but lowers it, and so should the hunter ; and he is
always less liable to fall in galloping over a country
when he carries his head low ; likewise, in horses
with lengthy shoulders, the seat of the rider is
rather benefited than injured by it.

The sort of fence that stops hunters more than
any other description of obstacle, is a wide brook ;

102 THE HUNTER.

and, like all other wide places, it takes a good deal
out of him, if he clears it. Lengthy horses are the
best brook jumpers ; but they require good loins
and hinder quarters as well, and, above all things,
courage. Unless a horse takes a wide brook in his
stroke, he is almost sure to be in it ; for which
reason he is generally ridden fast at it, and, for the
most part, not allowed to see it till he comes close
to it. Immense space has been covered by horses
when jumping brooks, particularly when there has
been a difference of elevation of the banks in favour
of the horse. We have heard of thirty feet and
upwards from hind foot to hind foot ; but half that
space in water is considered a good brook, and even
if the banks are sound, stops a great part of the
field. When unsound, it requires a horse, coming
under the denomination of a " good brook-jumper,''
to clear it without a fall, and particularly, if to-
wards the end of a run.

To be a good timber leaper is a great desideratum
in a hunter, although many horses are great tim-
ber leapers, and yet from their form, never make
good hunters. It only requires a short backed,
truss-horse for this purpose ; and he can dispense
with the general length so necessary to the com-
plete hunter. Good and well-formed thighs, how-
ever, are necessary. For those hunting countries,
such as Cheshire, where the hedge is generally
placed on a bank or " cop," as it is there styled,
rather a short but very active horse performs best.
But he must be very good in his hinder-legs, and

LEAPING. 103

very quick in the use of them. Wall jumpers come
within the same class with timber jumpers as to
make and shape.

There is one faculty in which the horse is want-
ing, that would, if he possessed it, give him a great
advantage in leaping. In the human species, the
power and influence of feeling are inherent, in a great
degree, to the very tips of the fingers ; but the horse
has no proper organ of feeling or touch. When a man
takes his spring for a leap, or leaps on the top of
any substance, he has a distinct and certain sense
or knowledge of the nature of the ground from
which he has sprung, and of the substance on which
he has alighted ; but, from the insensible nature of
the horse's hoof, such feeling is, in a great measure,
denied to him, and indispensably so too. Still,
however, there are a few instances upon record of
horses going very well over a country even after
having undergone the operation of neurotomy, by
which all sensibility, from the fetlock downwards,
has been destroyed.

Looking at the pace of hounds, and the manner
of riding after them, which have so materially
changed within the last half century, it is insisted
upon by some that the hunter of the present day
ought to be of full blood. Eeasoning from analogy,
indeed, between the powers and capabilities of one
and another, we are decidedly in favour of that
breed which has the greatest share of strength
within the smallest compass ; and such is decidedly
the character of the thorough-bred horse. Inde-
pendently of this, the thorough-bred horse, when

104 . THE HUNTER.

perfect, and with substance, is peculiarly fitted for
what a hunter is called upon to perform ; and those
persons who assert to the contrary, can only do so
in ignorance of the nature of his constituent parts.
He has more depth and declivity in the shoulders
than the lower bred horse has, and is consequently
clearer in his wind. By these means, he can bet-
ter extend and elevate his fore-feet in going over
rough ground, and at his leaps ; and, by the curve
or circular figure he makes with his hinder-legs, he
stands more secure on all kinds of ground, and,
above all things, he bears being pressed better than
any other description of horse ; for, although blown,
he soon recovers his wind. Having said this, it
may scarcely be necessary to add, that several of
our first-rate sportsmen of the present day will not
ride any thing that is not of full blood ; and such
description of horse, when perfect in his work, as
well as in his form, commands the highest price.

Nevertheless, the necessity for the thorough-bred
horse in the field is belied, by the experience of all
unprejudiced sportsmen ; and even in Leicester-
shire, where the best studs are to be found, not a
twentieth part of the hunters are of that descrip-
tion. But this perhaps arises from three causes.
First, there is a difficulty in procuring full-bred
horses to carry even moderate weights, and speed
is but a second attribute to a hunter. He must
have sundry other qualifications ; and the most
prevailing objections to the thorough-bred horse
are generally these. He is apt to be deficient in
substance to carry high weights over rough and

THOROUGH-BRED HUNTERS. 105

deep countries, without trespassing too much on
the virtue of his high descent. Secondly, he is
incHned, and especially if he have been trained, to
be shy of facing rough and thorny fences, by reason
of the delicate nature of his skin, rendered so by
repeated sweats in clothes, when in training. It
often happens, indeed, that even the cheering in-
fluence of hounds, which has so much effect on
other horses, will not induce him to take them.
In fact, which may appear extraordinary, he does
not appear to have in the field the courage of the
half-bred horse. Lastly, his feet are apt to be
small, in which case he sinks deeper in soft ground
than does the lower-bred horse, whose feet are
larger and wider, and thus suffers more than the
latter does in crossing a deep country. As for his
powers of endurance under equal sufferings, they
doubtless would exceed those of the cock-tail ; and,
being by his nature what is termed a " better
doer" in the stable, he is sooner at his work again
than the other. Indeed, there is scarcely a limit
to the work of full-bred hunters of good frame,
constitution, and temper.

A sportsman, partial to thorough-bred hunters,
should either breed them, or purchase them, not
exceeding two years old. If he breeds them, he
should select large and bony mares, putting them
to horses who have hunting action, such as Tramp
had, and several more we could name ; and, if he
buy them, it will be his fault if he do not buy
those of the right stamp. From their never hav-
ing been trained, but ridden over rough ground in

106 THE HUNTER.

their colthood, they would have freer and higher
action, and, when castrated at a proper age, would
very rarely fail making first-rate hunters. But it
may be asked, why subject them to the enervating
operation of castration, which, as Percival says,
stamps their form and character with the seal of
imbecility and pusillanimousness ? Our answer
here is, that we would not do it, if experience did
not show that by far the greater number of entire
horses, used as hunters, are either dangerous in a
crowd, and when pressed upon in gateways ; or
given to refuse their fences, w4ien they feel them-
selves somewhat distressed ; and, if once well tired,
are not to be depended upon afterwards. When
free froui these defects, they are doubtless superior
to either geldings or mares.

Purchase of a Hunter. — Although it may not
be necessary that a person should be perfectly ac-
quainted with the mechanical structure of the
horse's frame, according to the laws of nature, to
render him a good judge of a hunter, yet, fortu-
nately for such as have them to sell, vast numbers
of persons purchase hunters from very slight expe-
rience of them, regardless of the proverb of, " he
hath a good judgment who doth not rely on his
own." There is also another proverb, prevalent,
we believe, in Spain, which well applies here : —
" He that would buy a mule without a fault must
not buy one at all ; "*** and, although faultless hun-
ters may be as rare as faultless riders of them, we
will offer a few hints to a person in the act of pur-

PURCHASE OF A HUNTER. ] 07

chasing one, addressing him in the colloquial
style.

First, bear in mind the country you are about
to hunt in, whether flat, hilly, firm, soft, open, or
enclosed, and refer to the remarks we have made
on the sort of horse we have adapted to each ; only
be assured, that, in an open country, especially if
a hilly one, nothing has a chance with a thorough-
bred horse, in good form, and not over- weighted.
Secondly, consider well your weight, and be sure
to have at least a stone to spare. A light man on
a light horse throws away all the advantage of
being light, and can go no faster, or leap larger
fences, than a heavy man on a strong horse, for
strength will he served. Until you try him, it is
hard to say what horse will make a hunter, but the
following indices may induce you to try him : — If
he appear well-bred, with a loose, bright skin,
which may be called his complexion ; observe that
his hair does not stand hollow from the skin, par-
ticularly about the poll of his neck. If you find
him standing over a good deal of ground, it is a
sure sign that he has got length where it ought to
be ; not in the back, but from the obliquity of his
shoulders, and the arm being set on at the extreme
point of his shoulder, which so much contributes to
the act of extension of the fore-parts in galloping,
leaping, and clearing grips. Next examine minutely
his thighs and hocks, being especially careful to
observe the position of the point of the hock-bone.
Above all things, avoid a short, and also an over-
topped horse. The former will never carry you to

108 THE HUNTER.

your satisfaction, however good he may be in his
nature ; and the latter, from being too heavy for
his legs, will seldom last many years. As for the
minor points, common observation alone is want-
ing. Have his head placed in such a situation
for inspection, as will enable you to satisfy your-
self that he has perfectly organised eyes, free from
incipient cataract, sometimes rather difficult to be
detected ; and as for his age, there are but two
ways of satisfying yourself on that point. By his
teeth till about eight years old ; afterwards by the
state of his legs, which are, in fact, the best test of
his value, the best proof of what he has done, and
the sure source of speculation as to what he may
hereafter be expected to do. Observe, also, his
joints, that no material injury has been done to
them by blows, &;c., and that they are strong.

But the purchaser of a hunter must not trust to
his eye. Neither must he be satisfied with him,
how well soever he may gallop with him upon sound
land. It is the peculiar excellence of " going well
through dirt" that renders a horse valuable for all
our best hunting countries ; and no man can assure
himself that a horse has this peculiar excellence,
until he puts him to the test. The best method
of doing it is this — The rider should put him
along at a good pace, with a slack rein, upon sound
ground, letting him find himself all at once upon
that which is soft and holding. If, on quitting
the former, he cringes more than might be expected
under the weight, and shortens his stroke much,
he must not purchase him for a hunter. He may

PURCHASE OF A HUNTER. 109

go well over a light, down country, but he will
never distinguish himself over a heavy one, as he.
will be going in distress, when other horses are
going comparati vely at their ease. Horses possess
gradations of excellence in this natural qualification
or gift, more than in any other, but in it consists
the summum bonum in a hunter ; inasmuch as,
whatever may be his other good qualities, they are
all useless, when the acting parts are, from this
cause — namely, deep ground — easily over-fatigued.
The w/iter himself has good reason to acknowledge
the soundness of this advice in the trial of hunters
prior to purchase. He once gave 220 guineas for
a horse, from seeing him go well over the Oxford-
shire hills, where the ground was sound : when he
rode him in the vale of Bicester, in the same county,
where the ground was of an opposite nature, he
proved to be worth little more than as many shil-
lings. With regard to a horse's wind, a purchaser
must not judge hastily of that, in a horse not in
strong work. Should he not perceive any thing
like whistling in his respiration, when he puts him
along at a quick pace, and his chest is capacious
and deep, and his head well set on, he is not to
reject him, in case he appears blown by a short
gallop. Condition and work will rectify that ; but
many a good hunter has been rejected on this
account, by persons not taking into consideration
the state of his bodily condition, in a trial of this
nature ; and the writer can produce an instance
that bears on this point. He purchased a horse
from a London dealer, and on his arriv^al in the

110 THE HUNTER.

country, a neighbour wished to have him, and at a
pretty high premium, as the term is, for he was
very perfect in his form. On having him examined,
however, after giving him a gallop, by a veterinary
surgeon, he was pronounced thick-winded, and the
deal did not take place. He, however, turned out
a capital hunter, and became the property of the
present Lord Wenloch, then Mr. Beillby Lanley,
at a large price.

The price of the hunter varies with the times,
and, no doubt, is as much regulated by the price of
wheat as the quartern loaf is. During the war
prices, the sum of a thousand guineas was occa-
sionally given, and that of five hundred guineas
frequently. Half the last-mentioned sum now com-
mands a first-rate hunter. But first-rate horses,
in all ages of the world, have ever produced extra-
vagant prices. It is recorded of Alexander the
Great, that he gave four Roman talents for Buce-
phalus, which approaches near to the Melton Mow-
bray prices, and those, we may safely conclude,
stand at the head of the list.

Ill

THE HACKNEY,

THE COVER HACK THE PARK HACK THE LADY S HORSE

FORM OF THE HACKNEY HEIGHT STRENGTH

IMPORTANCE OF SOUND FEET ACTION AND PACES

THE PACK HORSE THE COB — THE GALLOWAY THE

PONY.

Under this term are comprised the following :
— The Cover Hack, the Park Hack, the Lady's
Horse, the Roadster, the Cob, the Galloway, and
the Pony.

The difficulty of procuring really good hacks is
admitted by all persons who have kept them for
the various purposes of either business or pleasure,
and for the following obvious reasons. First, very
few people try to breed hackneys, therefore, al-
though we require them to be nearly perfect in
shape and action, (and perfect they should be to
be " really good hacks,"') they may be said to be
failures in the breeding stud after all. Secondly,
by reason of their appearing to be failures in their
colthood, they are not forced into good shape, as
more promising young horses are, by high keep
and care. Lastly, if a man has a really good hack,
he is unwilling to dispose of it at the price gene-
rally given for such animals. But a question

112 THE HACKNEY.

arises, What is a good hack? It cannot be an-
swered but with reference to another question,
namely, What description of person is he to carry ?
The horse that a sober citizen of London or Edin-
burgh would call a perfect hackney to carry him to
his country seat, would not be worth five shillings
to a Newmarket or a country jockey, or as a cover
hack to a Leicestershire or Warwickshire sports-
man. We will commence, then, with the cover
hack, and describe the others in their turns.

The Cover Hack of the present day is very dif-
ficult to be procured, because he must unite, with
the good qualities of the roadster, the requisites
and accomplishments of the hunter. In fact, he
must be a hunter in miniature ; and, after all, the
form of the hunter is the best calculated for a road-
ster. He must be fast in all his paces, able to
gallop well on deep or soft ground, and equal to
carrying his rider over moderately-sized fences ;
and if taught to leap timber standing, his value is
proportionally increased. But, above all things,
he must go from twelve to fifteen miles in the
hour, when wanted, without showing any symp-
toms of distress ; and he is too often unnecessarily
called upon to perform much more than this, by
his owner delaying the period of his leaving home
in the morning, for the purpose of meeting hounds.
It may also be observed, that it is not every sports-
man who keeps two cover hacks, although he may
keep six or eight hunters ; and it often happens
that the cover hack does more work than any

THE PARK HACK. 113

horse in the stable, although in justice it should
be stated, that the same care in the stable is now
taken of him as of the best hunter in it.

Unless to carry a great weight, the cover hack
should be all but thorough-bred, if he cannot be
procured of quite full blood ; with excellent legs
and feet, lengthy and elevated shoulders, and with
a susceptibility of mouth that will not only enable
his rider to keep him well on his haunches, to
guard against danger when going fast on all sorts
of roads, but as tending to lessen the fatigue of
ridino^ him ; and the streno^th of his rider should
be reserved for his day'^s diversion after hounds.
The chief pace of a cover hack should be the can-
ter ; and his temper should not be overlooked, for
if fractious, and a puller, he will add much to the
fatigue of a severe day's sport. A horse of this
description, nearly fifteen hands high, young and
sound, will command from sixty to a hundred
pounds. The other points essential to a good
road hackney, which will be noticed hereafter,
apply equally to the cover hack.

The Park Hack of the present day is the race-
horse in miniature. To be quite a la mode, he
should be thorough-bred, with a very neat head,
beautifully set on, and a switch or " bang'" tail ;
and so well bitted as to be ridden with a slack rein.
He should have much liberty in his walk, which,
and the canter, should be his chief paces. He
must have great obliquity of shoulder, with a cor-
responding true formation of hinder quarters, and.

114 THE HACKNEY.

above all, well-bent hinder-legs ; in which case, if
the position of his fore-legs enable him to put his
feet down properly, which will be explained in de-
scribing the general action of the hackney, he will
be, if good tempered, and not given to fret, the
perfect park hack.

The Lady's Horse is, after all, the most difficult
to obtain, because he ought to approach very near
to perfection. His paces, mouth, and temper,
should each be proportioned to the power and capa-
bility of his rider ; and he should be proof against
alarm from either noises or sights, which otherwise
might cause him to run away. This description of
horse should likewise be well bred, as in that case
his action will be easier, and his appearance and
carriage more in character with the generally ele-
gant appearance of his rider. His pace should be
the canter; the trot causes an ungraceful move-
ment in the person of a woman, to enable her to
rise to it ; and if she do not rise to it, she is much
shaken in her seat. Neither is the form of the
side-saddle fitted for the trot ; and the canter of a
well-bitted horse is more safe, because his haunches
are more under him in that pace than they can be
in the trot. A good bold walk, however, with the
head in proper place, is essential to a horse that
has to carry a woman ; and his action should be
very true, that is, he should not " dish," or throw
his legs outward, as the term is, in any of his
paces, or he will cover the lower garments of his
rider with mud when the roads are wet and dirtv.

THE LADY S HORSE.

115

To provide against the latter inconvenience, how-
ever, all horses intended for this purpose, should
not be much under fifteen hands and a half in
height, which size corresponds with the lengthened
drapery of a lady's riding costume. As a preven-
tive against accidents, ladies' horses, however well
broken and bitted, should not be too highly fed ;
and, if at all above themselves, should be ridden by
a careful servant, with good use of his hands, be-
fore ladies mount them. It is, however, an ac-
knowledged fact, that horses go more quietly under
women than they do under men, which is account-
ed for by the lightness of their hand, and the back-
ward position of the body, in the saddle. We have,
in fact, known several instances of horses being
very hard pullers with men, standing up in their
stirrups, and, consequently, inclining their bodies
forward, but going perfectly temperate and at their
ease under women.

The power and parts conducive to action in the
roadster, or hackney, are derived much from the
same shape and make as we have shown to be best
fitted for the hunter ; but it is desirable that he
should be more up in his forehand than the hunter
is required to be, as such form gives confidence to
the rider. The most dangerous form he can exhibit,
if we may be allowed such a term, is, with his fore-
legs standing too much behind the points of his
shoulders, and those points loaded. Even with the
best-formed hinder-legs, the centre of gravity, being
thrown so far forward beyond the pillars of support,
is, in this case, with great difficulty preserved on

116 THE HACKNEY.

tlie horse making a stumble ; but with straight
hinder-legs, a horse so formed in his fore- quarters
is only fit for harness, where he can recover him-
self by the assistance of his collar, having no weight
on his back. Provided a hackney do not cut his
legs, by striking one against the other, which is
oftener caused by imperfection in the upper than
the lower extremity of the legs, he is not to be re-
jected because he may turn out his toes a little,
some of the very best, fastest, and safest road-
horses being so formed. Cutting the hinder-legs is
a worse failing than cutting the fore ones, as it is
a certain sign of weakness ; and although we may
be told that shoeing will prevent it, we bring to
our recollection the old adage, that " a goose always
goes like a goose. ^' What is called the " speedy
cut"*' with the fore-legs, arises from excess of action,
and is a great objection, by reason of the wound
given to the leg, which is struck just under the
knee. Many good hunters, especially when ridden
in hilly countries, such as parts of Surrey, where
they traverse hills on loose and stony ground, are
subject to this failing, which is remedied by a boot ;
and, after all, the danger attributed to speedy cut,
in throwing horses down, is much over-rated.

Six years back, the writer saw a horse go re-
markably well with Mr. Kamsay's hounds, in Scot-
land; but Scotch sportsmen would not purchase
him, because he was given to " speedy cut." The
writer recommended him to one of the hardest and
best riders of the day, Sir David Baird, then hunt-
ing in Leicestershire, who purchased him, and was

FORM. 117

carried brilliantly by him for two seasons, when,
unfortunately, he was deprived of him, by an acci-
dent.

The height of a road hackney must be regulated
by the size of the person to ride him ; but, gene-
rally speaking, from fourteen hands to fourteen
hands and a half, is the proper height. His strength
must also be thus calculated, for a light man does
not ride pleasantly on a horse equal to double his
weight. But a road hackney should have strength
of shoulder, with a round barrel, but not a large
carcass, which only wears out his legs. His con-
stitution and feeding can only be proved upon trial ;
but there are certain indices, such as deep ribs,
hardy colour, brown muzzle, &c., which very rarely
deceive us. As to the necessity of well-placed
hinder-legs, it is most clearly shown by the answer
given to the follow^ing question : — If a horse make
a serious blunder forward, and the centre of gravity
of his body fall beyond the pillars of support, and
is for a moment lost, what restores the equilibrium i
Is it merely the chuck under the chin to an animal
of his bulk and weight, and that " chuck'' given per-
haps by the weak, powerless wrist of a feeble old
man, or delicate young lady I No : the main effect
of the bit, or curb, in this case is, first, warning the
horse of his danger ; and, next, by the momentary
raising of his head, he is better able to bring a
hinder leg instantly to his assistance, by advancing
it under his body, and thus restoring the equili-
brium. In the walk, in fact, the horse actually
begins to move by advancing the hinder-leg under

118 THE HACKXEY.

the body, before the fore-leg quits the ground ; and
if he did not do so, there would be no equal sup-
port for the body, during the suspension of the
fore-leg in the air ; nor could the body be moved
forwards, until the hinder-leg had, by quitting its
station, taken a new point of support. Seeing, then,
that in the walk, as in all other paces, the centre
of gravity in the horse is maintained, as well as the
body propelled, by the action of the hinder-legs,
the greatest attention should be paid to the position
and action of them in the hackney, as the best
safeguard against his falling. We should observe,
then, when he is exhibited to our view, that, in his
walk, the hinder foot oversteps the fore foot, at
least a shoe's length, which a horse with straight,
ill-formed hinder-legs cannot do ; and if such action
be accompanied by generally good hind quarters, it
is a great indication of safety, as far as one-half of
the body of the horse is concerned. But as the
false step is made, not with the hinder, but the
fore-leg, the chief safeguard against falling is to be
found elsewhere, namely, first, in the length of
the shoulder, which throws the centre of gravity
further back than a short one ; and, secondly, pro-
ceeding also from the free use of the shoulder,
in the act of setting the fore-foot down on the
ground. It is a o^eneral but very mistaken notion,
that the safety of a roadster depends upon his lift-
in «: his fore-feet hioli from the oround, when he is
said to " go well above his ground ;'' whereas it all
depends on the manner in which he places them
down upon it. Not only are the highest goers

ACTION. 119

often the most unsafe to ride, for, when they do
fall, they fall with a violence proportioned to the
height of their action ; but, although we do not
advocate such extremes, there are thousands of in-
stances of horses going mry near to the ground,
and never making a trip. It is, however, a well
established fact, that if the form of a horse's shoul-
der, and the consequent position of the fore-leg,
enable him to put his foot to the ground flat^ with
the heel well down, his lifting up his foot high is
not at all necessary ; whereas, on the other hand,
if, by an improper position of the leg, issuing out
of a short, upright, ill-formed shoulder, the toe
touches the ground first, and, as it were, digs into
it ; no matter how high such a horse may lift up his
leg in any of his paces, he will always be danger-
ous to ride. And this will be clearly shown, if we
consider the position of the fore-leg, when off the
ground, or in action. It is bent in the form of a
(7, and the foot suspended in the air, turning in-
wards, with a curve towards the body. When in
this state, were the foot to come in contact with a
stone, or any other substance, it would pass over it
without resistance, the limb being at that time in
a flaccid state ; but when it approaches the ground,
the limb being extended, and having the whole
weight of the fore-quarters about to be thrown upon
it, if it strike against a stone, or any hard substance,
then the case is greatly altered, and a stumble is
the inevitable consequence. The base now requires
to be firm and even, which it can only be by the
foot being placed flat upon the ground. Man, in

118 THE HACKNEY.

fact, walks very near the ground, but his toe rarely
strikes it. If it did so frequently, he would soon
become a cripple, putting falling out of the ques-
tion. His action proceeds from his hips ; that of
the horse, as regards the fore-legs, from his shoul-
ders ; but the principle is the same with each ;
each is a piece of curiously-wrought mechanism,
and according to the correctness of that mechanism
is their action true. A wrong notion, however,
prevails here, which may lead the purchaser of a
hackney astray. It has been asserted by various
writers, that, if the shoe of a roadster be found
worn at the toe, it is a sure sign of his possessing
the dangerous action to which we have alluded.
This is false ; many horses wear at the toe, solely
by the act of picking up the foot, and quite inde-
pendently of placing it down. That many hack-
neys, however, fall from their shoes being neglected,
and suffered to wear too much at the toes, we are
well aware, as well as from their pressing upon the
heels and quarters, from the want of being removed
in proper time. When a horse is given to wear at
the toe, the wearing part should be steeled.

The best method of ascertaining the manner of
putting down the foot, on which we have shown
the safety of a hackney depends, is, to ride a horse
with a slack rein, on a foot-path, on which there
are trifling undulations, scarcely perceptible, but
sufficient for our purpose. If he walk smoothly
over such ground, and do not strike it with his toe,
we may be sure he puts his foot properly down, and
will not, from that cause, be a tumble-down. But

CAUSES OF STUMBLING. 1 21

there are various ways in which horses fall on the
road ; bad shoeing, as we have already said, being
one of them, and bad condition another. What is
called a false step, very different from a stumble,
may occur to any horse, and is occasioned by his
accidentally putting his foot on a loose stone, that
rolls away from under it, when, of course, his foot-
ing is lost. In this case, his chance of recovering
himself is in his shoulders being oblique and lengthy
(for upright shoulders are always short) and well
placed hinder-legs. Thrushes and corns are also
the cause of stumbling; as likewise is starting,
one of the worst failings a hackney can have. In
some horses it is a nervous afiection, rather difficult
to account for in animals of such strength of frame ;
and it often arises from imperfectly formed eyes,
such as flatness of the cornea, or outward surface
of the eye, generally a small one, causing short-
sightedness. In the latter case, this fault in a
hackney may be guarded against, by employing a
veterinary surgeon to inspect him previous to pur-
chase.

The old adage of "' No foot, no horse,"" applies
particularly to the road-horse. The hunter can
cross a country upon feet that are very far from
good ; and by the help of bar-shoes, the coach-
horse, with no weight on his back, and with the
support the harness gives him, gets pretty com-
fortably over his stage on unsound feet; but the
road-horse must have sound feet. Previously to the
use of horse-shoes, the value of a solid hoof was so
great as to have been made the image by which

122 THE HACKNEY.

the Prophet Isaiah set forth the strength and ex-
cellence of the Babylonish cavalry, " whose hoofs,"
says he, " shall be counted as flints." Both Homer
and Virgil mention it as an indispensable requisite
in a good horse, the latter making it to resound as
it strikes the ground,

" Et solido graviter sonat ungula cornu,"

We are not going here to enter on a long discus-
sion upon the foot, but only to observe, that the
wide hoof and expanded heel of the hunter is not
so essential to the road-horse as many persons sup-
pose. Indeed, the hoof that has been found to
stand se'cere road-work best, is one rather high at
the heel, and not very wide, provided the pastern
above do not approach too near the perpendicular ;
forming what is called " an upright pastern,"
which, by the jar the foot receives from it, when it
comes to the ground, is nearly certain to produce
disease. The strong foot, however, of which we
are speaking, is one that requires care, by being
frequently drawn out with the knife, to prevent its
becoming too strong ; and by giving moderate pres-
sure to the frogs, to prevent the heels getting nearer
together than we find them, and they already ap-
proximate to contraction in a foot of this descrip-
tion. The just form of the hoof in front, upon
which mainly depends its form underneath, is said
by Clarke to be at an elevation from the ground of
thirty-three degrees,* and we are inclined to think,

* White says forty-five.

ACTION. 123

that a much greater elevation than this would ap-
proach too near the perpendicular, for any kind of
foot^ As the inner heel or quarter has more weight
thrown upon it than the outer, it is the principal
seat of corns and sandcracks, for which reason
great care should be taken that an even bearing to
the whole of the crust be given by the smith to the
foot of the hackney, previously to his setting on
the shoe, the inner heel being given to wear away
more than the outer on that account.

In the action of the hackney consists his chief
merit. It should be smooth, and with not too long
a step, or stride, or he will tire. He should also
go straight on his legs, as the' term is ; for although
horses that dish their legs may be, and commonly
are, safe goers, yet they are disagreeable to ride in
wet roads, as they cover the rider with mud. As
we have already observed, the action of a hackney
should not be high, as that tends to fatigue the
rider and destroy himself ; and if he puts his foot
well down on the ground, he will never fall, by
reason of his action being low, and he will last the
lono^er for its beins: low.

The paces of the hackney are in a great measure
dependent on the will of his owner. The walk and
the canter are most essential to what may be called
the pleasure hackney ; but, for general purposes,
the trot is the most useful and available pace in a
roadster, and one in which he will continue longer,
according to the rate he is going at, than in the
canter. There are instances, however, and here is
perfection in a hackney, of horses with very oblique

124 THE HACKNEY.

shoulders, and excellent hinder-legs, being able to
carry their riders in a canter, over every variation
of road, downhill, as well as uphill, without offering
to break into a trot, for a great distance of ground ;
and, although not appearing to go more than at
the rate of nine miles in the hour, are really going
twelve. This is the result of the perfection of the
points to which we have alluded, and can never be
looked for in horses of a contrary make, whose
shoulders are short and stiff, and their hinder-legs
straight. Above all things, what is called " fight-
ing action" in a hackney should be avoided ; neither
ought the fore-leg to be thrown out with a dart, as
it is always attended with a dwelling, or temporary
suspension of the foot, previously to its reaching
the ground.

Most horses have some peculiarities about them,
if not absolute "tricks," as vicious practices in
horses are designated. Starting has already been
noticed ; but plunging is still more dangerous, as
in that case a horse seldom stops until he have
unseated his rider, at least made many attempts
to do so, or thrown himself upon the ground. This
latter trick often proceeds, not from sheer vice, but
from a sense of pain in the horse, from being too
tightly girthed ; or from the (to him) very unplea-
sant sensation of a cold saddle, with a weight upon
it, being pressed to his back ; and having once
taken a dislike to it, he is very apt to continue it.
Against each of these evils, it is in our power to
provide. Against the first, by not girthing the
liorse tightly, for the doing of which there is no

DANGEROUS FAILING. ] 25

good reason ; and against the second, by having
the saddle put on an hour before the horse in
wanted, in which time it will become warm, and
not disagreeable to the skin of his back, which, in
some horses, we know to be extremely susceptible.
It is upon this principle that the collars are left
day and night upon such road coach-horses as are
given to "jib" at starting, the consequence of ten-
der shoulders. But there is one failing to which
hackneys are subject, not proceeding from vice,
but still attended with danger, as it is often the
cause of their falling ; and we will endeavour to
exhibit this failing. We need scarcely insist upon
a good mouth, with neck and head in good place,
in the best description of road-horse ; nevertheless,
if he will not suffer his rider to avail himself of
those advantages, they are useless to him. Such,
however, is the case when a hackney, as he is going
along in his fast paces, throws his head backwards,
which he has always the power to do, his rider
being unable to prevent him. Twofold danger
attends this fault. First, when in the act of doing
it, he sees not where he places his feet ; secondly,
his rider loses his mouth for the moment, and in
that moment he may fall. Independently of this,
it gives the rider the idea that the horse is becom-
ing fatigued ; and, doubtless, it is an indication to
that effect. Our idea, then, of a perfect hackney
to carry a gentleman is this : A well-bred, short-
legged, lengthy horse, with mry good legs and feet.
not under fourteen nor above fifteen hands high,
that will walk four miles in the hour, trot eleven

126 THE HACKNEY.

or twelve, and, if wanted, will go fifteen in that
time in a canter or liand-gallop, without once throw-
ing up his head^ or requiring to be pulled up. We
are, of course, supposing him to be in good condi-
tion, and in strong work, or it would not be fair to
exact so much from him. But it is only in cases
of necessity that any horse should be made to per-
form the latter task ; for we are averse to trespass-
ing unnecessarily upon the powers and capabilities
of so noble an animal. On the contrary, we recom-
mend every indulgence that can be granted to him
on a journey, and especially in hot weather. At
all times, indeed, it is our interest to do so ; but,
in very hot weather, a few sips of soft water, often
given, keep off fever, and replenish the loss he sus-
tains by exhaustion from excessive perspiration.

One word more respecting action. We are no
advocates for 'cery fast trotting. It forces the ani-
mal to the very extent of his powers, which, of
course, wears him out ; it induces his o-svner either
to be constantly displaying these powers in private,
or matching him against time in public. Add to
this, fast trotting is not a gentlemanlike pace ; that
is, it has not a gentlemanlike appearance, neither
is it agreeable to the rider. This is apparent at
first sight, when we follow two horsemen on a road,
one on a fast trotter, and the other on a good can-
terer; although going at the same rate, the can-
tering horse and his rider are both much more at
their ease. With the ancient Romans, indeed, a
trotting horse was called a tormenter. Neverthe-
less, we admit that fast trotting is a proof of action

TROTTING AXD AMBLING. 127

in excess, but of a peculiar nature, and is, perhaps,
more than any other, transmitted from sire to son,
as the produce of the various Norfolk and Ameri-
can trotters have shown. The amble is a pace
very little known in England, although very gene-
ral on the Continent, where the act of rising in the
stirrups by the horseman in the trot is not prac-
tised. We wonder, however, that horses are not
oftener broken to this pace than they are, for
the use of women, or of men unequal to fatigue.
Although the amble is not allowed to be a pace in
the manege, the walk, trot, and gallop being all,
it is said to be the first pace of the horse when
a foal, but when he has strength to trot, he quits
it. Another peculiarity attends it. A horse, wt
know, can be put from a trot to a gallop without
stopping, but he cannot be forced from an amble
to a gallop without a halt.

The Pack-Horse. — This description of horse is
not now in use. His capabilities were prodigious
in carrying weight, but were abused by being tres-
passed upon. When crossed with the heavy cart-
horse, a most useful breed for draught was pro-
duced, as also what was called the farmer's hack-
ney— ^that is, a sturdy animal between the cart-
horse and the hackney, useful for all purposes of
agriculture, as well as for carrying his owner, and
always ready to give help, upon a pinch, either in
the plough, the harrow, or the harvest-cart.

The Cob. — The word cob is one of new mintas^e

J 28 THE HACKXEY,

in the sporting world, signifying a powerful, short-
legged horse, about fourteen hands high, without
any pretensions to blood, but able to carry a great
weight, at a certain pace, on the road. He is
generally the produce of a light, active cart-mare,
and either a thorough-bred or half-bred stallion ;
and, failing to grow in height, often increases in
lateral growth to substance equal to that of the old
pack, or miller's horse, of former days. When
gifted with action, combined with good shape and
appearance, this description of horse is much sought
after in London, as also in the country, and often
sells for a hundred pounds, to carry heavy elderly
gentlemen. The attempt to breed him, however,
is a hazardous one, as, in case of fault in his action
for the saddle, he is not suitable to the coach-horse
market, the present rate of travelling requiring
more lofty as well as higher bred cattle.

The Galloway. — The term Galloway now ap-
plies to any horse not exceeding fourteen hands in
height, although it originated with a breed peculiar
to a province of Scotland known by that name.
In the early days of English racing, there were
several capital thorough-bred Galloways in train-
ing, at the head of which was the Bald Galloway,
sire of Cartouch, and also of the Carlisle Gelding,
who, as the Stud Book informs us, " was remark-
able for having supported the fatigue of running
as a trial horse in private, and with success in pub-
lic, till the age of eighteen, at which period, after
winning a heat at Sawtry, in Huntingdonshire,

PONIES. 12.9

(1731,) he broke his leg, and died.'' The cele-
brated Mixbury Galloway, of the middle of last
century, was only thirteen hands two inches in
height.

Previously to the improved system of coaching,
and the cheapness and expedition of that mode of
travelling, now unfortunately suspended by that
powerful but dangerous agent, steam, the well-bred
Galloway was the favourite hackney of jockies.
graziers, horse-dealers, and cattle jobbers, and in
fact of all lio'ht weio'hts who had occasion to travel

o o

long distances on the road, in a short space of
time ; and no description of horse is better adapted
to the purpose. Some years since, there was a
little entire horse in Devonshire, called Katter-
felto, the sire of many most extraordinary Gallo-
ways, to whose labours on the road, indeed, there
appeared scarcely to be any limit.

The Pony. — A horse is called a pony when
under the height of thirteen hands, four inches to
the hand. It is difficult to account for this dimi-
nutive breed, unless we believe it to have been im-
ported from countries farther north than Great
Britain, which appears probable from the fact of
ponies being found in greater abundance in Scot-
land and Wales than in any other part of the
island ; the effect, no doubt, of climate. In Ire-
land they are very rare.

There is no animal that improves in form and
character so much as the pony does from the effect
of good grooming and high keep. A real Welsh

]30 THE PONY.

mountain pony, in very good condition, especially
if not castrated, is a perfect war-horse in miniature,
uniting almost every good property his species pos-
sesses. As a proof of one essential quality, we
can state upon authority, that the Earl of Oxford
had a mare pony, got by the Clive Arabian, her
dam by the same horse, out of a Welsh mare pony,
which could beat any of his racers four miles at a
feather weight. Ponies, too, have properties which
should attract the notice of the hippopathologist,
among the most prominent of which are the follow-
ing : They are never lame in the feet, or become
roarers. A broken-winded pony is a very rare sight,
and they live to the extreme of old age, if not un-
fairly treated. They are also very little susceptible
of disease, in comparison with other horses ; while
their powers of endurance stagger belief. A rare
instance of the latter excellence is furnished by the
pony. Sir Teddy, only twelve hands high, accom-
panying the royal mail from London to Exeter, and
arriving in that city fifty-nine minutes before it
— distance 172 miles, in twenty-three hours and
twenty minutes I It may scarcely be necessary to
state, that he carried no weight, being led between
two horses all the way ; nevertheless, it was a task
that we think no full-grown horse would have
performed. A correct likeness of this pony was
painted by the elder Marshall, of Newmarket. In
1784, a Shetland pony, eleven hands and a half
high, carried a rider, weighing five stones, from
Norwich to Yarmouth, and back, forty-four miles,
in three hours and forty-five minutes. As a proof,

POWERS OF ENDURANCE. 131

also, of their powers in crossing a country, the fact
may be stated of the late Sir Charles Turner riding
a pony ten miles in forty-seven minutes, and tak-
ing thirty leaps in his course, for a wager of 1000
guineas with the late Duke of Queensberry, then
Earl March. During the drawing of the Irish
lottery, the expresses from Holyhead to London
were chiefly conveyed by ponies, at the rate of
nearly twenty miles in the hour.

The only bad use to which the pony is applied,
is in what is called the " pony chaise,'' or phaeton.
The carriage itself is dangerous, by reason of its
extreme lightness and shortness, by which it is so
easily overturned ; and the lowness of the driver's
seat prevents proper command over the animal
drawing it. It is too often the case, also, that
" the pony" is a pet, and for that reason pampered
in the stable, and not much worked. On the least
alarm, then, such as any unusual noise, horses gal-
loping past him, or — and there have been too many
fatal instances from this cause — some part of the
fore-carriage touching his hocks in descending a
hill, aw^ay he goes, galloping and kicking until he
has rid himself of his load. The safest way of
using ponies in harness, is in pairs, in double har-
ness, with the pole of the carriage raised at the
futchels, to prevent their kicking over it in their
play.

132

THE CHARGER.

REQUISITES OF A CHARGER HEIGHT COLOUR THE

TROOP-HORSE FORM AND OTHER REQUISITES.

No kind of horse, no animal, indeed, of any sort,
makes so prominent a figure in history, sacred or
profane, as " the goodly horse of the battle," or
war-horse. The description of him by Job is ad-
mitted to exceed the powers of human eloquence ;
"■ and," as M. Rollin says of it, " every word would
bear an explication to display its merits." The
Guardian (No. 86) has a very ingenious critique
upon it ; and Bochart devotes seventeen pages to

CELEBRATED BY AXCIENT WRITERS. lo'S

tliis, and all the other passages in Scripture in
which the horse is mentioned. VirgiFs represen-
tation of him, in his third Georgic, is considered
as the nearest approach to that of the sacred writer ;
and the speech, in the tenth ^Eneid, of the hero
Mezentius to his favourite charger, when on the
point of sallying forth to avenge the death of his
son, is not exceeded, in the pathetic, by any other
passage in the poem. Homer is blamed for his
too frequent allusions to the horse ; but the his-
tory of all wars produces materials for panegyrics
on this noble animal. The far-famed Bucephalus
is said to have preserved the life of Alexander, by
carrying him out of reach of the enemy, although
he had received his mortal wound, and dropped
down dead immediately on his (Alexander's)
alighting from his back. In the battle which was
to decide the fate of Persia, on the ground upon
which the oreat Nineveh once stood, the merit of
the victory was chiefly ascribed, by the Byzantine
historians, not to the military conduct, but to the
personal valour of their favourite hero, in which
his horse bore his share. " On this memorable
day,'** says the eloquent Gibbon, '' Heraclius, on
his horse Phallas, surpassed the bravest of his war-
riors. His lip was pierced with a spear, the steed
was wounded in the thigh, but he carried his mas-
ter safe and victorious through the triple phalanx
of the barbarians." How many -British soldiers
have owed the preservation of their lives to the
courage and docility of their horses.

The movement of turnino- beins^ the most diffi-

1.34 THE CHARGER.

cult v.ith the horse, by reason of the inflexible
nature of his back-bone, the one selected for a
charger should have great freedom of action, hav-
ino; his hinder-le^s well bent under his body, so
that he may be easily thrown upon his haunches ;
also much liberty in his shoulders, and pliancy in
the muscles of the neck ; in which case he will sel-
dom fail in having the proper requisites for his
calling. The position of his hinder-legs, how^ever,
is most particularly insisted upon, because, should
they be straight — that is, not inclining inwards
from the hock, after the form of the ostrich's leg —
he will, with great difficulty, be made the supple,
short-turning, handy animal that he ought to be,
to render him perfectly available to his rider, at
the head of his regiment, or in the ranks. Per-
haps those horses which were destined to mount
our a^ncient nobility, or courteous knights of old,
for feats of chivalry, and gained them the palm in
that field of romantic honour, were more highly
" dressed,'" as the term is, in the manege, than an
officer's charger of these days should be ; neverthe-
less, as Colonel Peters observes, in his Treatise on
Equitation, (London, 1885,) " Although it might
spoil a good horse for military purposes, to form
hira perfectly after the higher manege principles,
yet he would be equally unfit for that duty, if he
were left in a raw and ignorant state."

Amongst the ancient Greeks, all horses, as well
as all men, were strictly examined before they
were admitted into the cavalry ; and the precedent
cannot be too closely followed. It is well known,

ESSENTIAL REQUISITES, 135

that in the various campaigns of the last war, seve-
ral British officers lost their lives, in consequence
of being mounted on chargers not equal to their
weight over every description of ground. In one
particular instance, a colonel of a light dragoon
regiment was cut down in retreating, by reason of
his handsome but powerless charger being unable
to gallop with him over a deeply-ploughed field.
At the battle of Waterloo, the ground became
excessively wet and soft, owing to continued rain ;
and, in consequence of it, the Duke of Wellington
gave a large price to an officer on his staff for a
fine, powerful mare, which had been purchased out
of an Eno;lish fox-huntino^ stud. In fact, the sort
of horse best fitted for an officer's charger, is one
which possesses most of the essential qualifications,
as well as accomplishments, of a hunter, as his
rider, when on service, knows not how soon they
may be called for. He should, however, be of airy
form, with light action, and well-bred, or he will
not look in character with the smart costume of
his rider ; but to his appearance there must not be
sacrificed those essential points, substance and
strength, which will enable him to struggle through
difficulties, in which a weaker, though more highly-
bred animal might sink. But a trifling deviation
in form in the charger, from the points insisted
upon in the hunter, may be admitted. For ex-
ample, the shortness of leg — that is, in the cannon
or shank-bone — is not exactly desirable in the
charger, as his action is required to be of a grander
and more showy appearance than we wish to see in
the hunter. A moderate length of leg, then, is

136 THE CHARGER.

favourable to such action, and gives lightness, as
well as gracefulness, to his movements.

We cannot imagine any brute animal more likely
to insure the gratitude of man than the horse which
has borne him in safety throughout even a single
campaign ; and it is not to be wondered at its
having been made a subject for rebuke to Cato,
that he left his charger in Spain, to avoid the ex-
pense of bringing him home ; or that it should be
recorded in praise of Andromache, that she fed the
horses of Hector with her own hand. A case pa-
rallel with the first, we would not produce if we
could ; but without having recourse to history be-
yond the period of our own time, we may set forth
a flattering resemblance to the second. The late
Duchess of Wellino:ton, durinc: her Grace's resi-
dence at Strathfieldsaye, in Hampshire, seldom
omitted, for a day, feeding, with her own hands,
the favourite charger of her gallant husband.

The height of a charger should not exceed fifteen
hands and a half, horses of that size being more
easily set upon their haunches, and also made to
turn more readily than taller ones. His colour
must depend upon circumstances ; but next to the
silver grey, which best displays his trappings, and
which, we may presume, w^as the colour of the cele-
brated Phallas (the Greeks called a grey horse
(paXiog^) bay, black, and chestnut, are the best.

The Troop-Horse. — A chans^e for the worse has
taken place in this description of horse, in several
British light dragoon regiments, the effect of which
was apparent in the late war. It originated in a

THE TROOP HORSE. 137

wish to imitate the style and character of the Hus-
sar, without taking into consideration the fact, that
that description of cavalry was intended more for
out-parties and skirmishing, than for coming in
contact with the body of an enemy ; and that, con-
sequently, the slender sort of horse on which the
Enghsh liglit dragoon has of late been mounted,
has not been found efficient, under the immense
weight he carries when in marching order, or even
in battle, which averages at least sixteen stones.
The heavy dragoon horse is, indeed, very little
more powerful now than that of the light dragoon
was, thirty or forty years back.

The horse best calculated for a light dragoon
trooper, is something between the modern coach-
horse and the hackney ; upon short legs, with good
bone, and with much substance in the body. His
back should be moderately short, and well ribbed
up, his barrel round and large, to allow plenty of
room for food, as he is often a long time without it ;
and hardiness of constitution is a very material
point in a soldier's horse. When we look at dra-
goon regiments, however, the heavy regiments in
particular, our surprise is excited at the fine ap-
pearance the horses make, contrasting it with the
price allowed by government for the purchase of
them. It is true they are generally purchased
when young, many of those for the household troops,
at three years old ; and their good keep, upon hard
food of the best quality, forces them into shape,
and makes them what we see them.

]38

THE COACH-HORSE.

CHANGE IN THE FORM AND APPEARANCE OF THE COACH-
HORSE DURING THE LAST HALF CENTURY PERFECT

SYMMETRY NOT ESSENTIAL COLOUR CONSIDERA-
TIONS IN PURCHASING A ROAD COACH-HORSE POWERS

OF DRAUGHT AT VARIOUS RATES OF SPEED ACCI-
DENTS AND DISEASES.

If it cannot be absolutely asserted that the first
use of the horse was in harness, it is quite certain
that the chariot-horse was held in high estimation
in very early times, and is alluded to by poets and
historians of all nations and in all languages. Ho-
mer says that Diomed, an Asiatic prince, had ten
chariots, with a particular sort of horses for each ;
and he also makes Nestor, at the funeral games of
Patroclus, harness the horses for his son with his
own hands ; and, by his skill in directing him in
the race, he wins it. But the Grecian bard goes
still further into minutiae. He even represents
Menelaus, on the same occasion, using OEthe, one
of the horses of Agamemnon, with one of his
own ; and Priam is found harnessing his favourite
steeds to the car, in which he returns, with the
dead body of his father, from Achilles's camp, on

ilODERX FORM. 139

the plains of Troy. It would be endless to turn to
other writers, to show the estimation in which the
chariot-horse has been held.

In its present acceptation, the term " coach-
horse"" includes two varieties ; namely, the horse
that draws the gentleman's carriage, and the one
that is employed in those public conveyances, called
" stage-coaches.'"* As regards the former animals,
we believe a similar alteration has taken place in
the form, appearance, and breeding of them, as has
been seen in the English hunter, within the last
half century. The Flanders mares, so highly es-
teemed, and seen only in the carriages of families
of distinction ; the well buckled up, long-tailed
blacks and roans, have all disappeared, and we
find, in their stead, the sort of horse nearly ap-
proaching to the one which was formerly con-
sidered quite well-bred enough for the chase.
But the fact is, such is the present rage for
rapid travelling, both in private and public car-
riages, that nothing but well-bred horses have a
chance to stand what is called harness-work on our
roads. Those used also for " town-work," as the
term is, are of a superior description, amongst
which hundreds of good hunters might be selected ;
but such have been the high prices given for them
by the dealers, at an age which would not admit of
their being tried in the field, they have found their
way into harness, and, when once there, they re-
main in it.

The form, however, of what may be termed a
splendid town coach-horse, need not be, by any

140 THE COACH-HORSE.

means, perfect ; and were a judge to examine mi-
nutely the points of vast numbers of those liand-
some horses seen in the carriages in London, or
other large towns, he would find them very defi-
cient in several points, essential to any purpose but
harness, in shoulders and hinder-legs especially.
But it is fortunate for breeders of horses, that it
does not require true symmetry and action to form
a grand coach-horse. His false points are, for the
most part, concealed by his trappings, and his high
state of flesh and condition ; and if he be any thing
near the following form, he will make an excellent
appearance in harness. His head is not so mate-
rial, as the bridle covers so much of it ; but his
neck should rise well out of his shoulders, as the
higher he carries his head the better, provided the
form of his neck admits of its beino- drawn inward
by the bearing rein, when only moderately tight,
in which case he will be easily acted upon by the
driving rein. The back of the coach-horse is a
material point, as, without an easy slope behind
the withers, his fore-hand will not appear grand,
nor will the pad of his harness sit well upon him.
His hinder quarters should be straight and blood-
like ; his gaskins well spread ; and his tail should
be set on, high. His action should not be too short
for town-work, but the knee should be thrown well
up in the trot, to give him a grand appearance.
This peculiar action, the result of strong flexor ten-
dons, suited nearly to this purpose only, is observ-
able in colthood, but is increased afterwards by the
horse being thrown more upon his haunches by the

FORM AND COLOUR. 141

bit ; and the act of drawing is not unfavourable to
it. Light work in harness, indeed, is favourable
to all action, that of galloping excepted.

The county of York may be called the modern
Epirus, as in that and Lincolnshire are the greater
part of the London coach-horses bred. The most
usual cross is between the thorough-bred horse and
the Cleveland-bay mare ; but the appearance of too
many of them incline us to believe, that, losing
sight of their own interest, breeders have recourse,
oftener than they should, to the half-bred horse, a«
well as to the half-bred mare. This, added to the
rich grass land they are bred upon, accounts for
the coarse, ill-placed shoulders, and flat, fleshy feet
that so many of the London coach-horses exhibit.
For road- work, in noblemen and gentlemen's car-
riages, horses cannot be too nearly of full blood,
provided they have strength equal to their work.
Here, as over a country, " it is the pace that kills ;"
and as, in considerable velocity, the power of a
horse is nearly exhausted in moving his own body,
he needs every advantage we can give him.

The colour of the gentleman's coach-horse is, for
the most part, bay ; but by far the most imposinir
in harness is the silver-grey, with black mane and
tail, and at the present time it is very fashionable,
as well as the iron-grey, for town work. This
colour was held sacred by the ancients ; and Ca-
millus is said to have given great oflence to tlie
Romans by being drawn through Rome, in his
triumph, by four grey horses, no general having
before ventured to do so. Grey coach-horses, how-

142 THR STAGE-COACH-HORSE.

ever, require the nicest grooming, and the best ap-
pointed harness, otherwise all the good effect is lost.
The piebald looks conspicuous, and commands a
high price, as uo doubt he always did. Virgil was
partial to the piebald, or party-coloured breed, and
mounts young Priam upon one of them in the fifth,
and Turrus in the ninth, ^Eneid, both Thracian
horses.

The stage coach-horse has undergone a still
gveater change in the last half century, and parti-
cularly the last twenty years. In fact, his physi-
cal condition may now be said to be better than
that of the man who lives by the sweat of his brow,
for he works but one hour in twenty-four, whereas
the man works twelve. The coach-horse also lives
on the best fare, which cannot be said of the labour-
ing man. As all kinds of horses of a light descrip-
tion find their way into coaches, it is useless to
attempt to fix a standard by which they should be
measured, as to height, length, width, or strength.
But as all horses draw by their weight, and not by
the force of their muscles, which could not act
against a load for any length of time, the object of
the breeder or purchaser of the road coach-horse
should be, to have as much power in as small a
compass as may be possible, combined with good
action. Substance is a sine qua non on roads that
are heavy or hilly ; for, as before observed, it is the
weight of the animal which produces the draught,
whilst the play and force of its muscles serve to
continue it.

There are, however, a few points very necessary

NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS. 1 4o

to be observed in the purchase of the road coach*
horse. As in drawing, the force applied proceeds
from the fulcrum formed by the hinder-feet, well
spread gaskins and thighs form a main excellence.
His fore-legs also should be good to make him a
safe wheel-horse, nor can he throw his whole weight
int^ his collar, unless he be sound in his feet. But
alas, how many are thus deprived of their natural
powers, by being worked upon unsound feet, and
expected to exert themselves to the utmost.

There is no truth so easily proved, or so pain-
fully felt by the post-master, at least in his pocket,
as that, it is the pace that kills. A horse at a dead
pull, or at the beginning of his pull, is enabled, by
the force of his muscles, to throw a certain weight
into the collar. If he walk four miles in the hour,
some part of that muscular energy must be expend-
ed in the act of walking ; and, consequently, the
power of drawing must be proportionally dimi-
nished. If he trot eight miles in the hour, more
animal power is expended in the trot, and less re-
mains for the draught ; but the draught continues
the same, and, to enable him to accomplish his
work, he must tax his energies to a degree that is
cruel in itself, and that must speedily wear him
out.

Let it be supposed — what all cannot accomplish
— that a horse shall be able, by fair exertion and
without distress, to throw, at a dead pull, a weight
into his collar, or exert a force equal to 216 lbs. ;
or, in other words, let him be able to draw a load
which requires a force of 216 lbs. to move. Let him

1:t4 THE STAGE-COACH-HORSE.

next walk at the rate of four miles in an hour ;
what force will he then be able to employ ? We
have taken away some to assist him in walking,
and we have left him only 96 lbs., being not half of
that which he could exert when he began his pull.
He shall quicken his pace to six miles an hour,
and more energy must be exerted to carry him over
this additional ground. How much has he remain-
ing to apply to the weight behind him I 54 lbs. only.
We will make the six miles an hour ten ; for it
seems now to be the fashion for the fast coach, and
for almost every coach, and every vehicle, to at-
tempt this pace. How stands the account w4th the
poor beast ? We have left him a power equal to
32 lbs. only to be employed for the purpose of
draught.

The load which a horse can draw is about fifteen
times greater than the power exerted, supposing
the road to be hard and level, and the carriage to
run with little friction ; and the horse which, at
starting, can throw into the collar a weight or force
equal to 216 lbs., will draw a load of 3200. Let
him, however, be urged on at the rate of ten miles
in the hour ; deduct the power used in swiftness of
pace from the sum-total of that which he possesses,
and what remains ? not a sixth part, not that which
is equal to a quarter of a ton, or, if it be a stage-
coach, the energy exerted in draught by the four
horses will not be equal to a ton.

The coach, and its passengers, and its luggage,
weigh more than this, and the whole is still drawn
on, and must be so. Whence comes the power I

CONSTITUTION AND PACE. 145

from the overstrained exertion, the injury, the tor-
ture, the destruction of the horse. That which is
true of the coach-horse, is equally true of every
other. Let each reader apply it to his own animal,
and act as humanity and interest dictate.

It would be in vain to attempt any standard for
road coach-horses. They must be picked up where
they can be found, and, if possessed of action, the
rest must be left to chance. A good constitution
is desirable, for many die in the '' seasoning,"' as it
is called, on the road ; and a young green horse
cuts a poor figure in a fast coach. Coach-masters
are too much given to purchase infirm horses, by
which they incur loss, for, if quite sound, it is as
much as can be expected that they remain so for
any moderate length of time ; and we believe the
average duration of horses in fast work is not more
than four years, if purchased sound. Unsound
horses, then, cannot be supposed to last nearly so
long, independently of the cruelty of driving them.
The most likely horse, however, to stand sound,
and do his work well in a fast coach, is one, that,
with sufficient strength, and a good set of limbs,
has action sufficiently speedy to admit of his keep-
ing time without going at the top of his pace.
When this is the case, he runs his stage, from end
to end, within himself, and is as good at the last
as he was at the first ; but when he cannot com-
mand the pace, he soon becomes distressed, and is
weak at the end of his stage. This accounts for
sundry accidents having occurred by wheel-horses
being unable to hold back a loaded coach down hill.

1-1-6 TflE COACH-HORSE.

at the end of the stage, although they would have
been more than equal to it at the beginning of it.
In fact, many coach-horses are very good for eight
miles, but very bad for ten, so nicely are their
powers measured in harness. Above all things, we
recommend srood le^s and feet in workins^ horses,
if they are to be had ; and an extra price is well
laid out in procuring them. Whether they are
strong in their harness, in very fast work, cannot
be discovered until they are tried ; but well bred
ones, having substance, are most likely to prove so.
Dr. Johnson, in his Rasselas, makes the Artist
of the Happy Valley tell the prince, he had long
been of opinion that, instead of the tardy convey-
ances of ships and chariots, man might use the
swifter migration of wings. There appears some-
thing prophetic here, when we read of the contem-
plated transmission, by all-powerful steam, of a man's
person from London to Liverpool in two hours, which
would be at a rate that the very " wings of the
winds"" never yet equalled. But surely our coaches
travel sufficiently fast, and we should be sorry to
see their speed increased beyond what it now is, in
consideration for the sufferings of the horses em-
ployed in them. Were they not always running
home (for each end of the stage is their home,)
coach-horses would not perform their tasks so well
as they now perform them ; and it is owing to that
circumstance that the accidents in fast coaches are
not so numerous as might be expected, night work,
and many other things being taken into account.
Coach-horses are subject to many accidents,

DISEASES. 147

and some diseases nearly peculiar to themselves.
Amongst the former is the fracture of a leg, or the
coffin-bone of the foot, occasioned generally, it is
supposed, by treading on a stone, or any other un-
even surface, when the limb is strained in draught.
It, however, sometimes happens when the horse is
trotting along on very fair ground, and in such
cases the accident is rather difficult to account for.
In very heavy draught, when the foot is much
overcharged with the weight and pressure of the
body, a fracture will sometimes take place at th-e
first step the horse takes. Perhaps these accidents
may be independent of what is called shape and
make, but coach proprietors would do well to pur-
chase their horses with good legs and feet, and then
they are less liable to these accidents, and, with
good care and good shoeing, may last many years
in very quick work.

The diseases peculiar to coach-horses are, thu
megrims, and the lick. The former attacks the
head, and is caused by irregular motion of the fluids
within the vessels of the brain, stopping, for a time,
all voluntary motion. The horse in consequence
staggers and falls, if not immediately pulled up,
and that does not always prevent him. This
species of vertigo is generally produced by the
effect of a hot sun, especially if the horse be run-
ning in the face of it, for which reason horses sub-
ject to megrims are generally worked at night. In
fact, many coach-horses, thick-winded ones espe-
cially, are good horses by night, although they
cannot keep their time by day, in the summer.

1 48 THE COACH-HORSE.

Blind horses also do not like sun, but " as healthy
as a blind horse in the winter" is a proverb.

The lick can scarcely be called a disease, but it
greatly injures the condition and appearance of
coach-horses. When under its influence, they are
almost constantly, when not feeding, licking each
other's skins, or else the rack or manger. It pro-
ceeds from a heated state of the stomach, from the
excitement of high food, and almost daily profuse
sweating, and is invariably removed by alterative
medicines or physic.

A great mistake is made by too many coach-
masters in being under instead of oter horsed for
their ground. Instead of keeping five horses to
work a certain length of ground, and feeding them
very high to perform it, it would answer them bet-
ter to keep six horses on the same allowance of corn
that the five horses are eating. The stock would
last longer, and the money they cost be " kept to-
gether,'' as the term is, longer, by such means.
Each horse would then rest two days out of six,
when they were all fit for work, which would keep
him very fresh in condition ; and there would
always be one spare horse left, in case of any of the
six wanting physic or rest. It is the almost every-
day excitement that breaks down the constitution
of coach-horses. At all events, there should be a
horse to a mile, to work a coach both sides of the
ground — ^. e. up and down the road on the same
day.

149

THE GIG-HORSE.

PROGRESSIVE IMPROVEMENT IN TWO-WHEELED CAR-
RIAGES CHOICE OF A GIG-HORSE ACCIDENTS.

A FEW years back, a country parson and his
wife, or a wealthy old farmer, were the only per-
sons seen in England in two- wheeled carriages, then
called Whiskies. They were useful, though far
from ornamental vehicles, having what is termed
" a head"' to protect the inmates from weather,
and, with a very quiet horse, were considered as
nearly equal in security to close four-wheeled car-
riages. In the character and appellations of these
carriages, however, a wonderful alteration has taken
place within the last fifty years, and even royalty
itself has been seen seated in gigs, cabriolets, Stan-
hopes, and Tilburies ; the two last taking their
names from the inventors of their peculiar forms.
The build of these two-wheeled carriages has reached
the very summit of perfection, not only as regards
their firmness but their elegance ; and it is scarcely
necessary to add, that the horses driven in them,
as likewise their harness, have equally altered their
character. From two to three hundred guineas
(and, in one instance, seven hundred guineas were

150 THE CxiG-HORSE.

paid) have been no unconniion prices given for gig
and cabriolet horses ; and for gentlemen's work
generally Ave might put sixty as the average of the
last forty years.

The choice of a gig-horse (for we confine our-
selves to that term) must be regulated by local
circumstances. If for London streets, his action
should be rather lofty or '• grand,'' as the term is,
than fast ; that is to say, he should step with his
knee much elevated, which of course is unfavourable
to speed. His appearance also should be of the
iirst order of his species, not under fifteen hands
two inches in height ; and if of a fancy colour, the
more money will he fetch in the market. He must
be well bitted, carrying his head high, and very
quick in getting into his trot, or " upon his legs,"
as coachmen say, to enable his driver to make his
way in crowded streets. We should also add, that
this quickness in his motions should be accompanied
by perfectly "ood temper, and freedom from all
vice ; in which case he is always worth one hundred
ijuineas, or more, if in the prime of life and sound.

For the country a difterent sort of gig-horse is
required. In drawing a gig on a soft o>r newly-
gravelled road, the resistance is mueh the same as
a continual hill ; and therefore a horse with a
quick, short step, is best calculated for the road,
as such action fatigues less than that which we
have recommended for London. For all purposes,
however, a horse in single harness, to be safe, should
be well up before ; that is to say, he should go with
his fore-quarters high up, and not heavy in hand

ACCIDENTS AND PRECAUTIONS. lol

— or " on his shoulders," as the term is. In thi.-^
case, if he have well-placed shoulders, good legs,
and sound feet, free from corns and thrushes ; good
natural courage to induce him to " run up to his
bit,'"* and a good mouth, there will be very little
danger of his falling down in a gig ; but accidents
from vice must depend upon other circumstances.
These accidents, however, are often the result not
of real vice, or even of ill-temper, but of want of
knowledge in his owner of putting him properly
into his harness, as well as of driving him after-
wards.

Innumerable accidents to horses in gigs arise
from some part of the harness pinching him, parti-
cularly about his withers or back, when he will en-
deavour to kick himself out of it, to rid himself of
the torment. Indeed we have more than once seen
a road coach-horse, in regular work, set a-kickini^
merely from a twisted trace, rubbing edgeways
aojainst the outside of his thiMi.

We consider mares objectionable in single har-
ness, for reasons which are obvious ; and few of
them are to be trusted at certain periods of the
year, particularly in the case of a rein getting under
the tail. When driven, the precaution of the safety
rein should not be omitted. We are also of opinion
that numerous accidents from gigs would be pre-
vented, if horses intended for them were to be
broken in to them, in bridles without winkers, as a
great portion of the horses on the Continent are
driven. The not knowing what they have behind
them is a natural cause of alarm, and would by
this means be obviated.

152

THE POST-HORSE.

ANTIQUITY OF POSTING IMPROVED CHARACTER AND

APPEARANCE OF THE POST-HORSE FORM.

This description of horse is one of the most use-
ful we have, and is of very ancient date. He is
spoken of by Xenophon, in allusion to the posts
instituted by the first Cyrus, and as the most ex-
peditious method of travelling by land ; although,
perhaps, he was chiefly made use of to forward
public despatches. Augustus was the first to in-
troduce post-houses, and consequently post-horses
and post-chaises, amongst the Romans, disposed at
convenient distances, but these were chiefly for the
purpose of political intelligence. Then, in a letter
from Pliny to Trajan, we find him informing the
emperor of his having granted a courier a warrant
to make use of the public posts, as he wished him
to be quickly in possession of some important facts,
communicated to him by the King of Sardinia ;
and he subsequently apologizes to his royal master
for having ventured, on his own responsibility, to
grant an order for his wife to be forwarded by post-
chaises, on occasion of a domestic afiiiction. His
letter produced a kind answer from the emperor,

IMPROVED CHARACTER. 153

approving, in this peculiar instance^ of the use of the
warrants which he had intrusted to his care.

A most material and aojreeable chano^e has taken
place in the character and appearance of this class
of horse, who may truly be said to have marched
with the times. Up to the end of the last century
the post-horse was, except in a few instances, an
object of commiseration with travellers. With
galled sides and sore shoulders, and scarcely a
sound limb, he would not go without the lash or
spur, whereas he now comes out of his stable in
high condition, and runs his ten miles' stage in an
hour, with a carriage of the average weight, and
twelve, if required, with a light one. He is also
seen to perform either of these tasks without being
distressed, unless in immoderately hot weather,
when humane persons would check his speed. Mon-
taigne says, " there is a certain general claim of
kindness and benevolence which every creature has
a right to from man," a sentiment in which we
heartily concur; for although man may be consi-
dered as the delegate of Heaven over inferior ani-
mals, he has no right to go to the very extremity
of his authority. It is, however, much to be feared,
that a thoughtless indifference to the sufferings of
the post-horse is too frequently to be laid to tra-
vellers in our own country, who, without any suffi-
cient reason, urge him to a rate of speed which
cannot be unattended with sufferinfj.

The form of the post-horse should resemble that
of the hunter which is generally ridden in the
deep and close hunting countries of Great Britain ;

154 THE POST-HORSE.

that is, with as much blood as can be o-ot, in con-
junction with good bone and strength. The riding
horse of the pair must have sound legs and feet ;
but if a little the worse for wear, an old hunter
makes an excellent hand-horse, and innkeepers ge-
nerally avail themselves of the saving occasioned
by putting horses of a less price in that place than
the one which carries the driver. Notwithstanding
this, the average purchase money of a useful pair
of post-horses cannot be estimated at less than
from ^^40 to ^60. On the subject of the pur-
chase of post-horses, the writer can relate an amus-
ing anecdote, exemplifying the truth of the old
saw of " Ne sutor ultra crepidamy He was pre-
sent when a friend sold a hunter in Leicestershire
for seven hundred guineas. In half an hour after-
wards, he, by way of a joke, offered him to an inn-
keeper in the same county — who prided himself on
his judgment in purchasing post-horses — for the
.sum of forty pounds, u'hich he refused to aire.

155

THE CART-HORSE.

THE HEAVY BLACK CART-HORSE ADVANTAGES OF THE

LIGHTER BREEDS HORSES OF NORMANDY AND PIC-

ARDY.

Errors detected by experience are allowed to be
equal to demonstration ; but this truism is not ad-
mitted by a vast majority of English farmers, who
persevere in the use of the heavy black horse for
agricultural purposes, for which, solely, he is by no
means fitted, from the slowness of his step (inde-
pendently of his weight,) unless very highly fed.
As long, however, as the ponderous vehicles made
use of in London and elsewhere, for the transmis-
sion of heavy goods, are persevered in, this equally
ponderous animal may be necessary ; but it is cer-
tain that lighter horses, in lighter vehicles, would
do the business better, that is, more speedily, and
at less cost. Notwithstanding the objections to
him, the heavy black cart-horse, of the best descrip-
tion, pays well for rearing ; for being always sale-
able at two years old, a certain profit is insured,
as, for the first year, the expense of keeping him
is trifling. If on a large scale, and promising to be
fit for the London market, or the best-conducted

156 THE CART-HORSE.

road waggons, he commands a price that leaves a
handsome surplus to the breeder.

The chief desiderata in the cart-horse are sub-
stance and action. If possessed of the latter, his
shoulders and fore-quarters can scarcely be too
coarse and heavy ; for drawing being an effort of
the animal to preserve himself from the tendency
which his weight gives him to the centre of gravity
when he inclines forward, so the more weighty he
is before, and the nearer he approximates this centre,
the more advantageously will he apply his powers.
Notwithstandinjj this, we are not advocates of heavv
horses for farmer's work, much less on the road.
The lighter horse gets over in eight hours what
would take the heavy one ten ; and the great im-
provement in the present mode of culture, and the
implements used for agricultural purposes, do not
require more weight or strength than what the Suf-
folk, Clydesdale, Cleveland-bay, and other lighter
breeds, are masters of. Besides, there are periods
of the year when despatch of business is of great
moment to the farmer, which he cannot command
in those mountains of horse-flesh which we see
labouring in most of the finest districts in England,
tiring themselves by their own weight.

Travellers on the Continent, occupying land in
England, should carry in their eye the form and
action of the horses which draw the public car-
riages, particularly those bred in Normandy and
Picardy, in France. The prevailing colour is iro7i
roan, and their nature appears to sympathise with
that colour ; for, speaking figuratively, they are as

ENGLISH BLACK CART-HORSE. lo7

hard as iron itself. It is not unusual to find five
or six of them drawing those cumbrous diligences,
weighing perhaps six or seven tons, a twenty-mile
stage, at the rate of six miles an hour, preserving
their condition to the highest pitch ; and this with
hay and corn very inferior in quality to that grown
in England. To keep up the condition of the Eng-
lish black cart-horse, requires him to consume nearly
as much as his labour is worth ; and unless he lives
well, he is only half alive, which his sluggish action
denotes. In fact, his chief fault lies in his having
too great a body, and too little spirit, consequently
he exhausts himself in the mere act of carrying
that body. The nimbleness of the smaller kinds
of cart-horses to which we have alluded, is owing
to their moderate size ; and their immense powers
in lifting weight (with the Suftblk-punch, and
Clydesdale breeds, in particular) to the same cause,
combined with the low position of the shoulder,
which occasions weight to be acted upon in a just
and horizontal direction. The Welsh cart-horses,
especially those in use in the counties of Denbigh,
Merionith, and Montgomery, are eminently adapted
to all agricultural purposes, combiningmuch strength
with a great share of activity ; and the general
criteria of wide breast, with low shoulders, good
carcass, and small head, indicate their being good
workers, with hardihood of constitution. Their
height is about fifteen hands two inches ; and their
colour black or brown.

158

''^\:^ii^r^'^'^^^^^S^x^r;,'Jf^- ■

THE IRISH HORSE.

THE IRISH HACKXEY THE IRISH HUNTER HIS PECT-

LIAR MODE OF LEAPING THE IRISH RACE-HORSE.

The Irish hackney may be reckoned amongst the
indigent; of his country, a sui generis animal, not
mixed, as the English hackney is, with the black
cart-horse, originally brought from Flanders, of
which sort Ireland has none. He is remarkable
for the general soundness of his feet, which are
stronger in the heels than those of English horses,

PECrL[AR METHOD OF LEAPING. 159

and lie stands his work well, if not too much abused
in his youth. Almost all Irish horses coming
under this description have been broken in to the
plough and the car, so they, for the most part, go
in harness ; but the worst fault they have is not
having been properly broken in, and bitted, which
is the cause of many of them being restive.

The Irish hunter is a very different animal from
what he was half a century back. He was always
celebrated for leaping, but until lately the want of
breedinp' rendered him nearly useless as a hunter,
in the countries which require speed, as well as the
accomplishment of leaping. At the present time,
numbers of excellent well-bred Irish hunters are
annually imported into England, and being found
to answer well, fetch good prices. This is the re-
sult of horse-breeders in Ireland seeinsj the neceg-
sity of putting their hunting mares to thorough-
bred stallions, and not, as before, to the slow, preat-
jum2nng hunter, no matter how low^ his breed. The
improved cross, being again put to the thorough-
bred stallion, of course has produced a still better
kind of animal, and thus are Irish hunters " pro-
gressing'' toAvards perfection.

The method of leaping of the native Irish horse
is peculiarly suited to some of our English coun-
ties, Cheshire and Lancashire, for example, and
likewise to those inclosed with walls both in Eng-
land and Scotland. To use an expressive Irish
phrase, " they have always a leg to spare," imply-
ing that they have a ready use of their hinder-legs ;
which is the fact, in tipping or touching walls or

160 THE IRISH HORSE.

banks, with one or both, which gives them a fresh
fulcrum, from which they can extend their leap, in
case of their finding an unforeseen difficulty or ob-
stacle on the landing side. In the wall counties of
Ireland, indeed, the horses are taught to alight on
their hinder-legs upon the summit of the wall, after
the manner of the dog when he leaps a ^ate, which,
if the wall be broad and firm, adds to the facility
of the exertion, as also to the safety of the rider.
An Irish horse, performing this feat, cleverly
sketched by Aiken, forms an introductory illustra-
tion to the present Chapter. Irish hunters are
generally good brook jumpers, being educated, in-
deed bred, amongst drains ; but field gates, or stiles,
being of rare occurrence in the pastoral districts of
Ireland, they are not to be relied upon as timber
leapers, until they have been initiated into that de-
scription of fence.

Persons who have had experience in Irish hunters
have found them very shy of having a whip, with
a thong to it, made use of by the rider, either for
the purpose of smacking it, or to strike an unruly
hound. This we fear proceeds from unnecessary
severity in the exercise of the whip in breaking,
but which would be obviated if breeders were aware
of the inconvenience it occasions to servants, who
are called upon to ride Irish horses with hounds,
in the capacity of huntsmen or whippers-in. We
have seen a few of these horses nearly useless from
this cause, as servants' horses ; although well suited
in every other respect, to this peculiar purpose,
from their style of fencing and hardiness.

HAKKAWAY. 161

The Irish race-horse was formerly far behind the
English, neither is it probable that he will ever be
his equal, from circumstances unnecessary to detail.
Some horses, however, coming under the denomi-
nation of good runners, have been imported from
Ireland within the last twenty years ; one, in par-
ticular, called Harkaway, perhaps the best racer of
his year. With nine stones nine pounds on his
back, and the ground soft from rain, he ran two
miles and three-quarters over the Goodwood course
(in 1840,) in three minutes and fifty-six seconds,
winning his race hard held ! I It must, however,
be admitted, that horses bred and trained in one
country, and running in another, meet their rivals
under disadvantageous circumstances.

1G2

THE SCOTCH HORSE.

SCOTLAND UNFAVOURABLE TO BREEDING RACERS THE

CLYDESDALE HORSE-

Like all cold countries, Scotland is unfavourable
to breeding the race-horse in his best form ; and
the only prospect of rearing him to any thing ap-
proaching perfection, is to shelter him with un-
usual care from the weather, when either cold or
Avet, and to force him with the highest keep. Scot-
tish-bred hunters, however, are esteemed in the
hunting world as a stout, hardy race, and they,
like the Irish, are now^ well enough bred to live
with hounds at the present speedy rate at which
those animals run, according to the fashion of the
present day. Of the native Highland pony, it is
unnecessary to say much, its merits being so well
known ; and the Scotch cart-horses are decidedly
the best in Great Britain. The peculiar variety
known as Clydesdale horses, stand first in repute.
Of the origin of this race, various accounts have
been given, but none of them so clear or so well
authenticated, as to merit much notice. They ac-
quired their appellation, not because they are pecu-
liar to Clydesdale, as the same description of horses

THE CLYDESDALE BREED. IH'A

are bfed in the other western counties of Scotland,
and over all that tract which lies between the Clyde
and the Forth, but because the principal markets
at which they are sold, namely, Lanark, Carnwath.
Rutherglen, and Glasgow, are situated in that dis-
trict, where they are also preserved in a state of
greater purity than in most other parts. They are
rather larger than the Suftblk-punch, and the neck
is somewhat longer ; their colour is black, brown,
or grey ; all the essential points for heavy draught
are very conspicuously developed ; and they are ex-
tremely docile withal, and excellent at what is
called a dead pull. Some magnificent specimens
of this breed are to be seen in the streets of Glas-
gow, in the service of the merchants and carriers of
that city. We have reason to believe, that, if
tried by a dynamometer, the Clydesdale horse
would exceed any other of his inches and weight in
his powers of draught; and his quick step adds
much to his value.

164

TREATMENT OF HORSES.

STABLE MANAGEMENT CAUSES WHICH HAVE PRODUCED

THE IMPROVEMENT IN TRAINING THE RACE-HORSE

" summering" the hunter BODILY INFIRMITIES

AND DISEASES OF THE HORSE — PHYSIC TREATMENT

OF THE GRASS-FED HUNTER GROOMS STABLES

PADDOCKS FOOD WIND TREATMENT AFTER HUNT-
ING— TREATMENT OF HORSES* LEGS THE FOOT.

Humanity and mercy are esteemed the choicest
characteristics of man ; and there is hardly a
greater instance of ill-nature, or a more certain
token of a cruel disposition, than the abuse of
dumb animals, especially of those who contribute
to our convenience and pleasures. Judge Hale
beautifully expresses himself on this subject in his
Contemplations : — " There is a degree of justice,'*
says he, '' due from man to the creatures, as from
man to man ; and an excessive use of the creatures'
labour, is an injustice for which he must account.
I have therefore always esteemed it a part of my
duty to be merciful to my beasts,'" But we mi2;ht
as well expect mercy from the hysena, as compas-
sion hr the sufferings of hoi*ses in the possession of
a certain portion of the community, who purchase

STABLE MANAGEMENT. 1 6o

them when nearly worn out, and work them till
nature sinks. We know of no remedy for this ;
but it is pleasing to reflect, that, in the better classes
of society, so noble, generous, and useful an animal
as the horse, is now freed from many evils to which
he was formerly subjected. The short-docking of
the cart-horse, the effect of prejudice and ignorance,
it being supposed to add strength to his back, is
very generally discontinued, and he is allowed the
use of a full tail, the only natural defence against
the torment of flies in the summer. Those barba-
rous operations, nicking the tail, and cropping the
ears of pleasure horses, are very seldom had re-
course to in Great Britain ; neither is firing the
limbs nearly so frequent a remedy as it was, ve-
terinary science having substituted other equally
efficacious, but less painful means. And, though
last, not least, the improved condition, the effect
of better stable management, of all horses employed
in fast work, whether on the race-course, in the
field, or on the road, has very considerably lessened
their sufferings. On this subject we offer the fol-
lowing remarks : —

Condition or stable management of the horse.
— Nothing has more largely contributed towards
the celebrity of the horses of Great Ijritain than
the superior management of them in the stable, or
what is termed their " condition."" Every species
of horse has experienced the benefit of it, and we
have reason to believe it has attained perfection
under the improved system adapted to each variety

166 GENERAL TREATMENT OP HORSES.

of the animal. Tlie training of the race-horse is
brought to such a nicety, that his running can be
calculated nearly to a certainty by his work — that
is, by the number of sweats and gallops he has had
before his race ; and the stage-coach and post-horse
now come forth from their stall? in all the pride of
health and spirits, instead of being the pitiable
objects they were, not fifty years back. Not only
the hackney, but the agricultural-horse, has par-
taken of this advantageous addition to natural
powers, and which, if not unnecessarily trespassed
upon, very considerably diminishes the severity of
his daily labour. But the greatest change for the
better has been effected in the physical condition
of the hunter, who now appears at the cover side
in the vio-orous state of the race-horse ; in a state,
in fact, in which he ought to appear, inasmuch as
he is called upon to go at a racing pace, and yet, if
fairly ridden throughout the chase, he is, by this
means, rendered nearly superior to fatigue. How
all this has been accomplished, we will endeavour
to show ; and at the same time to make it apparent,
that although Nature never presents us with ani-
mals in what we call condition, (a state altogether
artificial,) yet she is ever ready and desirous to
meet the demands of Art, when scientifically and
judiciously made upon her.

The improvement in training the race-horse has
been the result of two distinct causes, each equally
likely to produce the desired effect. First, practi-
cal experience, an excellent schoolmaster in such
matters ; and, secondly, both breeders and trainers

TRAIXIXG THE B ACE-HORSE. !()/

of tlii.s animal How look into books, not only read-
ins: them, but reflecting upon what they read.
Having been told, on indisputable authority, that
the highly rarified air and arid soil of Arabia pro-
duce muscular power and firmly condensed bone in
the horse, not to be found elsewhere, and that the
antelope, the fleetest animal in the world, is fleeter
there than in any other part of the globe, they
have naturally been led to the conclusion, that the
opposite agents of humid atmosphere and succulent
food have a directly opposite eft'ect ; that, by in-
creasing flesh and humours, they tend in proportion
to diminish muscular firmness, solidity of bone, and,
consequently, elasticity of action, the main-spring
of both speed and endurance ; in short, to alter, if
not to destroy, all those points v/hich are so pecu-
liarly characteristic of the animal in which they
themselves are interested. They have at length
found out, that the race-horse should have not an
ounce of unnecessary bulk in his frame ; on the
contrary, that he should have as much power as
can possibly be produced in a given space ; and
that all this can only be eff'ected here by something
approaching to the means by which it is eftected
elsewhere. A knowledge of these facts, then, has
produced a substitute for the natural advantages of
the horse of the Desert, in warm sheds, very small
and dry paddocks, and hard, dry food, for our
racing colts, instead of large paddocks, plentifully
clothed with grass, often of the coarsest descrip-
tion, imperfectly formed sheds, and not more than
half the corn eaten by them at present. As wf

168 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

have already observed, a racing-colt may now be
said to be in training, if not from the day on which
he is foaled, from that on which he is weaned ; for
his condition, at least the foundation of it, is from
that period in progress. Again, the early period
of his going into work, compared with what it for-
merly was, but now become so general, has not
been without its effect. It has called forth addi-
tional exercise of the trainer's professional skill ;
for it may easily be imagined, that, bringing very
young horses to the post, in the perfect state of
condition, and full development of muscular power,
in which we now-a-days see them at every race-
meeting in our island, is a very difficult task, and
that it is a still more difficult one to preserve them
in that state, even for a few days. Both constitu-
tion and temper being to be consulted, the very re-
finement of the art is called for; in fact, the trainer
must act upon principle, and very cautiously too,
in his efforts to forestall nature. Inasmuch, how-
ever, as muscular action produces muscular strength,
the racer of the present day, reared as he is reared,
and consequently in a more condensed form, does
not, with few exceptions, require the very severe
work which it was formerly necessary to give him,
to increase his muscular powers, as well as to rid
him of the bulk of flesh and humours he acquired
in his colthood, under the old system of rearing
him. A sight of our two-year-olds at the starting-
post, is the best demonstration of what is here
stated. They exhibit a development of muscle in
their forced and early maturity almost equal to that

TRAINING THE RACE-HORSE. 169

of the adult horse, and carry eight stones and up-
wards at a racing pace — a weight unheard of upon
so young an animal in former times. How far,
however, this forced maturity and its consequences
— namely, severe work — and the excitement of
high keep, at so tender an age, are favourable to
him or to his produce in after life, is another ques-
tion ; but the use of a system should never be esti-
mated by the abuse of it. If our race-horses are
not, and we believe they are not, so stout in their
running as formerly — that is to say, thirty years
back — the cause may fairly be traced to the great
value of produce stakes and others, which bring
them to the post at so early an age ; so much so,
that, in the language of the Turf, a four-year-old
colt of the present day is called " the old horsed

But a still more material alteration for the bet-
ter has taken place within the last few years in the
stable management and condition of the British
hunter, arising principally from a different treat-
ment of him in the non-hunting months. It had,
from time immemorial, been the usual remark of
the sportsman, on his hunters being turned out of
their stable in the spring, for the supposed necessary
advantao^e of the " summer's run at ^rass," that it
was to be lamented that the hunting: season was
concluded, as the condition of his stud was so per-
fect. The fact was, that until then, or nearly till
then, they had not been in really good condition
at all ; and, how strange soever it may appear to
any one reflecting upon the subject, by the act of
turning them to grass for this " summer's run,"" he

170 GENERAL TREATMEXT OF HORSES.

was about to undo all that his groom and himself
had been doing during the nine preceding months,
namely, to destroy the perfect state of condition
which he was at that time lamenting over. Still
more strange, however, is the fact, that although
the evils of this out-of-door system for three months
in the year, to an animal who lived the other nine
in warm stables and well clothed, were hinted at
by Mr. Beckford, in his celebrated Letters upon
Hunting, and abandoned by a few of our first-rate
sportsmen of, and subsequent to, his day, and par-
ticularly about the commencement of the present
century, by the example of the Earl of Sefton,
when he was owner of the Quorndon hounds, in
Leicestershire, still the ruinous system of the three
and generally four months'* run at grass (viz., from
1st of May to the 12th or 20th of August) con-
tinued to be practised until these evils were exposed
in all their appalling deformity, and the advan-
tages of an opposite system made manifest, in a
series of letters by the present writer in the Old
Sporting Magazine, which have since been published
in a separate form, and very widely circulated. We
may also add, that the eftect of this exposure has
been nearly a general abandonment of the grazing
system in the studs of all men who mean to ride
near hounds.

Previously to our enumerating the real advan-
tages of the modern system of " summering the
hunter,'*'' we will state the imaginary ones of the
old one, and which, as may be supposed, are still
held to be such by those who reluctantly acquiesce

SUMMERING THE HUNTER. 171

ill any kind of reform. First, the purging by
spring grass is insisted upon. Secondly, a relaxa-
tion of the muscles, and what is called a lettino-
down of the whole system to its natural state.
Thirdly, the benefit the feet receive from the dews
of the evening, and coming in contact with the
cool earth. Fourthly, the saving of expense.
Fifthly, a kind feeling towards the animal, who,
they say, is entitled to his liberty for a certain
period of the year, and to the free enjoyment of
his natural state. And, lastly, the absolute neces-
sity of rest to the limbs, after the labours of the
preceding season. We will now make our own
comment on each of these presumed facts.

And, first, we admit there is a laxative, and
therefore a cooling, property in early spring grass ;
but as a purgative it is insufiicient, which is ad-
mitted by the fact of its having been generally con-
sidered necessary to give two dozes of physic to
hunters previously to their being turned abroad for
the summer (thus administering the antidote, as it
were, before the poison,) and to physic them im-
mediately when taken up. Here, then, is at once
an answer to the first objection to the improved
system of in-door treatment in the summer ; even
supposing that spring grass could not be given to
a horse in a loose box, whereas it is evident that
it can.

Secondly, the entire letting down of the system,
by a sudden change of food from that which is
highly invigorating to that which is only succulent
and relaxing, is neither called for, nor can it be

1 72 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

wholesome. It is never had recourse to with the
race-horse during his period of inactivity, and why
should it be with the hunter I We would ask the
owner of a horse so treated, how he thinks it would
agree with his own constitution and his digestion,
to be suddenly taken from beef and port-wine to a
purely vegetable diet ; and the analogy holds good.*
Thirdly, a great mistake has prevailed on this
point, the preservation of the feet. A certain de-
gree of moisture is beneficial to the foot of the
horse, a continued exposure to wet most injurious
to it, as the certain cause of thrushes, and in time
total destruction of the frogs. Thus, history in-
forms us that the horses in HannibaFs army were
rendered unserviceable by travelling many days in
succession in very wet ground. But we have bet-
ter authority here than that of Livy, because it
applies to horses which wore shoes, whereas Han-
nibaFs wore none. Mr. Goodwin, senior, late vete-
rinary surgeon to his Majesty George IV., in his

" In the Veterinarian, No. 59, vol. v., p. 645, we find the Editor
coinciding vath the present writer on this point, in his second re-
view of his Letters on Condition " These pithy and valuable ex-
tracts," says he, " at the same time that they serve to expose our
author's views in regard to summering the hunter, demonstrate a
sagacity and experience on the subject, no less worthy of the admira-
tion of the professional man, than of the sportsman himself. The
leading consideration in summering the hunter is to maintain his con-
dition, or rather, we should say, to guard against his losing that
which we know, both by education as medical men. and experience
as sportsmen, once lost, will require much time and pains to be re-
acquired. Change of food is necessarily productive, in the animal
constitution, of alteration of structure ; though parts cannot be said
to change their nature under their influence, yet they do become
HTeatlv altered, both in texture and in tone."

SUMMERING THE HUNTER. 173

work on the Diseases of the Feet, has the follow-
ing passage, in allusion to the evils of having the
feet of horses saturated, as they must be during a
summer, with wet at one time, and then suddenly
exposed to a hot sun and a drying wind at another.
" I have invariably observed," says Mr. Goodwin,
" where horses are turned out to grass during the
dry and hot summer months, that on bringing them
up to be put into stable condition, their feet are in
a much worse state than they were when they went
out, dried up, and so hard and brittle, that, on the
application of a tool to bring them into a form to
receive a shoe, the horn breaks like a piece of glass,
and all the naturally tough and elastic property is
lost, so that it requires some months to remove the
bad effects. If it is necessary that a horse should
be put out of work during the hot and dry weather,
I prefer a large box or shed, and soiling with green
food ; by which means two objects are gained, viz.
all the injurious effects of a drying wind or a meri-
dian sun on the hoof are avoided, which create
such an excessive evaporation of the natural mois-
ture absorbed into the horn from within, that it
not only becomes dry, hard, and brittle, but the
whole horny box tightens on the sensible parts, and
frequently produces great mischief. But in a loose
place, moisture may be applied in any desirable
way." In addition to the above, Mr. Goodwin
says, " Horses at grass are much inclined to
thrushes ; " which renders it unnecessary for us to
say more on this subject at present, although we
shall by-and-by offer the result of our own expe-
rience in the treatment of horses' feet in the summer.

174 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

Fourthly, a saving in expense. This is an ob-
jection too trifling to be admitted in opposition to
any real advantages. It was calculated by Nim-
rod,* allowing only four shillings per week to have
been the charge for each horse, supposing him to
have been summered at grass, that the extra ex-
pense of his six hunters, summered after his system,
which we shall further explain, amounted to only
c£^13, 18s. The mere chance in favour of exemp-
tion from accidents to which horses abroad are
liable, is worth more than this inconsiderable sum
to the man who keeps six hunters in his stable ;
but twice its amount would be realised in the sale
of any of the six, if offered at the hammer in No-
vember, beyond the sum he would have produced,
had he been summered solely in the fields.

Fifthly, we would go any length in advocating
the extreme of kind treatment to so noble an ani-
mal as the horse; but experience has taught us,
that neither the open field, nor the shade, is a bed
of roses, in the summer months, to the well-bred,
and naturally thin-skinned hunter ; for the oestrum,
or blood-sucker, pursues him in each ; and the des-
perate attempts he often makes to avoid them,
shows the horror he has of their attacks. But,
unluckily for the advocates of this system, one of
the greatest evils of the out-of-door system here

* Two tons five hundred weights of hay, at £4 per ton,. ..£9 0 0

Seventy-one bushels of oats, at 4s. 6d, per bushel, 14 4 0

Beans, 1 10 0

£24 14 0

Six horses at grass nine weeks, at 4s. per week, 10 16 0

£13 18 0

SUMMERING THE HUNTER. 17o

stares us in the face. If the horse cannot get away
from this host of tormenters, his only remedy against
them is, galloping from one end of his pasture to
the other, or else stamping with his feet against the
hard ground, and often against the roots of trees, to
scare them from one part of his body only to settle
upon another. The injury to both feet and legs, from
a daily succession of these operations, may be left
to the imagination of the reader ; but against the
charge of cruelty, we quote the following remark
from Nimrod''s Letters: — " In the very hot weather,''
(he is speaking of the summer of 1825, which was
remarkable for the intenseness of its heat,) " I
made a few observations, which are not irrelevant
to my present purpose, particularly as to the charge
of cruelty in keeping hunters in the house, in the
summer. On the 29th of July, one of the hottest
days, the thermometer was one degree higher, at
two o'clock at noon, in my two four-stall stables, in
each of which three horses had stood for sixteen
days and nights, than it was in the entrance-hall
of my house, which is twenty-three feet high, and
contains three large windows and six doors, and the
aspect due east. Now, will any one tell me, that
the most tender animal could be injured by breath-
ing such an atmosphere as this ? But all is not
yet told. I removed the thermometer on the same
day, and about the same hour, into the shade, and
there itwas/oz^r degrees higher than in m?/ two four-
stall stables. Here, then, the objection to horses
standing ' sweating in the stables in the summer
time,' returns to its real insignificance."

176 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

Lastly, upon the subject of rest, and the means
of procuring the advantages of it to the hunter by
a summer's run in the fields, we cannot do better
than quote from the same author : — " When dis-
cussing the subject of summering hunters with a
friend, who is an advocate for the grazing system,
he made use of the following expression : ' I dare
say it may be all very well to keep them in the
house in the summer, but then they have not the
benefit of the rest which they get when at grass.'
I could not help smiling at this strange perversion
of facts ; and ventured to ask him, Whether, if he
were examined in natural philosophy, and asked,
what is rest^ he would answer, motion f and, if he
did, that answer would not be a whit less absurd
than his other. If rest be desirable, as we know
it is, for a hunter's legs, after the labours of a win-
ter, surely he must obtain it more effectually in a
small confined place, than when suffered to run
over a large tract of land, and to stamp the ground
with his feet for so many hours each day." Nei-
ther does the labour to the legs end here. All
persons who have ridden horses, whose groAvth has
been forced in their bodies, as that of most hunters
has been, must have perceived that, when letting
them drink in shallow water, their fore-legs totter
under them, in the attempt to reach the water with
their mouth. Such is the case with the hunter, at
least with the properly formed one, when in the
act of grazing (for the horse prefere a short bite) ;
and the tremor in his legs shows the stress that is
laid upon them, to enable him to reach his food.

SUMMERING THE HUNTER. 177

In fact, many horses (and we could name some well
known hunters) cannot reach the ground at all
with their mouths, unless it be by the painful posi-
tion of placing one fore-foot close to their mouth,
and the other even with the hinder-legs ; and con-
sequently their owners have not been able to turn
them out, had they been inclined h> do so.

The principal objection to summering a horse
abroad, consists in the danger we expose him to by
the violent change from a stable at the temperature
of 63^ (the common one of hunting stables,) and
the addition of warm clothing, to a bed upon the
cold ground on a wet night ; or, which often hap-
pens in the month of May, to the influence of sharp
frost ; all this, also, when the animal has scarcely
any coat on his back to provide against the effects
of bad weather; and with a skin highly porous,
from frequent perspiration in his exercise and work,
and long-continued friction in the stable. As well
might we expect to find animals and plants that
can sustain the heat of the torrid, and the cold of
the frigid zone, as horses to bear those extremes
with impunity ! On the contrary, it is the con-
firmed opinion of most veterinary surgeons, that
more hunters have been ruined by becoming roar-
ers, broken-winded, or blind, from this cause, than
from any other to which they are subjected ; and
they are backed in their opinion by reason. For
it is not necessary that the newly-turned-out hun-
ter should be exposed to either a wet or a frosty
night, to produce disordered functions ; the com-
mon exhalations from the ground in the evening,

178 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

are sufficient to produce them, by a sudden constric-
tion of the pores, opened as they have been by the
effect of a hot sun during the day. " Heat and
cold, moisture and dryness," says Mr. Percival, in
his last work on the Horse, when treating on the
theory of inflammation, " all in their turn become
excitants of inflammation ; their mischievous agency
residing more in the vicissitudes from one state to
its opposite, than in any obnoxiousness in our cli-
mate, from their excess or continuance. They may
operate either directly as excitants, or indirectly,
simply as predisposing causes." Few veterinarians,
indeed, as Mr. Percival expresses himself, now-a-
days, feel inclined to deny the uncongeniality of
cold and wet to the constitutions of horses, or to
maintain, that they do not very often, in such
situations, contract the foundations for disease,
which, at some future time, is apt to break out,
and prove fatal to them. Nor are the remarks of
this scientific practitioner and most perspicuous
writer, less to our purpose, when speaking of the
horse that is turned out of his stable in the winter.
" Take a horse," says he, in his chapter on ' Hide-
bound,' " fat and sleek in condition, out of a warm
stable, where he has been well clothed and fed,
turn him, during the cold and wet of winter into a
straw-yard, and go and look at him three months
afterwards, and you will hardly recognise your own
horse. You will find him with a long, shaggy,
staring coat ; a belly double the size it was when
in condition ; and a skin sticking close and fast to
his ribs, which may now be readily counted with

SUMMERING THE HUNTER. 179

the hand, if not with the eye/' But here the ana-
logy between the horse turned out to grass in the
summer, and the horse sent to a straw-yard in the
winter, ceases. The latter loses flesh, and becomes
hide-bound, both of which will find a remedy in a
return to more generous food in the stable, with
the assistance of alterative medicine ; and he will
speedily resume his condition. But it will not be
so with the grass-fed hunter. He has accumulated
a load of soft, unhealthy flesh, which must be got
rid of at the expense of his legs and feet ; or, in
the language of grooms, " it must be exchanged
for better flesh, the produce of hay and corn."" By
feeding ad lihitum^ however, he has so pl^thorised
his system, and trespassed upon his digestive or-
gans, that this is become not merely a work of la-
bour and time, but one of no small risk to the gene-
ral soundness of his constitution. Nor is even this
the extent of the mischief. Under the most favour-
able circumstances, it is not in the power of a groom,
how good soever he may be, to bring the grass-fed
hunter into the field, fit to be ridden with hounds,
until the hunting season is half expired. For proof
of this assertion, we need only go to the race-horse,
who cannot be made fit to run under, at least, six
months' preparation, although he has not been at
grass since he was six months old. Nature will not
be put out of her course by violence ; and horses
can only be got into good condition by degrees, by
long-continued slow work at first, increasing in
pace as their condition increases ; and it has been
the attempt to get the grass -fed hunter into some-

180 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

thing approaching to condition, by hurrying him in
his work, under a load of flesh, and with his mus-
cles in a relaxed state, that has ruined thousands
of good horses, by the injury done to their legs
especially ; and will ruin thousands more, if per-
severed in. The change of food, again, has been
the cause of more broken-winded horses than any
thing else that can be named. " It must dispose,"
says Mr. Percival, " from its being the chief cause
of plethora, to general diathesis of the system ; and
so far it contributes to the production of pneumo-
nia, or any other inflammatory afi'ection.'' To this
we may add blindness, the natural consequence of
the dependent posture of the head when feeding, in
an animal in the plethoric state, that a previously
highly-fed hunter must fall into, after being some
weeks at grass ; and likewise of constant irritation
from flies and sun. Neither should the following
remark of Mr. PercivaFs be forgotten by gentlemen
who turn out their hunters during a wet summer.
" Cold,"" says he, " abstractedly from wet, even
although it be alternated with heat, is not found
to be near so prejudicial as when moisture is pre-
sent too ; hence we are in the habit of viewing frosty
weather as a season of health among horses ; and
hence it is, that the spring and autumnal months
are the most unhealthy, the weather being then
moist and variable, and the wind generally in a
cold quarter." Again, " Two undomesticated
horses,"' says he, " out of three, under five years
old, that are taken from cold situations, and kept
in warm stables, will receive catarrh. But even

SUMMERING THE HUNTER. 181

domesticated horses that are advanced in years, and
that have been accustomed to such changes, do not
always escape, unless some precautionary measures
be taken ; for hunters taken up from grass in August,
unless due attention be paid to the temperature of
the stable, are often the subjects of catarrhal at-
tacks."

Perhaps the summer of 1835 may be produced
in proof of the danger of subjecting stabled horses
to atmospherical changes. In the first week of
June, 78, 80, 82, and 84 degrees of heat were
marked by the thermometer. On the 1.3th, the
maximum of heat was 15 degrees less than that of
the preceding day ; and on the 23d, the thermome-
ter fell to 47 degrees, succeeded by four days' rain,
with wind veering to south-east, back to west, then
to north and north-east, at times furiously high !

We must be allowed two more remarks on the
evils of the out-of-door system. Amongst the phy-
sical changes which the body is capable of receiving,
none is so visibly effected as in the diminished, or
increased, size of the belly ; and the latter alterna-
tion of form is speedily effected by a horse eating
grass, and nothing but grass. When a man goes
into training for a match against time, or a prize-
fight, the first act of his trainer is, to reduce the
size of his belly ; for, until that is done, his respi-
ration is not free enough to enable him to make
such bodily exertions as are essential to augment
his natural vigour, and put him into the best pos-
sible condition ; and this exactly applies to the
grass-fed hunter taken up in August. He has

182 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

exchanged an active untiring frame, for a bloated
and breathless carcass ; and nothing can be done
with him until, bj purging and severe work^ when he
is not in a fit state to endure it with impunity^ the
nature of his frame is gradually altered from weak-
ness to vio'orous health. But this must be the
work of time, for, although Nature will admit of
improvement, she will not allow herself to be hur-
ried by the unreasonable innovations of man.

Our next remarks relate to bodily infirmities and
local diseases, to which the horse, by the severity
of his labours, is always more or less subject. Se-
veral of these, such as splents, spavins, curbs, and
ring-bones, are easily checked, if discovered in their
incipient state ; but when, by being undiscovered
for only a short time, a certain progress is made in
them, the cure is far from certain, at all events,
more difficult. Now, under the old system of the
summer's run abroad, this was most frequently the
case. Horses, when taken up, were found to have
thrown out those excrescences unperceived, which,
as soon as they began to work, caused lameness
and disappointment ; whereas, under the improved
system of summering the hunter, they could not
have escaped the constant inspection of the groom,
and an immediate check would have been given to
them. The short-cough, vulgarly and stupidly
called a " grass cough," also too often swelled the
catalogue of disasters ; and, in six cases out of ten,
ended in broken wind or roaring. But it may not
here be amiss to address ourselves to owners of
hunters, who may adopt either one system or the

SUMMERING THE HUNTER. 183

other of treating them in the summer months ; we
mean, as regards their legs, the treatment of which
now forms a conspicuous feature in the science of
the stable, particularly the racing stable. Many
valuable animals are ruined in consequence of their
owners and their grooms not knowing, perhaps not
wishing to know, when their legs are going amiss,
and consequently stopping them in their work,
before the evil gets a-head. It is irksome, no doubt,
to give up the use of a hunter, especially if a fa-
vourite one, and in blooming condition ; but it is
only by such prudent conduct, that we can expect
a lengthened enjoyment of his services. It is a
lamentable fact that, generally speaking, good-con-
stitutioned horses would wear out two sets of legs
and feet, w4iich shows the urgent necessity of tak-
ing care of them.

We now take our leave of the old, and, we may
add, ruinous system of treating hunters in the
summer, and proceed to state how they ought to
be treated in the non-hunting months ; as also to
offer a few directions for the management of them
when in work. To begin, we are far from averse
to resting the hunter in the summer, although we
cannot shut our eyes to the fact of horses working
hard for a great many years in succession, without
experiencing Avhat is here meant by "• rest^^'' (name-
ly, not having a saddle on their backs for three or
four months,) and remaining sound and healthy to
the end of a long life. Our great object is, to give
the hunter fair play, by preserving, instead of de-
stroA^ins:, his condition at the same time that we

184 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

rest him ; and in this we think, that, by prevent-
ing exhaustion in his work when he returns to it,
we offer him much more than an equiv^alent for the
fancied enjoyment of his " snuffing the air in his
native liberty,'' and " making his bed on the cool
ground,'' so stoutly insisted upon by many of the
old school, who will not march with the times, and
who cannot divest themselves of prejudices, how
dear soever they may cost them.

The period of " turning ?fp," not " o?^^," hunters
towards the close of the season should depend on
circumstances. Those whose legs may be doubtful,
should be the first thrown out of work ; and after
them old ones, who, how well soever they may go
over a country when it is soft, are in danger of
breaking down when it becomes hard, as it always
does in March, particularly in ploughed countries.

The first act of a groom, when his horses have
done their work for the season, is to give them two
doses of mild physic, which, by their eff'ect on their
legs, will greatly assist him in discovering the
amount, if any, of the injury that may have been
done to them. Should anything serious exhibit
itself, we recommend him (unless he be a first-rate
professor of his art) to avail himself of the advice
of a veterinary surgeon, as to the steps proper to
be taken ; and the sooner those steps are taken, the
better will it be for his horses. The barbarous, the
senseless, practice of blistering, generally the two
fore-legs, and often the hinder ones also, previously
to turning out, under the old system, is now, we
are glad to say, abandoned, not only on account of

SUMMERING THE HUNTER. 185

its inutility, but, by the spread of veterinary science,
sportsmen have found oat tliat the application of
blisters to healthy legs is injurious. The merely
irritating the surface of the skin cannot be produc-
tive of advantage, when no disease exists ; on the
contrary, it often rouses the sleeping lion, which it
is afterwards difficult to pacify. As counteractors
of internal inflammation, or as counter-irritants, as
they are called, blisters are highly useful ; likewise
to all bony excrescences, such as splents, spavins,
or ring-bones, when in an incipient state ; but, in
order to render them efficacious, they should be
repeated till healtJiy pus is obtained. If judiciously
applied in strains, they are also not unserviceable,
as they help to unload the vessels near the afiected
part. Supposing, then, no serious mischief has been
done to the legs of a hunter during the season, we
thus proceed in our course of treatment of him : —
Previously to stripping him of his clothes, he
should go through his second dose of physic, and be
treated exactly as if he were in work for at least a
fortnight afterwards, with the exception of his hav-
ing only walking exercise, a diminished allowance
of corn, and the wisp, without the brush, applied
to his body. We now arrive at a point on which
there is some difterence of opinion, at all events,
one which must be left to the option of the owner ;
namely, whether, as is the practice in the stables of
some of our first-rate sportsmen, the hunter is to
be kept in gentle work throughout the summer, or
to be thrown entirely aside for a certain number of
weeks, varying from nine to twelve^ We will,

186 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

however, state the best method of proceeding under
each of these systems.

The horse kept in work (we should rather have
said exercise) during the summer, should be exer-
cised very early in the morning on soft, but not
wet ground (a low meadow, or rather a marshy
common, for example,) that his feet may have the
advantage of moisture, and also that he may not
be tormented by flies, or exposed to a hot sun. Two
hours will be sufficient, the pace to be varied alter-
nately from the walk to the jog-trot. It is desirable
that a horse thus treated should not be tied up in
a stall, but have the enjoyment of a large loose-
house. Of course, attention should be paid to his
feet, removing his shoes every third or fourth
week ; and they should be stopped Avith wet tow
every second night. To those who object to this
in-door treatment of the hunter on the score of
danger to his feet, we can only say, from our own
experience, that their fears are groundless ; and we
also refer them to the first cavalry barrack they
pass by, or even to the stables of our inn-keepers
on the road, in which they will find feet in the
highest state of preservation, that haA^e been sub-
ject to in-door treatment for many years. We
prefer damp tow to any other sort of stopping for
horses' feet, because, exclusive of the moisture, it
affords a uniform pressure to the frog and outer
sole of the feet, which is favourable to their healthy
state. Indeed, to some of the finely-formed, open
feet which we see on first-rate hunters, the soles of
which are apt to be thin, this pressure is most ad-

SUMMERING THE HUNTER. 187

vantageous in preventing a disposition in them to
become flat or convex, instead of moderately con-
cave ; and for this purpose was the " horse-pad,''
or " elastic stopping," invented by Mr. Cherry,
veterinary surgeon of London, which may be pre-
ferable to the tow, but not always at hand. When
the latter is used, it should be forced into the foot
with all the strength of a man's fingers or thumb.
The food of hunters thus summered should be
regulated by circumstances. Good flesh, we know,
is strength ; but that which is generated in com-
parative idleness only contributes to weakness.
Our object, then, should be to prevent a horse,
treated in the manner we now allude to, from
throwing up much flesh, and we must therefore feed
accordingly, and also study constitution. At all
events, three small feeds of oats (we do not feel
ourselves justified in recommending beans, although
we know some sportsmen give them ; except in very
peculiar cases, such as extreme delicacy of consti-
tution, a disposition to scour, or throw ofl" food,)
per day are sufficient for any horse, with the addi-
tion of a large, sloppy, bran-mash, once or twice
a-week. As to green food, we recommend that
with caution. We approve of its being given occa-
sionally for three or four days in succession, merely
as soiling, to attenuate the blood, not to produce
flesh ; and this repeated now and then at intervals,
whilst the green meat (be it what it may) is young,
but by no means afterwards. Many grooms mix
hay with green food, which, after the first two or
three times of giving it, we think a judicious plan.

188 GENERAL TEE-\T:MEXT OF HORSES.

But, be it observed, for reasons we have already
given, we object to a hunter acquiring a load of
flesh in the summer, the produce of succulent food.
A moderate use of alteratives is beneficial through-
out the summer to horses which live well, but do
not work, as, by their mild and gradual impres-
sion, a healthy action of the bowels is kept up, as
well as insensible perspiration increased.

The horse not kept in work should be thus treated
in the summer : — He should run loose in the bay
of a barn, or any large covered place where he gets
exercise, and breathes fresh air, without exposure
to the sun. His physic, food, &c., should be as
before directed ; but as he is now unsliod, and con-
sequently cannot have his hoofs filled with any
thing which can impart moisture to them, he
should be made to stand two hours every day.
under cover, in moistened clay. Unless after fir-
ing, or severe blistering, when the sedative powers
of cold air are efficacious in checking local inflam-
mation, we prefer the hunter being housed through-
out the night, to his lying out even in a paddock,
as he is less liable to disease and accidents ; but we
admit that the danger of exposure to night air is
greatly diminished by his having been kept cool
throughout the day, by which he is less susceptible
of atmospheric influence, or the alternation from
warmth to cold, tlian if his arterial system had
been acted upon by exposure to a mid- day sun.
The sticklers, then, for the " dews of heaven,"' and
the " bed upon the cool earth,"" may here indulge
their predilections ; but, for our own part, we give

SUMMERING THE HUNTER. 189

the preference to the house at night with horses
free from disease.

The state of the horses, summered as we have
now described, will in great measure resemble each
other, although, as may be supposed, the one which
has been kept on in his exercise will be most for-
ward in condition. Neither of them, however, will
have lost much of tlieir proper form ; but a dis-
tinction must be made in our proceedings wdth
them, when preparing them for the forthcoming
season. " Suffer a horse to be idle," says Mr.
Percival, "to do little or no work, and feed him
well during the time, and the redundant nourish-
ment floating in his blood will be laid up in the
form of fat ; put the same animal to work, and that
blood, which otherwise would have been turned
into fat, will now be transformed into materials of
strength." Here, then, it is evident that the horse
which has been kept in exercise will require some-
what of a different preparation to the one which
has remained unshod, and consequently idle. The
first will require very little alteration in his pro-
ceedings until nearly the approach of the hunting
season, as he will soon be prepared for quick work ;
but it will be by long- continued slow work, in-
creasing in pace as his condition increases, that the
second will be quite himself again, from the relaxed
state of his muscles, somewhat redundant flesh, as
well as his distended belly. In either case, how-
ever, there will be no occasion for all that physick-
ing, galloping, and sweating, to get rid of bad,
superfluous flesh, that the grass-fed hunter has

190 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

been subjected to ; for if the groom has done his
duty by them, neither of these horses will have
accumulated much more flesh than we like to see
on hunters when they first begin to work, and when
that flesh is good. We would have our second
horse, the unshod one, taken into his stable early
in August ; and during the latter end of that month
and the next, in addition to his daily exercise, he
should, about three times in a fortnight, have a
gentle sweat in clothes, which is best eS'ected in a
trot, in a large fallow field that has been latelv
harrowed down, and which is firm, not soft, to the
tread.

The horses of perhaps the hardest rider of the
present day. Lord Grardiner, are kept in their stalls
at Melton Mowbray throughout the non-hunting
months, having exercise daily. Not more than
two or three of his lordship's large stud have even
the use of boxes, but no horses in the country look
better or go better.

But we fancy we hear the question asked, Is it
not necessary to give physic to all hunters when
the summer is past, and previously to their taking
the field again in the winter ? We answer. No.
The principal end of physicking hunters is to allay
excitement, occasioned by severe work and high
keep ; and the next, for the benefit of their legs.
Thus, for example, as the first-named horse, (the
one that has been in gentle work throughout the
summer,) will not sweat so easily as the unshod
one, a light dose or two of physic may be service-
able to him during his first preparation for the

PHYSIC. 191

field, say in August or September, as the means of
saving his legs, should he be a strong-constitu-
tioned horse, and have thrown up too much flesh.
But there is no absolute necessity for physic at
this period to horses that have been properly treated
throughout the summer, and not suffered to get
foul or fat ; and it will be given with more advan-
tage to them after they have been sometime at
work, or nearer to the commencement of the hunt-
ing season, which, after the manner of the racing
stable, may be termed a second preparation.

To horses summered in the house, physic is now
only administered when it is wanted, as is the case
with the race-horse ; and the groom or his master
ought to be able to say when. There are many di-
recting symptoms with horses in work, which cannot
escape an observant eye; and we do not, as formerly,
wait for the swollen leg or the running sore. The
barbarous practice, also, of three doses in succession,
(as was the practice with the grass-fed hunter on
being stabled,) " the first to stir up the humours,
and the last to carry them off," with two strong-
urine balls to wind up, by way of a remedy for con-
sequent debility, is now happily exploded. The
strength of the dose is likewise greatly diminished,
and consequently all danger is avoided. We take
upon ourselves to say, there is no more risk attend-
ing administering physic to a horse, than there is
in giving him a pailful of cold water, perhaps not
so much ; that is, provided the drugs are good, and
well put together. We, liowever, strongly recom-
mend all sportsmen and others to obtain physic

192 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

from the profession, as veterinarians bestow much
attention on the making of it up, and obtaining the
best aloes, in which there is much difference. The
sooner it passes off the better ; and this will be
much expedited by three loose bran-mashes on the
day preceding the dose, and exercise previously to
its working. Recollect there is no virtue in the
aloes, beyond doing its duty in clearing and cleans-
ing the bowels. Calomel, when administered to the
horse, should not be hurried, as it is intended to
act upon the system, and should therefore be given
twelve hours previous to giv^ing the purge. Horses
whose bowels are difficult to be moved, should be
kept short of hay a day or two before they are
physicked, with an additional allowance of bran-
mashes, and encouraged to drink before they expe-
rience nausea.

It may, perhaps, be well to state the " directing
symptoms" for administering physic to the hunter,
which are thus detailed by Nimrod : — " Among
the distinguishing symptoms of foulness in a hun-
ter, are these : — He appears unwell, without any
specific disease : his mouth is hot, his eyes look
dull, and sometimes yellow : his coat loses some of
its usual gloss, and stares between the hip-bones,
and on the poll of the neck : his appetite frequently
remains good, but he is more than usually anxious
for water: his heels are scurfy, and sometimes
crack ; he stales often, but a little at a time : his
urine is highly-coloured, and his excrements hard,
and often covered with a slimy fluid : he is dull
when at exercise, and frequently coughs without

THE GRASS-FED HUNTER. J 93

any appearance of having taken cold — he loses
flesh, and looks dry in his skin — his legs and ears
are often cold, the latter frequently wet after exer-
cise, and sometimes deprived of part of their natural
covering — his crest falls — the whole tone of his
system appears relaxed ; and, without his groom
exactly knowing why, he is not the horse he was a
week ago." To this we have nothing to add, un-
less it be to congratulate owners of horses on the
terrors of physicking them having vanished with
the present improved method of administering the
doses ; and on the fact, that only a few days' ces-
sation from labour is now required to afford them
this relief. We should say, that a hunter is never
more fit to go through a sharp run, than on the
tenth day after his physic has " set."

But we do nol> consider that we can close this
part of our subject, without a few words on the
treatment of the grass-fed hunter, as there are still
some who yet abandon him to shift for himself in
the summer, and are content to see him return to
his stall in August, the very reverse of what he
was when he left it in May. Nor is this the worst
of it. He cannot be reinstated in the condition in
which he was when he went out in May, until
hunting is three parts over the following season.
However, we will lay down what we consider the
most likely plan to pursue, to fit him for the work
he is intended for : —

From the redundancy of blood and humours, and
distension of bowels beyond their proper size, which
the grass-fed hunter acquires, all violent exertion

194 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

must be avoided, until such obstructions are re-
moved, which must be the work of time. It is in
vain to attempt to hurry a horse in this state into
condition, but the first step taken should be to have
him clipped, for reasons which we shall presently
give. Long-continued slow exercise is the chief
agent in hardening his muscles, and strengthening^
his organs of respiration ; but all galloping when
in the state in which he will be for the first two
months, to get off his flesh, is very highly to be
reprobated, as his legs will surely suffer by it, if
nothing else does. Two light doses of physic may
be useful to him, if he have had none given him at
grass ; and care should be taken not to use the
brush to his coat till the month of November be
passed, in case he should not be clipped. Again,
veterinary science has informed us, that danger
always accrues to horses in the vicissitudes of heat
and cold, from one state to its opposite ; but more
from the latter to the former, as an excitant to
general inflammation. Horses taken from grass,
then, should be put into very cool stables, and the
fewer in one stable the better, for at least the first
month. Windows should be left open day and
night, merely taking the precaution of coarse mat-
ting, or any thing else that will stop the entrance
of flies ; and nothing does that better than mat-
ting, frequently saturated with water. Having
been clipped, and kept out several hours in the day
in slow work (which, by the way, grooms are too
often shy of,) increasing his pace gradually as his
condition progresses, the grass-fed hunter may be

CUPPING. 195

brought fit to look at by the first week in Novem-
ber; but he will be at least by a stone a worse
horse than he was when he was turned out. We
are no friends to quacking in either man or beast ;
\>\it, knowing that mischief to horses so frequently
arises from a long respite from work in the winter,
unless some preventive measures are had recourse
to, we recommend the repetition of a light dose or
two of physic to the grass-fed hunter during frost,
or even during open weather, about Christmas — at
any time, indeed, when appearances indicate the
necessity for it.

Having recommended the fashionable operation
of clipping to the grass-fed hunter, we will give our
reasons for having done so. Nine horses out of
ten, treated as he has been treated in the summer,
break out into a cold sweat, after work, during the
first part of the season, the natural consequence of
debility ; and the dew on their coat has all the
chilling influence of a wet blanket on their body.
The removal of the coat by the scissors, then,
although it is no remedy for the former, prevents
the ill effects of the latter ; which, by producing
cold on the surface of the body, occasions a deter-
mination of blood to the lungs, or other important
viscus, and is a great enemy to condition. Although
we deny the necessity of clipping a horse that has
been properly summered (for, admitting that he
may have a long coat, he will not in that case
break out after work,) we allow it the merit of ex-
pediting condition, by giving increase of bulk, and
promoting the vigorousness of the horses' renovat-

J 96 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

ing powers ; and, therefore, in this case useful.
Looking at it, however, in another light, we find
many objections to it ; amongst the greatest of
which is the deprivation of the protection of the
coat or hair, to an animal so much in want of it as
the hunter is, and therefore an outrage on nature.
In fact, it is, to a certain degree, a substitute for
good grooming, and proper treatment in the sum-
mer months ; and as such will continue to be in
favour with many grooms, as also with such of their
masters as submit to be dictated to by them, or
who may pay too much regard to appearances.

Having alluded to grooms, a remark or two may
not be ill placed. Such of them as have the care
of large studs cannot be expected to work, but to
overlook those who are under them ; and their re-
sponsibility is considerable. There is much in the
choice of helpers ; for none but persons who have
narrowly watched it, are aware of the effects of a
good dressing to a hunter, not merely in having
his skin cleared from impurity, and in improving
its elasticity, as well as the tone and colour of the
hair, which may be termed the complexion of a
horse, but it greatly promotes general health by its
effect on the circulation of the blood, as well as all
other secretions, and in bad weather is a substitute
for exercise.

Good stables are indispensable to the well-doing
of hunters, equally so w^th a comfortable house and
a warm bed to those who ride them. Even the
veterinary professors have at length acknowledged
the benefit of the genial warmth of a stable to

STABLES. 197

horses at work, although, in common with our-
selves, they insist on the necessity of well ventilated
stables. No doubt it is injurious to any animal to
breathe an under-oxygenated air, and the effluvia
arising from animal excretions are injurious to
eyes and lungs. A hunter should live in a tem-
perature of about 63° of Fahrenheit in the winter,
and as much below that point as it can be made in
the summer, by means of exclusion of the sun,
open doors, &c. But it is essential that a stable
in the winter should not only be warm, but dry ;
and if not dry, the ground under and around it
should be drained. A delicate horse never arrives
at perfection of condition in a damp stable, and it
operates powerfully against all others, often being
the cause of fever in the feet. Stalls should not be
more than six feet wide, nor raised towards the
mano^er ; but there should be a slis^ht inclination in
the flagging towards the centre of them, to enable
the urine to find its way to a drain, which there
always ought to be, as it contributes much to clean-
liness, and consequently to health. " Loose places,''
or " boxes," as they are termed, are most desirable
for all horses after severe work, and a celebrated
veterinary surgeon (Mr. Turner of Regent Street,
London, to whom the public is so much indebted
for his illustration of the navicular disease in the
foot) has given it as his opinion, that if all horses
were suffered to lie loose after work, there would
not be half the cases of lameness in the feet that
now occur. Desirable as such treatment aiay be,
it is universally impracticable, on account of the

198 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

space which large studs would occupy ; but every
sportsman should have boxes about his premises,
and his hunters should be invariably put into them
for two or three days after work. To their general
use there is one objection, although not a serious
one. Horses always lying loose are apt to refuse
to lie down in stalls, when removed to premises
where boxes cannot be had, but they become re-
conciled to them after a few days. It is, however,
the opinion of a celebrated sportsman, that if a
hunter should have stood his work ten seasons
being always tied up, he would have stood it twelve
if he had lain loose.

On the subject of warm stables, the writer may
quote the following passage from his work on the
Condition of Hunters. After proving, by the fact
of the horse degenerating in all cold countries, that
warmth is congenial to his existence, he thus pro-
ceeds : — " They who attend to such matters will
find, that the constitution and habit of a horse un-
dergo a change when kept in a warm stable, fa-
vourable, no doubt, to the work he has to perform
as a hunter in the stable of a hard- riding man. He
is not that o:ross animal which he mis^ht otherwiss
be, if a hard feeder, and kept in a state more nearly
approaching to a state of nature. This we may
attribute to the increase of insensible perspiration
occasioned by increased circulation, whereby the
grosser particles of the body fly off and are got rid
of. In this state he would bear some comparison
with a well-fed English farmer, when put to per-
form feats of activity with a man of more refined

STABLES. 199

habits of life, where nineteen times out of twenty
he would be defeated." Again — " As there is an
analogy between a man and a horse in work, let
us carry it a little farther, and ask, Whether, after
a hard day's exercise in the winter, a man would
recover sooner if he passed his evening in a warm
room, or if he passed it in a bivouac, or in a room
that was cold and damp V If it be possible to get a
horse to look well in a cold stable, it is not in the
power of a groom to put him into the height of
condition in a damp one.

From the work already quoted, we subjoin the
plan of stabling for six hunters. " I w^ould have,"
says he, " two four-stalled stables, in which I would
keep only six horses — that is, three in each ; and I
would have a box at the end of each. If possible,
I would have a southern aspect, with windows
opening from the top or downward, or else on a
pivot in the centre, and placed so high in the wall,
that, when open, the air may be circulated through
the stable, without affecting one horse more than
another, and the height of the interior should be
only twelve feet in the clear. I would have the
stalls paved nearly flat, with only a trifling inclina-
tion to the centre ; in each of which there should
be a small grating over the drain, and the stalls
should be no more than six feet wide. There
should be at least twelve feet behind the horses,
and the exterior walls and doors should be very
thick. The wooden partition-walls of the boxes
should be only nine feet high, with wooden bolts
to the doors ; and each box should not exceed ten

200 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

feet square. The saddle-room, well fitted up with
saddle-cupboards, boiler, &;c., should be in the
centre of the building ; in the front of which there
should be a passage, under cover, for horses to
stand in when their legs are washed. Of ventila-
tion I say nothing, that being a matter of course ;
but I would have the sides of the stalls nine feet
high at the head, with small iron racks, and pillar-
reins for each horse to be dressed in. I should be
very particular about the stall-posts, for these are
frequently the cause of severe injury. When I
went to see the King's stables at the palace at
Pimlico, I was astonished to see almost every other
horse in them, with capped hocks. On inspecting
the stall-posts, I perceived the cause. They were
of fluted stone, and with angles, which proved that
Mr. Nash (the architect) knew nothing about the
inside of stables. Stall-posts should be made of
wood, quite smooth and circular ; and they should
extend to the ceiling, or be at least ten feet high.''

Paddocks. — Some persons turn their hunters
into the fields in the summer, because they have
no small paddocks, or any outlets to their build-
ings, and are averse to their horses remaining all
the year round in the house. Nothing, however,
is easier than making temporary paddocks," or out-
lets that will restrain stallions, or any horse that
may be put into them, without the chance of their
breaking out of them. Let a small space, say
thirty or forty yards, be hurdled around, and the
hurdles lined with faggots reared up from seven to

FOOD. 201

eight feet high. The faggots will be all the better
for the exposure to the air during a summer ; and
as horses cannot see through a fence of this sort,
they will never attempt to break through it.

Food. — The proper feeding of hunters has much
to do with their condition, and likewise with their
remaining sound. Food should be proportioned to
work, and it should also be of the very best qua-
lity. Hay that has been much heated in the stack
is above all things to be avoided, as, from its pow-
erful diuretic properties, it debilitates, and creates
thirst ; and mow-burnt or heated oats are equally
productive of mischief. Eight or ten pounds of
hay per day are as much as any hunter should eat,
and that which is produced on dry upland ground is
best. Indeed, we are far from thinking that rich
meadow hay, finely scented as it is, and apparently
so full of nourishment, is fitted for any description
of horse that is required to go fast, and we are quite
certain that thousands of horses are destroyed an-
nually by the efi'ects of hay and water. The latter
cannot be too soft, and when not so, it should be
kept in the stable some days previous to use, and
with a small portion of bran in it. Mr. Percival
mentions forty-nine horses being killed in one stud
in France, by a disease produced by eating bad hay
and oats.

But nothing puts the groom's knowledge of the
art of feeding hunters more to the test, than the
management of such as are either naturally thick-
winded, or afflicted with chronic coui^h ; and as in

202 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

man, the digestive organs are oftener than any
other disordered, so the respiratory organs in the
horse are the most common seat of disease. It
is, however, in the power of a groom, by great at-
tention to feeding, keeping the habit of body from
becoming foul and plethoric, and well regulated
w^ork, to make horses of this description tolerably
fit to go with hounds ; whereas in bad hands, they
would be nearly useless, at all events dangerous to
ride. Such horses are generally hearty feeders,
and when so, should have a setting muzzle, as used
with race-horses, put on them on the night before
hunting, unless they have been out with hounds
within three days. Water also should be sparingly
given to them on that day, and not after three
o'clock, p. M. Frequent mild aperients, or alterative
medicines, are very efficacious here ; for as, in the
human subject, the lungs often become the seat of
disease as a second cause of indigestion, the state
of the digestive organs should be minutely attended
to with horses of this description.

A broken-winded horse is never seen in a stud
of hunters. Most veterinary surgeons attribute
this disease to the consequences of high keep. Here,
no doubt, they are in a great measure correct ; but
if good grooming were not for the most part a
match for the effect of high keep, what would be
the fate of our race-horses, which eat almost as
much corn as they can swallow from the first month
of their existence I Amongst them a broken-winded
horse is a rarity.

Many nostrums are prescribed for thick-winded

BROKEX-WINDED HORSES. 203

horses — amongst them, carrots in the winter, and
green meat in the summer. We approve of a few
carrots in the winter, but object to green meat,
unless in small quantities. Is not flatulency the
distinctive feature of a disordered respiration I And
what promotes that equally with loading and dis-
tending the stomach with green food ? The small
dimensions of a horse's stomach, evidently show
what nature intended him for, namely, to ^o fast ;
and the pathologist would very soon convince us
that, in proportion as that organ is distended, will
the respiratory organs be oppressed. Hence the
indispensable practice of not allowing hunters their
usual allowance of food and water on the morning
of hunting ; as also of putting the setting muzzle
on the racer the night before he runs. The food
most proper for all horses, but particularly for such
as are not perfect in their wind, is that which con-
tains most nourishment in the smallest compass or
space.

But we must not overlook the treatment of the
sound hunter before and after hunting ; as we con-
sider the lives of more than half of those hunters
which have been lost from the effects of severe
chases, to have been lost from w^ant of knowledge
of how they should have been treated, at either the
one or the other of these periods. It is matter of
doubt whether it be in the power of hounds to
maintain a chase long enough to cause the death
of a horse, fairly ridden with them, provided that
horse have been properly treated in the summer,
and is in what is called strong work, or quite fit to

204? GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

go, on the day of the run. Without stopping to
argue this point, which is not capable of proof, we
will proceed to show in what state a hunter ought
to be taken into the field, to meet fox-hounds, giving
him fair play ; and the man who takes him there
when not fit to go, must always be prepared for the
consequences.

We consider a hunter, in proper condition, equal
to at least three days'* hunting in a fortnight, tak-
ing the average of sport, which will, of course, at
some certain periods, send him oftener into the
field in one given time than in another, as, after a
severe day, he should have a week's clear rest. But
since the second-horse fashion has been so general,
it is impossible to speculate on this point, as it so
often happens that one of the two horses the sports-
man sends to cover, returns home without having
done much. The chief point, however, to be in-
sisted upon is, that the hunter should have a good
gallop, causing him to sweat freely, on the day
before he goes to hounds, and if for half-a-mile on
rising ground, it will be more favourable to his
wind. His food on that day should also be at-
tended to, in reference to his constitutional pecu-
liarities ; for, if not the best winded horse in the
stud, or given to throw off his meat on his road to
cover, he should have no water after three o'clock
the preceding afternoon, with the exception of a
few swallows, to make him relish his corn, on the
morning of hunting. Sending hunters out now with
full bellies has no excuse ; whereas one was found
for it, when they left their stables five hours sooner

TREATMENT AFTER HUNTING. 20o

in the morning than they do at present ; and re-
turned to them often five hours later. We allude
to past days, in which there were few artificially
made covers, and when foxes were found by the
" drag," through long chains of woods, and cer-
tainly were run over much more ground than mo-
dern foxes are, which, being generally bred near
game preserves, run shorter, and are not so stout
as formerly.

After Hunting. — The treatment of a horse now
will depend on what he has been doing. If not a
severe day, no further notice of him is requisite,
than to ascertain whether he feeds as usual ; and
if not, an alterative ball,* with a liberal allowance
of tepid water, will soon restore his appetite, by
allaying the over-excitement that has checked it.
It is after a severe day's work that danger to a
hunter is to be apprehended, the consequence of
over-excitement of the vascular system, and he
should be in this case narrowly watched. If merely
fatigued, such are the restorative powers of the ani-
mal, that rest, in a large loose box, with an hour's
exercise daily, in the open air, will soon bring him
about ; but we should be on the alert against fever.
Here, however, we generally have notice — some
directing symptoms which cannot be mistaken, such

* The following alterative and sedative medicines are found effica-
cious at this time : — Cinnabar of antimony, 3 oz. ; balsam of sulphur,
2 oz. ; camphor, 1 oz. ; nitre, 4 oz. To be made into ten balls ; one
ball a dose. These are known among grooms by the term " red
balls."

206 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

as hurried respiration, extreme thirst, restlessness
in his stall, a considerable relaxation of the muscles
in the interstices of the hips, reddened eyelids, and
a quick pulse. But unfortunately for hard-riding
sportsmen, it too often happens, that such is the
rapidity with which what is termed accidental in-
flammation takes place in the horse, that the most
prompt measures will not always arrest its progress,
and the most common termination of it here is in
the feet. Not only does the animal suffer great
pain, but should he not cast his hoofs entirely (the
fore-feet are most commonly affected,) he becomes,
what is called, pumice-footed, and of little or no
value afterwards as a hunter. Knowing this to be
the case, we are advocates for some prophylactic
measures to be taken after a very hard day — some-
thing repellant and sedative administered, which
may not only prevent an inflammatory attack, but,
by cooling the system, and consequently restoring
the appetite, enable the horse to go sooner into the
field again, than if he had been entirely abandoned
to his own restorative powers. One of the altera-
tive balls, previously alluded to, may answer the
purpose.

But the most critical period with the over-ridden
hunter is, when he first appears to show distress,
which he often does on his road home, or even
before he quits the field ; and here mistakes have
been made, which have caused the death of many a
good animal. In the first place, his rider fancies
it necessary to drag him home, perhaps many miles
on a cold winter's evening, to " his own comfortable

TREATMENT AFTER HUNTING. 207

stall," than which, just at this time, a large and
cold stable, and the first he could be put into, would
be far more beneficial to him. Again, he says,
" ril not do any thing to him till I get him home,
when I will have him bled ;" whereas, since all
horses that die from exertion beyond the limits of
vital power, die from suffocation, it will then be, in
all probability, too late, as instant relief is wanted.
A stimulating cordial is at this time good (a pint
of sherry as good as any other,) also keeping up a
strong determination of blood to the surface by fric-
tion of the body, head, and legs, with warm cloth-
ing afterwards on the body and head ; a well lit-
tered-down stall, with plenty of fresh air. A gal-
lon of blood should be at first drawn ; and if the
increased action of the heart and arteries continues,
the horse should be well blistered behind the elbows,
and lose another gallon of blood. Blood-letting
from the foot- veins, is also highly to be recom-
mended in cases of extreme exhaustion, after a hard
day with hounds. It is a very simple operation,
and can never do harm ; but we advise it to be
performed by a veterinary surgeon.

They who have never before experienced it, may
be alarmed by an inward noise in a distressed
horse, which may be mistaken for a beating of the
heart, whereas it proceeds from a convulsive motion
of the abdominal muscles, or muscles of the belly.
It is, however, a symptom of deep distress, and is
only relieved by relief given to the lungs, by bleed-
ing and other preventive means.

208 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

Treatment of Horses' Legs. — We have already-
said, that the management of horses' legs forms
part of the science of the stable, and a most import-
ant part too. It is no where so well understood
as in racing stables ; but from the violent nature
of his work, the hunter is equally indebted to it.
The barbarous practice of blistering all four legs
previously to turning out, is now happily exploded ;
but as, in less violent exertion than following
hounds, a certain insecurity from accidents . is in-
separable from the delicacy of all animal structure,
the legs of hunters will occasionally fall amiss. It
being useless, however, without stating the extent
of the injury, to talk of prescribing remedies, we
have only to state, that a very efficient one has
been found for the torturing one of firing, in many
cases where the actual cautery was considered as
the only one. For example, for ligamentary en-
largements, cases of enlarged joints, tendons show-
ing symptoms of giving way, or any other appear-
ance in the limbs, of a departure from their primitive
tone and vigour. This consists in the application,
during the non-hunting months, or any other
period of rest, of the mercurial charge, in either of
the following forms. It is made up by Mr. Field,
veterinary surgeon of London, and no doubt by
others in the profession, in a strong adhesive form ;
or, at a distance from the metropolis, it may be
applied, as recommended by Mr. Kueny of Notting-
ham, who is constantly in attendance upon the
studs at Melton Mowbray, in Leicestershire. It

TREATMEXT OF HORSES'* LEGS. 209

consists of the common mercurial plaster (not oint-
ment) of the shops, made up according to the Lon-
don Pharmacopceia ; and, in the proportion of half
a pound to a leg, applied in a warm and conse-
quently liquefied state, and when covered by deer's
hair, bound to the limb by means of a linen roller.
At the end of a fortnight, the stitches of the band-
age being decayed, the charge will slough oft', when
another, if necessary, is put on. It is to the highly
absorbent property of mercury that the benefit here
derived is to be ascribed ; and it is no small recom-
mendation to it, that, in addition to the general
restoration of the limb, the painful operation of the
actual cautery, as also the blemish occasioned by it,
are avoided.

It is, however, a well-known fact, that hunters
will work and stand sound, for many successive
seasons, with legs apparently much out of form.
Enlargements take place in the sheath of tendons
after strains ; also from blows, where the parts
become lined by a thick coat of lymph ; and some-
times the body of the bone itself is found thickened,
from a depositation of bony lamina over the original
bone. When all this has been in progress, we
question the propriety of any active measures, un-
less, as is generally the case, a feeling of soreness
is expressed after work, by a shifting, or favouring
of the limb, or limbs, in the stall; or by a " feeling"
manner of going on first quitting the stable. When
legs are really callous, little impression can be made
upon them, unless by active measures ; but physic,
rest, and good grooming are the best preservatives

210 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

of these most essential members of the horse's
frame ; with the friendly auxiliaries of hot-water,
flannel-bandages, and loose boxes, after severe work,
and good shoeing at all times.

The Foot. — Owners of valuable horses may con-
gratulate themselves on the assurance that, by the
aid and extended influence of veterinary science,
they have no longer to apprehend injury to the
feet from the mere application of shoes. On the
contrary, they may rest satisfied that, provided no
internal disease attack them, from over-excitement
by work, (and that often is created on ground
where shoes would be unnecessary, such as crossing
a very deep country,) they will be not only as
sound and healthy, but in better form, from having
been properly shod, than if they had not been shod
at all. Some hoofs, however, having a greater dis-
position to secrete horn than others, and thus called
strong feet, should never remain more than three
weeks without being subject to the drawling-knife
of the blacksmith, (the ruinous butteris is now put
aside.) and the shoes properly replaced. Neither
should stopping with damp tow be omitted ; as
moisture, not wet, is beneficial to the health of the
foot. Here, then, again, are at once apparent the
evils of the out-of-door summering of hunters. The
foot of a horse so exposed, is at one time saturated
with wet, and at another exposed to a drying wind
and a burning sun, the contractile powers of which
upon horn are too well known to require comment.
Do what we may, however, horses that are required

THE FOOT. 211

to " go the pace," will always be more or less sub-
ject to diseased feet, quite unconnected with shoe-
ins: ; and ao^ainst such diseases there are but two
precautions on which much reliance can be placed :
First, let hunters be well prepared for their work,
and properly treated after it ; and, secondly, let
them have sufficient obliquity of pastern-joint (in
our opinion one of the most important points in
the whole structure of the horse) to break the force
of concussion ; which, together with over-excite-
ment of the vascular system, is the parent of that
irremediable disease of the navicular bone, formerly
called "founder;"' and by the wiseacres of old
times, " chest-founder,'" because, when labouring
under that disease, the muscles in that part waste,
from the inability of the suffering animal to exert
them. The posture of a horse in his stall, when
afflicted with this complaint, or fever in the feet,
is too characteristic to be mistaken.

We have only one more remark on shoeing. In
following hounds across deep countries, hunters are
apt to strike a hinder-foot against a fore-foot, and
inflict a severe wound. There have, indeed, been
many instances of the total separation of the back
sinew by this often unavoidable act, particularly in
leaping brooks. It was formerly very generally
believed, that the blow was inflicted with the toe of
the hinder shoe, to obviate which, shoeing: smiths
were ordered, by hunting grooms, to let part of the
hoof protrude over the front of the shoe, but still
the evil continued. It was, however, asserted, in
the letters of Nimrod, that it was by the inside

21 2 GENERAL TREATMENT OF HORSES.

edge^ or the rim of the hinder shoe^ and not by the
toe, that the act of over-reaching was performed.
This was at first doubted, but experience has con-
firmed the assertion ; and we have reason to believe,
there has not been an instance of serious mischief
by cutting^ from an over-reach, since the inside
edge or rim has been rounded ofi" or bevelled. In-
deed, a moment's reflection would dispel all doubts
on the subject ; for the obtuse form of the toe of a
horse-shoe could not inflict the severe wounds we
have seen inflicted (often cutting ofi" part of the
fore-heel) ; whereas the inside rim of a worn shoe
is nearly as sharp as an ordinary knife. Besides,
the act is performed after the hinder-foot has over-
stepped the fore-foot, and therefore cannot be per-
formed by the toe, but in the act of drawing the
hinder-foot back, after it has overstridden its
bounds. Bruises, from over-reaches, still occur,
which, though sometimes serious, are compara-
tively, with cutting, harmless, as fomentation, and
a few days' rest, will eff'ect a cure.

The writer concludes the subject of The Horse
with observing, that after a lapse of five years,
since the article was first written, he has found but
little necessary to add to it, and still less to retract.
In the seasons of 1839 and 1840, he spent several
weeks at Melton Mowbray, and at various other
places where the best hunters in England are to be
found ; and, with the following exception, he per-
ceived no alteration in the system of preparing
liorses for the hunting field, which has been ho-
noured with the appellation of " Nimrod's system."'

THE LEGS. Zlo

The " exception'' consists in the use of cold wafer
to the legs of hunters in the summer months, to
the extent of two, and sometimes three applications
of it in each day. Its cooling and restorative
effects were described to the author by the Earl of
ChesterfiekPs stud-groom, as far to exceed expecta-
tion ; and as the remedy is ever at hand, there is
no excuse for not resorting to it as an auxiliary to
condition.

The foot-bucket is also an improvement upon
the common stable pail, for fomenting legs with
hot water, in cases of recent strains, blows, thorns,
or curbs ; for, being high and deep, a horse's leg
remains in it during any appointed time, as he
stands in his stall — if his temper is not irritable,
when, of course, the effect is more powerful than
from the common mode of fomenting, by the use of
cloths or flannel. In cases of incipient curbs, also,
an embrocation is now applied to them by first-rate
grooms, which almost instantly checks the disease,
enabling the horse to work out the season, at the
end of which severer measures may be taken, if
such be considered necessary.

The writer is also happy to observe, that cases
of horses becoming roarers, without any apparent
cause, are by no means so frequent as they were
three years back. To atmospheric influences were
those unlooked-for cases ascribed — an argument in
favour of as little exposure to them, under unfavour-
able circumstances as can be avoided.

214

HORSEMANSHIP.

EARLY ORIGIN OF HORSEMANSHIP MODERN HORSEMAN-
SHIP THE MANEGE INFLUENCE OF HORSEMANSHIP

ON HEALTH THE MILITARY SEAT THE ACT OF

MOUNTING THE SEAT RISING IN THE STIRRUPS

PECULIAR TO GREAT BRITAIN SEAT ON THE ROAD

THE HUNTING SEAT FENCES BROOKS — FALLS

SADDLES AND BRIDLES — SPURS RACE-RIDING SEAT

OF THE JOCKEY METHODS OF STARTING FINISH OF

A RACE STEEPLE-CHASE RACING QUALIFICATIONS

FOR A STEEPLE-CHASE RIDER.

As to the question, Who was the first horse-
man \ it would be in vain to inquire, for even the
writers of ancient fables do not agree upon the
point. By some it is pretended that Bellerophon
first mounted a horse ; that Pelethronius first
bridled him ; that he was harnessed bv Erichtho-

ANCIENT HORSEMANSHIP. 21 5

nius, and fought upon by the Centaurs of Thessalv.
But, quitting fiction, we learn from the Sacred
Writings, that to Egypt we are indebted for the
equestrian art, from which country, by the aid of
the colonists who emio^rated from it and from
Phoenicia, it was introduced into Greece, (perhaps
by Erichthonius, fourth king of Attica,) where it
attained to great perfection. Although there was
no cavalry employed in the Trojan war, equestrian-
ism must have been much practised and well under-
stood in Homer's time, which is at once proved by
a reference to his works. In the fifth book of the
Odyssey, the shipwrecked Ulysses, tossed by the
waves on a plank, is compared to a skilful horse-
man on an unruly steed ; and in the fifteenth Iliad,
we find one man managing four horses at once,
leaping from the back of one to another, at their
full speed. Herodotus (in Thalia) speaks of hunt-
ing on horseback in the time of Darius, even de-
scending to the particulars of an accident in the
field to the noble satrap of Persia ; and likewise the
same writer (in Melpomene) mentions the Amazo-
nian women hunting with their husbands on horse-
back. Xenophon also says that Cyrus did so,
when he exercised himself and his horses. Again,
with reference to those early times, we should not
pass over the introduction of horses and horseman-
ship into the public games of Greece, and particu-
larly the Olympic Games, which, according to an
expression of Pindar, as far transcended all the
others as gold is superior to the baser metals.
From the same authority we learn, that the

216 HORSEM AXSHIP.

Ethiopians and inhabitants of India, as cavalry,
formed part of the expedition of Xerxes against
the Greeks. But it appears that the Arabs and
the Parthians, who afterwards became so famous
for their equestrian accomplishments, were ignorant
of the art at the period in question ; at least both
these nations fought under Xerxes, the former on
camels, and the latter on foot. The Persians were
more celebrated for their horses than for their rid-
ing. According to Athenseus, thej were more
solicitous of their ease and safety, than anxious for
reputation of boldness and dexterity in horseman-
ship. The Scythians and the Sarmatians were both
famous about this period, as well for their breed of
horses as for their skill in riding them. In fact,
so renowned were the former people, that, accord-
ing to Gribbon, they were supposed by strangers to
perform the ordinary duties of civil life on horse-
back ; "to eat, to drink, and even sleep, without
dismounting from their steeds."

The people of Mauritania, Numidia, Massilia,
Nasamonia, and other adjacent parts, are also
spoken of as having possessed breeds of excellent
horses, but were still more distinguished for their
singular mode of managing them (on the authority
of Livy and Caesar) without the aid of a bridle,
and even in battle by means of a small switch or
wand, turning them to the left by striking on the
right side of the head, and vice versa ; and stopping
them by striking the front of the face. These
practices are also confirmed by Ausonius, who cele-
brates the Emperor Gratian as having excelled in

ANCIENT HORSEMANSHIP. 217

them. All we have to remark here is, that we are
glad such practices are abolished, not only on our
own account, but for the sake of horses, who must
have been greatly tortured before they were brought
to such a state of obedience as to be ridden infrceni^
(without bridles,) as Virgil says of the Numidians,
and this in the confusion and excitement of a battle.
There is an elegant passage on this subject in
Lucan's Pharsalia^ descriptive of the several tribu-
tary nations which Juba took into the field in the
cause of Pompey, against Curio's army, which he
entirely defeated.

" Autololes, Numidseque vagi, semperque paratus
Inculto Gsetulus equo," &c.

Thus translated by Rowe : —

" With him unnumber'd nations march along,
Th' Autolola?, with wild Numidian throng ;
The rough GcEtulian, with his ruder steed ;
The Moor, resembling India's swarthy breed ;
Poor Nasamons, and Garamantines join'd ;
With swift Marmaridans, that match the wind ;
The Marax, bred the trembling dart to throw.
Sure as the shaft that leaves the Parthian bow ;
With these Massilia's nimble horsemen ride,
They nor the bit, nor curbing rein provide.
But Tvith light rods the well-taught coursers guide ;
From lonely cots the Lybian hunters came.
Who, still unarm'd, invade the salvage game.
And with spread mantles tawny lions tame."

The Greeks transmitted the art of horsemanship
to the Romans*, who soon equalled, if they did not
excel, their instructors ; and nearly one of the first
public acts of their first king was to establish the
equestrian order, the second order in Rome — the
equites, or horsemen, being placed far above the

218 HORSEMANSHIP.

commonalty, and next to those of the highest quality
and fortune in the state. In short, were proof
wanting that horsemanship, as an accomplishment,
was held in the greatest esteem in the early ages
of the world, it would be found in the fact of the
accomplished Cicero telling his son Marcus, with
the vanity that now and then breaks forth in the
splendid effusions of that great man''s pen, that the
eyes of the world were upon him, on account of his
father's fame ; and that he had received the praise
of the whole army for his excellence in riding. But
the exercise and art of horsemanship occupied much
of the study and attention of the Roman youth ;
and we find Horace inviting them to the practice
of it, in the eighth ode of the first book.

Descending from the heroic ages, in which the
earliest history we possess informs us the art of
horsemanship was in full force and vigour, to com-
paratively modern times, the first notice we find in
our own history of the art of riding horses, is in
the tilts and tournaments ; the earliest mention of
which we find in the French historian Nithard,
who reports, that, at an interview which took place
at Strasburo: between Charles the Bald and his
brother Lewis of Germany, the followers of both
these princes fought on horseback ; and, by way of
marking the period, it may be observed, that Charles
the Bald succeeded to the throne of France a. d.
840. Ducange affirms, that these combats were for
some time peculiar to France, and expressly called
French combats, conflictus Gallici. Scarcely any
thing distinct, however, is known about them till

TOURNAMENTS. 219

we find them practised in England, about the year
] 140, in the reign of Stephen, after which time
they became general all over Europe, particularly
in England, where they were displayed on all great
occasions. The spots most famous for them in
London, were the Tilt- Yard, near St. James**s
Park, and Smithfield ; which the neighbourhood of
the latter place confirms, by the names of the
streets, such as " Gilt-spur,"" " Knight-rider," and
so on. They are also known to have been prac-
tised on the spots now called Cheapside, Barbican,
and Bridewell ; and to have been exhibited in con-
siderable splendour in various parts of the country
besides, which a reference to the highly popular
novel Ivanhoe will show. These were the days
when " to witch the world with noble horseman-
ship" was one of the chief accomplishments of a
gentleman ; in which the management of the horse
and the lance was amongst the principal requisites
of knighthood ; when the contest, both in real and
in mimic war, was decided by the superiority of
such means ; the days of chivalry, in fact, which,
as a well-known historian says of it, in his portrait
of the character of a perfect knight, the accom-
plished Tancred, " inspired the generous senti-
ments and social offices of man, far better than the
base philosophy, or the baser religion of the times."
The manege, and more especially the high manege-
riding, is now nearly out of use. As Colonel Peters
observes : — " In the riding-houses, for mere plea-
sure, or military purposes, very little of the manege-
riding is requisite. The instructions for a manege

220 HORSEMANSHIP.

rider and his horse go far beyond those required
for a military horseman and his horse. The con-
fined airs, cadences, or paces of the manege, are
not calculated for the duty of a pleasure or a mili-
tary horse ; the sensitive, delicate hand, and its
aids, of the manege-rider would not do for a soldier.
It should, therefore, be well understood, that, al-
though a soldier's horse should be quick and ready,
it is not required to have him so much on his
haunches, nor so fine in the mouth, as the manege-
horse must be. If a military horse be put in his
proper equilibrium, it is all ithat is requisite ; he
should not lose that boldness and freedom of action,
which is generally so much admired, and so neces-
sary, in the different duties that a military rider is
called upon to perform.'' * We are glad to be
enabled to state, on such high authority as that of
Colonel Peters, that the exercise of the manege is
by no means necessary to the education of the
horse, for any purposes which require his being
trained in the school, as it is impossible to read the
instructions of the masters of that art, as practised
so generally at one time, without being satisfied,
that the greatest severity must have been resorted
to in their lessons. It is a maxim in horseman-
ship, and a good one, " that a horse must never
do any thing of his own head, but in obedience to
his rider ; " but to call upon him to force himself
into the unnatural positions which the Manege
rVEcole requires, is, in our opinion, labour very ill
bestowed ; and as for the gracefulness of his action,

* Treatise on Equitation. London : 1835.

ADVANTAGES AS AN ACCOMPLISHMENT. 221

SO much insisted upon by the manege-riders, we
think it is never more fully displayed by him than
when nearly in his natural state. There is, how-
ever, we admit, something pleasing in the associa-
tions of the horse highly caparisoned, as well as the
airs of the manege, with grand and imposing spec-
tacles ; and there are several passages in the third
Georgic of Virgil, which show that the manege was
found out earlier than many persons may imagine.
Not only is good horsemanship well suited to the
pith and nerve of the English character, but it has
always been considered as one of the corporeal ac-
complishments of a gentleman. Thus Clarendon,
in his character of the Duke of Newcastle of his
day, says of him, that " he was a very fine gentle-
man, active, and full of courage, and most accom-
plished in those qualities of horsemanship^ dancing,
and fencing, which accompany a good breeding ; in
which his delight was.'' But there are other than
mere personal advantages attending good horseman-
ship. It is the habitual contempt of danger that
ennobles the profession of the soldier ; and horse-
manship, as practised in England at present, and
with the esprit de corps of the several hunts, tends
much to the same end. Those who pursue it in
the field, learn to expose themselves to danger with
less reluctance, are less anxious to get out of it, or
given to lose their presence of mind when in it, than
persons whose pursuits have been of a different
turn ; in fact, it may be said to increase natural
courage. Such persons, again, as merely ride on
horseback for exercise, find in it the great preser-

222 HORSEMANSHIP.

vative of health. Nay, more than this, persons of
tender constitutions have surmounted the weakness
of their nature entirely, by horse-exercise and hunt-
ing ; in proof of which, many cases could be quoted.
The following, of a patient of the celebrated Dr.
Sydenham, is perhaps as conclusive as any other : —
A gentleman, a relation of the Doctor's, who was
brought so low by consumption, that there appeared
to be no possibility of a recovery by medicine, was
induced by him to try horse-exercise, and a journey
to his native country. On leaving London, he was
so weak as to be lifted on his horse, and was refu-
sed admittance to the first inn he stopped at, being
supposed to be in a dying state. Notwithstanding,
he persisted in riding, by easy stages, to Exeter,
and gained so much strength by the way, that
though one day his horse lay down with him in
some water, and he was forced to pass many hours
in his wet clothes, he not only sustained no harm
by the accident, but arrived at Exeter greatly re-
covered. Thinking he had gained his point, he
left off horse-exercise, and had a relapse ; but, on
betaking himself again to the saddle, he obtained a
perfect recovery. The writer of this article, in one
of his hunting tours, says, " My time was almost
divided between my saddle and my bed ; but I
never knew what it was to be fatigued when I lived
temperately, and went early to rest. Indeed, such
a life bade defiance to disease. A celebrated phy-
sician of the last century used to recommend riding
on horseback to his patients. ' Live," said he, ' in
a saddle." That riding is the most wholesome of

THE MILITARY SEAT. 223

all exercises, I have little doubt. Despite of all
the vile stuff that finds its road down his throat,
who ever heard of a bilious post-boy 2" To this
might be added, the no small advantage a person
mounted on horseback derives, from breathing a
purer air than when on foot, and consequently-
nearer to the ground. The salutary effect of the
motion of a horse, also, on a sluggish or diseased
liver, is acknowledged by all medical men.

We shall now take a view of horsemanship in
the only forms in which it is at present applied to
any useful or pleasurable purposes — namely, mili-
tary, hunting, racing, and on the road ; leaving the
art of instructing horses for the Circus to those who
find it profitable to fit them for it, which we admit
they do to very great perfection, though we fear
not without the necessary privation and punish-
ment unavoidable in such kind of instruction ; or,
in other words, in making animals perform far
more, we conceive, than the Creator of them ever
intended they should perform.

The military seat approaches nearer than any
other to that of the manege ; and, by reason of the
horse-soldier having, in general, but one hand to
hold his bridle with, is one which gives him great
command over his horse, without disturbing his
seat. He sits well down in his saddle, on his fork,
or twist, with his body erect, and in perfect equili-
brium with his horse ; his legs well stretched down
the sides, with a firm pressure of the calves, as
well as of the knees and thighs, and the feet firm
in the stirrups. But it is not by any one of these

224 HORSEMANSHIP.

aids that he becomes a good horseman. He must
be in perfect unison, as it were, with his horse's
actions and paces, to maintain a good and graceful
seat ; and, in proportion to the just balance of his
body, will he be able to have a steady hand, a point
of vast importance to the dragoon. The import-
ance of this balance, and keeping himself in a pro-
per equilibrium with his horse, is increased by the
fact of his not being allowed to rise to the horse's
trot, and therefore requiring a still finer use of the
bridle hand. " The man who rides with the aid of
the proper equilibrium,'' says Colonel Peters, " will,
in case of necessity, know when to apply the strength
he has retained with a steady, light hand, and
o^overn every motion according as he finds it neces-
sary for his purpose ; play light with his own
weight upon the saddle (by a gentle spring in the
instep of both feet on the stirrups,) with an easy
pressure of both thighs, knees, and calves of the
legs. When the horse jumps or plunges, then
these aids are also requisite to keep the seat ; but,
in an easy, steady pace forward^ it is most parti-
cularty to be pointed out to a young man, and can-
not be too often repeated, that, to become an easy,
elegant, or proper horseman, he must learn to ride
with comfort and pleasure to his horse as well as
to himself; he must learn to seek his balance from
his hip upwards, to keep the body with a slight
inclination backwards from the perpendicular, and
balance himself thus gradually on his horse in all
the difi'erent paces; which, of course, cannot be
expected all at once. A man that rides by the

MOUNTING. 225

force of ills knees alone, shaking his arms and
hands, although he rides his distance in the same
period of time that the good rider would, yet he
cannot be said to ride his horse, or to have any
part of his body in the proper equilibrium ; but
the man who rides his horse with a light, steady
hand, and elastic body (which, when disturbed
even, has the power of restoring itself to its former
seat,) in unison with the horse's action, may be
truly said to ride in the proper equilibrium."'

It would much exceed the limits of this article,
were we to enter into the detail of the military
riding-school ; neither is such a task necessary,
from the number of works that have been published
on the subject, and also from the various changes
in the system that are perpetually occurring, ac-
cording with the fashion of the day. We shall
proceed, then, at once to the general principles of
horsemanship, as applicable to the road, the hunt-
ing-field, and the race-course, commencing with the
road.

Mounting. — The act of mounting may be called
the first step in practical horsemanship. With
horses perfectly quiet, it matters little in what man-
ner we approach them ; but in every thing that
relates to horses, a certain precaution is necessary.
Let the person who is about to mount, then, walk
up to his horse, not directly in his face, lest he may
alarm him, nor behind him, lest he may strike at
him, which he would thus give him an opportunity
of doing. Let him rather approach him on the

226 HORSEMANSHIP.

left side, over against his shoulder, inclining some-
thing more to his head than to his flank. In the
summer time, when the flies are troublesome, this
caution is not ill bestowed, because the quietest
horses will sometimes strike out, sidewards, after
the manner of cows, to rid themselves of their tor-
mentors ; and many a man has been injured in the
abdomen, or thigh, from this cause. Old writers
on horsemanship recommend the horseman, when
about to place himself in the saddle, after having
put the left foot firmly into the stirrup, to take the
reins and the pummel of the saddle in his left
hand, and laying his right hand fast upon the hin-
der pai-t of the saddle, thus to spring into his seat.

We should prefer his taking a lock of the mane,
together with the reins, into the left hand ; be-
cause, if he be a man of any considerable weight, his
having recourse to the saddle for all the assistance
he may require, would be very likely to displace it,

MOUNTING.

especially as no horse in the hands of a good horse-
man is now tightly girthed.

When he is mounted, the proper adjustment of
his reins is the next thing to be attended to. If a
single-rein bridle, he has nothing to do but to draw
the reins with his right hand through his left, till
he finds he has got hold of his horse's mouth equally
on both sides of it, when he shuts the left hand,
letting the little finger separate the two reins. The
same should be done with a double-rein bridle, only
observing, as they are drawn through the hand,
that the horse's mouth is to be consulted, as to
whether that attached to the bridoon or to the bit is
the one required to be first acted upon. Many an
inexperienced horseman has met with accidents
from want of a proper discrimination as to the right
use of the reins, when mounted on high-spirited
horses, with finely made, that is to say, highly sus-
ceptible mouths, and unused to a rough hand. The
bridle reins should be held at a convenient length ;
for, if short, they will discompose the attitude of
the body, by pulling the left shoulder forward;
and they should be held with a firm grasp, dividing
them, as before mentioned, with the little finger.
When a horse pulls at his rider, he should advance
his arm a little, but not the shoulder, towards the
horse's head, raising his hand towards his breast,
and the lower part of the palm rather than the
upper ; but he should not shorten the rein in his
hand, if he can command his horse without it, or
he may lose the proper appui^ or bearing of his
mouth. Old writers recommend the bridle-hand

228 HORSEMANSHIP.

to be held perpendicular, the thumb being upper-
most, and placed on the bridle. Modern practice
is in favour of the knuckles being uppermost. The
perpendicular hand may do very well in the school,
or with the severe bit of the highly- drilled dragoon
horse ; but no man could ride a free-going race-
horse over a course, or a hasty hunter over a coun-
try, in that form.

In dismounting a horse, the bridle and mane
should be held together in the left hand, in the same
manner as in mounting. Unless the horseman be
very active, he may put his right hand on the pum-
mel of the saddle, to raise himself, previously to
throwing his right leg back over the horse ; when,
by grasping the hinder part of the saddle with the
right hand, he lets himself down with ease. The
right leg, however, should not be bent at the knee,
or the spur may strike the horse's side, in the act
of being thrown backward.

The first step towards perfection in a horseman,
is to know and to feel how his horse is going ; but
this must be the result of some practice and expe-
rience. A horse may not only gallop false, that is
to say, if going to the right he leads with the left
leg, or, if going to the left, he leads with the right ;
but he is at times what is called disunited, that is,
he leads with the opposite leg behind, to that which
he leads with before. In both these cases, either
in the school, or in his exercise, he must be stop-
ped, and put off again properly. The method of
effecting this, is by approaching your outward leg,
and putting your hand outwards ; still keeping the

MEANING OF THE TERM " DISUNITED." 229

inward rein the shorter, and the horse''s head in-
wards, if possible ; and if he should still resist,
then bend, and pull his head outwards also ; but
replace it again, bent properly inwards, the moment
he goes off true. A horse is said to be disunited
to the right, when going to the right, and conse-
quently leading with the right leg before^ he leads
with the left leg hehind ; and is said to be disunited
to the left, when going to the left, and consequently
leading with the left leg before^ he leads with the
right hehind. A horse may at the same time be
both false and disunited ; in correcting each of
which faults, the same method must be used. He
is both false and disunited to the right, when, in
going to the right, he leads with the left leg before,
and the right behind ; notwithstanding that hinder
leg be with propriety more forward under his belly
than the left, because the horse is working to the
right. And he is false and disunited to the left,
when, in going to the left, he leads with the right
leg before, and the left behind ; notwithstanding,
as above, that hinder leg be with propriety more
forward under his belly than the right, because the
horse is working to the left. A horse will also occa-
sionally both trot and walk false.

Although the foregoing remarks apply princi-
pally to the working of a horse in a circle, or in the
school ; yet, as all horses will occasionally get
disunited in their action, when going straightfor-
ward, it is very necessary that horsemen should
know when they become so, and be able to set them
right. Such action is extremely unpleasant to tlie

230 HORSEMANSHIP.

rider; and likewise so much so to horses them-
selves, that they will not continue in it long, but
generally quit it of their own accord.

The Seat. — It was well observed by Don Quixote,
in one of his lectures to Sancho, that the seat on a
horse makes some people look like gentlemen, and
others like grooms. But a wonderful improvement
has taken place within the last half century in the
seat on horseback, of all descriptions of persons,
and effected chiefly by the simple act of giving the
rider a few more inches of stirrup-leather. No
gentleman now, and very few servants, are to be
seen with short stirrups, and consequently, a bent-
knee, which, independently of its unsightliness,
causes uneasiness to the horse as well as to his
rider ; whose knees being lifted above the skirts of
the saddle, deprive him of the assistance of the clip,
by his thighs and legs. The short stirrup-leather,
however, was adopted with the idea of its giving
relief to the horse, although a moment's considera-
tion would have proved the contrary, and for this
reason ; the point of union between a man and his
horse, as well as the centre of action, lies just be-
hind the shoulder-blades, which, as must be ap-
parent to every one, is the strongest part of the
horse's body, and where the sack of wheat or flour
is placed by the farmer, or the miller. With short
stirrup-leathers, the seat of the rider is thrown
further back on the saddle, instead of being exactly
in the centre of it, and consequently his weight
thrown upon the part approaching the loins, the

ADVANTAGES OP A GOOD SEAT. 231.

weakest part of the body, and very easily injured.
From the same mistaken notion was the saddle
formerly placed nearly a hand's-breadth from the
shoulders, which, of course, added to the mischief ;
but modern practice has entirely remedied this, as
it is now placed as near as possible to the shoulder-
bones, so as not to interfere with the action of
them.

Next to the advantages of a good seat to the
horse, stands the ease and elegance of it in the
rider. In the first place, what is natural is easy,
and there must be no formal stiffness of the body
of a man, or of a woman, who wishes to look w^ll
on horseback. When we see a man sitting as up-
right as if he were impaled, and his body not ap-
pearing to yield at all to the motion of his horse,
we cannot fancy his having a good hand upon him,
because he cannot be in unison with him in his
action ; neither can he be firm in his seat. But to
some persons a good seat is denied by their shape
and make. For example, a man with short legs
with large calves, and very round thighs, cannot
sit so close to his saddle, as another whose legs are
thinner and longer, and of course yield him a firmer
clip ; and whose thighs, instead of being round, are
hollowed out on the inside, as we see in the form
of our most eminent jockeys. The seat of the
short-legged, large-calved, round-thighed man, has
been jocularly termed the " wash-ball seat," and
not inaptly neither, for, like a wash-ball in a basin,
he is seldom at rest in his saddle, from the absence
of a proper clip. The thighs, in fact, are a most

232 HORSEMANSHIP.

essential part of the horseman in giving him a good,
graceful, and strong seat, as on the form of them
depends greatly the good or bad position of the
knee, which is a point of the utmost importance,
not only to the eye, but to the firmness of his seat.
The thighs, in fact, should be applied to the saddle
and to the sides of the horse, chiefly by their inner
surfaces, or the knees and toes would be too much
out ; and although the line is by no means re-
quired to be perpendicular, yet the shoulder, the
hip, the knee, and the foot, should not deviate too
far from it, to render a seat perfect. When this
is the case, we may be certain the disposition of
the thighs and legs is correct, as they will hang
down sufiiciently straight, and without force or re-
straint ; which can never be the case, unless the
body of the rider is placed evenly on the saddle,
opening his knees a little, whereby his fork will
come lower in the saddle, giving him the appear-
ance, as Shakspeare expresses it, of being " in-
corpsed and demi-natured with the brave beast."

The position of the foot of the horseman is ma-
terial both to comfort, safety, and elegance. In the
old style of riding, the heels were turned outwards,
which, of course, threw the toes inwards, and very
near to, as well as parallel with, the shoulders of
the horse ; but this is all wrong. The toes should
be turned a little outward and upward, which the
slight opening of the knee induces. No animal,
human or brute, can look well, or exert its strength
well, with toes turned in, and the position is con-
trary to every thing approaching to elegance.

POSITION OF THE FOOT. 233

The position of the foot in the stirrup, however,
varies with the pursuits of the horseman. The
soldier always, the rider for pleasure, or on the
road, generally, rests on the ball of the foot, with
a gentle play of the instep. But the man who rides
after hounds, and the jockey when he rides a race,
find it necessary to have the foot more home in the
stirrup, with the toes turned a little upward, as
well as a little outward. The advantages of all this
are two-fold. First, it gives them more power over
their horses, by furnishing them with a more sub-
stantial fulcrum ; and, secondly, to the man follow-
ing hounds, it is a great security against the foot
being chucked out of the stirrup, by the seat being
disturbed in a leap, or from any of those causes
which perpetually occur in crossing a country.

Great as has been the alteration for the better
in the seat of Englishmen, in general, by increas-
ing the length of the stirrup-leathers, and thereby
placing them more properly in the saddle ; yet, in
the schools of the military this system has been
said to have been carried too far, so as to endanger
the safety of the rider. Indeed, both Hippocrates
and Galen speak of a disease which, in their time,
was occasioned by long and frequent riding, with
the legs hanging down without any support, stir-
rups then not being in use. How it happened that
an advantage so obvious was so long in being made
available, is not for us here to inquire ; but we con-
sider the support of the stirrup to be the sine qua
non of the management and services of the saddle
horse, for all essential purposes. Nevertheless its

234 HORSEMANSHIP.

most essential use is confined to Great Britain
alone, and that is, in enabling the horseman to rise
in his saddle to meet the action of the horse in his
trot, by which means a pace, otherwise most dis-
agreeable and fatiguing, is rendered nearly the
pleasantest of any. So long as the demi-pique
saddle was in use, in which the horseman was so
deep-seated, and trussed up as to make falling al-
most impossible ; and he rode, as Sir Walter Scott
made King James to ride, " a horse keeping his
haunches under him, and seldom, even on the most
animating occasions of the chase, stretching for-
ward beyond the managed pace of the academy ;'"
pressure on the stirrup might have been dispensed
with, but with the saddles of the present day, and
the more natural action of the horse, we consider it
quite indispensable. It is indeed to the disuse of
this practice in France, and other parts of the
Continent, where rising in the stirrups is seldom
resorted to even on the hardest trotting horses,
that is to be attributed the almost rare occurrence
of persons riding any distance, or at a quick rate,
for pleasure. To this peculiar system in our horse-
manship also are we indebted for our rapid style
of posting, as without it post-boys could not endure
the fatigue the action of a horse creates, especially
in hot weather, over a fifteen miles' stage, at the
rate of ten or twelve miles an hour, without a mo-
ment's intermission ; whereas, by means of it, he
performs that task with comparative ease and com-
fort. The objection to it on the part of foreigners
lies in the fancied inelegance, if not indecency, of

IMPORTANCE OF A FINE HAND. 235

the motion, which we consider not worthy of an
argument ; but of this we are certain, that what is
called " riding hard," that is, not rising in the
stirrups, in the trot, nor leaning any weight upon
them in the gallop, or canter, must be extremely
distressing to horses, and especially to such as
carry high weights.

Previously to our describing the various kinds
of seat, it is necessary to observe, that how well
soever a man may be placed upon his horse, his
performance upon him will mainly depend on the
use he makes of his hands. It is on this account
that old writers on horsemanship have dwelt upon
the difficulty of the art, rendered more so, in their
time, when the airs of the manege formed part of
it. The fact, however, is notorious, that not more
than one man in a hundred of those who have been
riding horses all their lives, has what is called '' a
good hand upon his horse," much less a fine one,
which falls to the lot of but few. When, however,
we consider first, that the hand of the rider is to
the horse what the helm is to the ship, that it
guides his motions and directs his course ; and,
secondly, that we have recourse to a severe and
cutting instrument, acting upon so sensible and
totally unprotected a part as the natural mouth of
a horse must be, it is at once apparent, that not
only a fine hand, with an easy bit, must be most
agreeable, and, at the same time, most serviceable
to the horse, in any thing he is called on to per-
form, but that it constitutes the very essence of
fine horsemanship. It has been before observed,

236 Horsemanship.

that a horse'*s ear has been figuratively said to lie
in his mouth, and no doubt he receives the instruc-
tion from his rider chiefly through that medium.
How material, then, is it that it should be con-
veyed to him in a manner in which he is not only
most likely to understand it, but in one the least
disposed to irritate him 1 How often have we seen
a horse fractious and unpleasant both to his rider
and himself, when ridden by an indiS'erent horse-
man, (allowing him even a good seat,) but going
placidly and pleasantly when mounted by another
with a low and fine hand, which appears to sympa-
thise with all his motions and all his wishes. It
is here that Art becomes the handmaid of Nature ;
and it is the assistance which it is in the power of
a jockey with a fine hand to give to a horse, which
alone exhibits the superiority of one horse over
another m himself eqyi^llj good.

Whence this superiority of hand arises, it is
very difficult to determine, particularly as the want
of it is so frequently apparent in men possessing
equally good seats on their horses. From the
well-known fact that it is an accomplishment,
which in thousands and ten thousands of cases
never can be acquired by the practice and expe-
rience of a long life, we may almost consider it to
be, like the poets, an e:r re natd property in the
human composition, and thus sought for in vain by
those to whom nature has denied it. That it is
intimately connected with the nervous influence of
the touch is obvious, from its being the result of
the action of the hand and arm ; and it is in being

SEAT ON THE ROAD. 237

delicately alive to every motion of the horse, that
the excellence of a good hand consists. That it is
associated with the good or bad state of the diges-
tive organs, is proved by the necessity all persons
find, who are called upon to excel in horsemanship,
of living temperately, and keeping early hours.
That it is the greatest security to the horseman,
under all circumstances in which he can be placed,
is also shown by the numerous instances we meet
with, of some persons being enabled to ride horses
over every variety of ground, and in all paces, with
security ; but which, with others not equally
gifted, are constantly getting into scrapes, either
by falling on the road, running into fences in the
field, bolting out of the course in a race, or falling
backwards when rearing, which latter accident
arises, in most cases, from a rough unskilful hand.

Seat on the Road. — Of the various, and too
often fatal accidents that occur to horsemen, the
majority occur on the road. The reason of this is
obvious. They are generally, with the exception
of cases of inebriation, the result of horses running
away with their riders, and either coming in con-
tact v/ith something in their course, which suddenly
stops their career, when either one or both are
thrown headlong to the ground. Accidents of this
description are very frequently attended with the
most serious consequences, and show the necessity
of persons who get on horseback being capable of
commanding their horse. Next, come accidents
from horses falling on the road, which are often

238 HORSEMANSHIP.

attended with fracture of limbs, if not loss of life,
chiefly, perhaps, from the hard nature of the ground
on which the horse and his rider are thrown ; for,
if a twentieth part of the falls sportsmen get in the
field, their horses so frequently falling upon them,
were to occur upon hard ground, the danger in
hunting would put a stop to it. Falls from horses
starting, only happen to persons who have a loose
seat, and such should ride none but horses free
from that fault. But the greatest safeguard on
the road, next to a firm seat, is derived from the
hand of the rider, who should never trust himself
entirely to his horse, however safe he may consider
him. He may tread on a rolling stone ; the ground
may give way from under him ; he may step into a
hole ; or, by the efiect of sudden alarm, he may
lose the centre of gravity, and then, in all or either
of these cases, the fall is worse, by reason of his
o:ettino^ no assistance from the rider, which he mav
have looked for, until past recovery, when he
comes to the ground with a crash. We therefore
recommend persons who ride the road, always to
feel their horses' mouths lightly, by which means
not only will the proper equilibrium be sustained,
and they will be carried better for it, (for, observe,
a horse with a weight upon his back, and one with-
out a weight upon his back, are by no means in
relative positions,) but, should a false step be made,
the aid of the rider being instantly at hand, is nearly
certain to recover him. By which rein the mouth
should be felt, supposing the bridle to consist of a
bit and a bridoon, must depend on the sensibility

ROAD-RIDING. 239

of it, although, by changing the pressure from one
to the other, the mouth is kept fresher and more
lively than when one only is used, and especially if
that one should be the bit. There is a certain, but
not a large proportion of horses, that are rideable
for all purposes on the snaffle only, whose mouths
are generally kept fresh by the light pressure they
receive. These are perfect mouths ; but, neverthe-
less, horses that have them in this perfection,
should not be left quite to themselves in any one
pace.

Previously to the general use of stage-coaches
and railways, road-riding was much more in use
than it is at present ; and immense distances were
travelled over in a day by graziers, horse and cattle
dealers, racing jockeys, and others, whose habits of
being so much on horseback rendered them superior
to fatigue. A hundred miles, from sun-rise to
sun-set on the same horse, was no uncommon day's
work, and this when the roads were in a very dif-
ferent condition from that in which they now are,
abounding in ruts and quarters, so that horses
were travelling over half their ground, either on a
narrow ridge, between two ruts, or over loose un-
broken stones ; and these were the days in which
really good roadsters fetched large prices, as only
horses with very good legs and feet could stand
this work long, or be depended upon as to safety.
But all modern feats of men on horseback, or
indeed the feats of any other period, on the
authenticity of which we can rely, retire into the
shade before that performed in the year 1831,

240 HORSEMANSHIP.

by George Osbaldestoii, Esq. of Ebberston Hall,
Yorkshire, over Newmarket Heath, who rode two
hundred miles in nine hours and twenty minutes,
winning his Herculean match with forty minutes
in hand ! As may be supposed, he was not re-
stricted to the number of horses, wdiich consisted
of thirteen, then in training on the heath ; but he
rode one of them, Mr. Gulley's Tranby, by Black-
lock, sixteen miles, at four four-mile heats. Mr.
Osbaldeston, also celebrated for his bold and judi-
cious riding to hounds, appeared very little fatigued ;
and, after the use of the warm bath, and a short
repose, joined in the festivities of the evening, and
did not retire to rest till an hour after midnight.

An easy seat in the saddle is very important to
persons who ride many hours in succession on the
road. To accomplish this the following rules should
be observed : — To sit well down in the middle of
the saddle, with just that length of stirrup leathers
that will allow of the fork clearing the pummel of
the saddle ; for a greater length than this would
add to the fatigue of a journey, and lessen the
rider's command over his horse. On the other
hand, short stirrup leathers create fatigue by con-
tracting the knees, and thereby adding to the exer-
tion of rising to the action of the horse in the trot,
which should chiefly proceed from a gentle play of
the instep. The body of the rider should incline
forward in the trot, as, by forming a proper coun-
terpoise, the movement of the horse is facilitated ;
and, above all things, steadiness of seat is required
or the latter will be much incommoded in his ac-

RO.VD -RIDING. 241

tion. So distressing, indeed, is a swaggering un-
steady seat, that it is a well-established, though
not a universally known fact, that horses will carry
some persons of considerably greater weight than
others, long distances on the road, or over a coun-
try in hunting, with less fatigue to themselves,
solely because they ride them with a firm seat and
an easy hand. In a long day's journey on the
road, great relief is given to a horse by now and
then dismounting from his back, and leading him
a few hundred yards ; as also by frequent sips of
water, particularly if the weather be hot. As to
frequent baiting of a hackney in a day's journey,
the practice is not recommended. In a journey of
sixty miles, he should only be stopped once, but
then it should be for at least two hours, during
one hour of which time he should, if possible, be
shut up in a plentifully littered stall. It is well
known that a horse in good condition would per-
form this distance without hurting him, if he were
not baited at all, but we are far from recommending
the practice. Short stops, however, on the road
are injurious rather than beneficial, and teach horses
to hang towards every public-house they pass by
in their journey.

Most horses should be ridden lons^ distances on
the road, in double-reined bridles, and all should
be ridden with spurs. Should they flag, or become
leg-weary towards the end of a day, the use of the
curb may be the means of avoiding falls ; and, by
the gentle application of the spur, a sort of false,

242 HORSEMANSHIP.

that is, more than natural, action is created, which
will have the same beneficial efi'ect. As to the
rate at which horses should be put on the road,
that is a point so much under the control of circum-
stances, that no line can be drawn respecting it ;
but our experience assures us, that if a horse has
to perform the distance we have already taken as a
fair day's work, namely, sixty miles, under not a
very heavy man, he would perform it with more
ease to himself, and feel less from it the following
day, if he travelled at the rate of seven or eight
miles in the hour, than less. In the first place,
this rate of speed is no great exertion to a horse of
good action, and also in good condition ; and, in
the next, by performing his day's work in less time
than if he travelled slower, he gets sooner to rest,
and is, of course, sooner fit to go to work again.
Let it, however, be observed, that he should have
two hours quiet rest in the middle of the journey,
which will enable him to perform it without fatigue.
But we do not recommend this rate of travelling,
when a much greater extent of ground is before us.
If a horse is to be ridden two or three hundred
miles or more, he ought not to travel, in the best
of weather, more than from thirty to forty miles
per day, and he should rest the entire of the fifth
day, or he will become leg-weary, hit his legs, or
perhaps fall. We are of course alluding to valuable
horses, with which extra expense is not to be put
into the scale against the risk of injuring them.
The earlier travelling horses, in the summer parti-

THE HUNTING SEAT. 243

cularly, start in the morning, the better, that they
may get their day's journey over in good time, and
be early shut up for the night.

In riding a journey, be not so attentive to your
horse's nice carriage of himself, as to your encou-
ragement of him, and keeping him in good hu-
mour. Raise his head ; but if he flags, you may
indulge him with bearing a little more upon the
bit than you would suffer in an airing. If a horse
is lame, tender-footed, or tired, he naturally hangs
on his bridle. On a journey, therefore, his mouth
will depend greatly on the goodness of his feet. Be
very careful, then, about his feet, and not let a far-
rier spoil them. To this it may be added, that, as
horses often fall on the road, from the state of their
shoes being neglected ; in journeys, and on hot and
dusty roads especially, the feet as well as the shoes
demand care. They should be stopped every night
with moist clay, or, what is better, wetted tow,
which, whilst it cools and moistens the foot, acts
beneficially, by causing pressure to the sensible sole
and the frog.

The Hunting Seat. — Next to that of a jockey,
on whose skill in the saddle thousands of pounds
may be depending, the seat of the fox-hunter is
most essential of any connected with amusement.
He must not only be firm in his saddle, to secure
himself against falls when his horse is in the act of
leaping, but he must unite with a firm and steady
seat a light and delicate hand, to enable him to
make the most of his horse, as well as to preserve

244 HORSEMANSHIP.

himself as much as possible against danger. His
position in the saddle should resemble that which
Ave have recommended for the road, with the excep-
tion of the length of his stirrup leathers, and the
position of his foot in the stirrup irons. The for-
mer, the length of stirrup leather, should depend
on the form and action of his horse, as w^ll as the
nature of the country he has to ride over. With
a horse very well up in his forehand, with his
haunches well under him, and going perfectly col-
lected and within himself, his stirrup leathers may
be lono^ enouo'h to admit of the knee beino^ very
nearly straight, and the foot resting on the ball.
But, on the other hand, if his horse be somewhat
low in his forehand (which many first-rate hunters
are.) with very powerful action in his hind-quar-
ters ; if ridden in hilly countries, or if at all dis-
posed to be a puller, he will require to be at least
two holes shorter in his stirrups ; and his foot will
be firmer if placed " home"' in them, instead of
resting on the balls. Above all things, he must
acquire a firm, close, and well-balanced seat in his
saddle, which is not merely necessary in leaping,
but in galloping over every description of ground.
A swagging seat in the last mentioned act is suffi-
ciently bad to make a great difference to a hunter
in a severe chase ; but when we picture to our-
►selves a horse alighting on the ground, after having
cleared a high fence, and his rider alighting two or
three seconds afterwards in his saddle, so far for-
ward, perhaps, as to fall beyond the pillars of sup-
port, or backwards behind the centre of action and

THE HUXTIXG SEAT. 245

the part (just behind the shoulders) which ought
to form the junction between the rider and his
horse, w^e can readily imagine how distressing it
must be to the latter, and how much a large fence,
so taken, must exhaust him over and above what
would be the case if he had had the assistance of a
firm hand to support him on alighting ; but which,
with such a seat as we have been describing, no
man can possess. The first requisite, then, for a
person who follows hounds is the combination of a
light hand with a firm seat ; and fortunate is it for
his horse, as well as for himself, if he possess it to
the degree required to constitute a fine horseman,
over a country.

But as the science of war cannot be learned per-
fectly by any thing short of experience in the field,
neither can the art of horsemanship, as far as the
sportsman is concerned, be learned perfectly in the
riding-school or the academy. If our own obser-
vation did not confirm this fact, it would appear
evident, from the variety of situations in which the
man following hounds may be placed, in one indivi-
dual run ; and we will endeavour to enumerate
them. First, there is galloping at very nearly full
speed, not over turf as smooth as a carpeted floor,
and with nothing beyond a daisy's head to come in
contact with the horse's feet, but (ciirsu undoso)
over every description and every variety of ground ;
over the high ridge and across the deep furrow ;
over ground studded with ant-hills, which, unlike
the mole-hill, are often as hard as if they had been
baked in an oven ; over stones and flints, the latter

246 HORSEMANSHIP.

SO sharp as frequently to sever the sinews of a
horse's leg so completely as to cause his toe to turn
upwards, when his throat must be cut on the spot ;
over grips covered by weeds, and thus, if visible to
the horseman, too often invisible to his horse ; over
deep under-drains, with rotten coverings, which
frequently give way, and let in a horse nearly to
his shoulders ; down steep hills, stony lanes, through
deep sloughs and treacherous bogs ; and all this
very frequently on infirm legs, as those of hunters
which have been long in work are very apt to be.

Next come the " fences," as all obstacles to the
follower of hounds are now technically termed ;
and let us just see of what they are composed.
There is the new and stiff gate, with always five,
and sometimes six bars, and each bar, perhaps, as
firm asrainst the force or weiofht of a horse and his
rider as if it were made of wrought iron. Then
there is the nobleman or gentleman's park-paling,
full six feet high, and too often a turnpike road on
the other side to alight on. The stiff four-barred
stile, generally to be taken from a narrow and slip-
pery foot-path, and not unfrequently on the de-
clivity of a hill. The double post and rail fence, as
it is called, too much to be cleared at one leap, in
which case the horse has to leap the second rails
from the top of a narrow bank, and sometimes from
out of a ditch which is cut between them. Every
now and then, in the rich grazing countries, which
are far the best for hunting, and in which hounds
run faster than in others, there is the ox-fence,
which may thus be described : If taken from one

FENCING.

247

side of it, there is, first, a ditch, then a thick and
strong black-thorn hedge, and about two yards be-
yond it, on the landing side, is a very strong rail,
placed to prevent feeding bullocks from running
into the hedge, to avoid the oestrum, or gadfly, in
the summer. This fence, covering a great space of
ground, must be taken at once, or not at all, from
either side on which it is approached. In these
countries, from the goodness of the land, the black
thorn attains great strength ; but in places where
it happens to become weak, instead of the ox-fence,
four strong rails are put, which, in addition to the
ditch, makes also rather an awful fence ; at least,
if a horse do not clear it, he must fall, as the rails
very rarely will give way. Some of these hedges
being impracticable, from their thickness, the sports-
man makes his way to one corner of the field, where
he finds a flight of very high and strong rails, but
without a ditch ; and every now and then a sheep-
fold. The former is somewhat of a more severe
fence than it appears to be, owing to the ground on
each side of it being either poached by cattle, or,
what is worse, rendered slippery by sheep, which
are driven into the corner to be examined by the
shepherd, in the case of there not being a sheep-
fold in the field. The sheep-fold, or sheep-pen, as
it is called in Leicestershire, is a still more serious
undertaking. To get into it, the horse must leap
four strong bars, about the average height of gates,
and then, with a very short space to turn himself
round in, must do the same thing to get out of it.
Next comes the brook, from twelve to twenty feet

248 HORSEMANSHIP.

in width, often bank-full, and sometimes overflow-
ino^ its banks, which are often hollow, and o-enerallv
rotten. In most of our best countries, few runs of
extent take place without a brook, or brooks, being
to be crossed ; and no description of obstacle to
which the sportsman is subject in crossing a coun-
try is the cause of so many disasters.

In what are termed the Provincial Hunting:
Countries, in contradistinction to Leicestershire,
and the other chiefly grazing countries, timber,
with the exception of stiles, and now and then
gates, is not so frequent, nor is the ox-fence to be
seen at all ; but there is comparatively more fenc-
ing, though chiefly hedges and ditches. In many
of these, Dorsetshire in particular, the fences are
generally what is termed double ; that is, there is
a ditch on each side of the hedge, which it requires
a horse to be prepared for, by receiving, if not his
education, a good deal of instruction in the country.
In other parts of England, Cheshire and Lanca-
shire, for example, we find fences that require an
apprenticeship. They consist of a hedge and ditch,
not of large dimensions, but in consequence of the
former being planted on a cop, or bank, a horse
must land himself on the cop before he can get his
footing to clear the fence, provided the hedge be
on the rising side. Were he to spring at it from
the level of the field, and clear the bank, together
with the hedge and ditch, the exertion would be
so great as soon to exhaust his powers. Those
fences require horses very active and ready with
their hinder-legs, and also riders with good hands.

FENCING. 249

In all strong, plough-countries, as our fine loams
and clays are termed by sportsmen, hedges with
ditches (for the most part only one ditch) prevail.
For height and width the}^ are not equal, b}^ much,
to those of the frrazins: districts, but circumstances
render them equally difficult and trying to the
skill of a horseman, and the judgment of his horse,
and oftentimes still more so. In the grazing dis-
tricts, although the fence is large (brooks excepted)
the ground on the rising side is almost always
sound and firm ; whereas in deep plough-countries
it is generally soft, and often, what is worse, it is
sticky or holding. Neither is this all. It very
often happens that the headland of a field is ploughed
to within a foot or two of the ditch, when a small
ridge, or " balk,'' as it is termed in some districts,
is left to prevent the soil of the field washing into
the ditch. This ridge is often very perplexing to
the horseman. He must either put his horse at
the fence so as to clear all at once, or he must let
him take his footing from oft' this narrow ridge,
which, if his head be not in a very good place, and
his rider's hand an indifferent one, makes even a
small fence dangerous. The objection to a ploughed
country also holds good as regards the other, the
landing side of the fence. In the grass countries,
a horse alights on turf sufficiently elastic to break
the concussion from the weight of himself and his
rider, but seldom soft enough to sink him below his
hoofs. On the other hand, in the ploughed dis-
tricts, he is perpetually alighting in fallowed
ground, or in that sown with wheat or other corn,

250 HORSEMANSHIP.

which, particularly after a severe frost, is so far
from being firm enough to bear his weight, that it
sinks him nearly to the knees. This is very dis-
tressing, especially to a horse which carries a heavy
man ; and here the skill of the rider is shown in
his preventing his jumping at fences of this de-
scription, higher or farther than is absolutely neces-
sary to clear them. To a man who follows hounds,
indeed, this art of handing his horse easily over
fences, is one of the very highest value ; and to the
possession of it, to perfection, is to be attributed
the extraordinary performance we have seen and
heard of, of hunters under some of our heaviest
sportsmen, such as Mr. Edge and his brother, Mr.
Richard Gurney, Mr. Robert Canning, Sir Bel-
lingham Graham, Mr. Maxse, Lord Alvanley, and
others, in fast runs of an hour or more, over strongly
inclosed countries.

Walls are, we believe, the only fence met with
in Great Britain which we have as yet left unno-
ticed. They are of two descriptions, namel}^ fast,
by means of mortar, and loose, being built without
mortar. The first do not often come in the way of
the sportsman; and it is well that they do not,
for, in the event of a horse striking them, they do
not yield to his weight.* The last, the loose walls,
particularly those met with in Gloucestershire and
Oxfordshire, are the least dangerous fences he can
ride at ; for, unless his horse be blown, or he is
himself a very powerless horseman, they seldom

^' Two years back, a fast wall, full six feet in lieight, was cleared by
Lord Gardiner, with Sir Richard Sutton's hounds, in Lincolnshire.

RIDING TO HOUNDS. 251

resist him sufficiently to throw him down. Their
height varies from three to five feet ; but as there
never is a ditch on either side of them, and the
ground is generally firm in the parts of those
counties which are inclosed with walls ; those even
of the last-mentioned height may be taken with
safety by a good horseman, on a horse that is accus-
tomed to them, and is not distressed at the time
by the pace ; for, as " it is the pace that kills,''^ so is
it the pace that causes falls.

The following directions may be serviceable to a
young beginner in the hunting field: — When hounds
find and go away, place yourself well down in your
saddle, on your fork or twist, and don't be standing
up in your stirrups, (as formerly was the fashion,
and the cause of many a dislocated neck,) sticking
out your rump as if it did not belong to you. Let
your knee be not very far from straight, with your
foot well out in front of it, and feeling in the stir-
rup as if it formed a sufficient fulcrum for your
bodily strength to act upon, in the assistance your
horse may require from you. Be assured that the
military seat, with the very long stirrup leathers,
will not do here, however graceful it may appear
on a parade. There must be a kind of obstando
power in the rider, to act against the preponderance
of his horse, particularly at what are called drop-
leaps ; or, in case of his making a blunder, or get-
ting into false ground, in his gallop. Having got
well away with the pack, keep your head up, with
your reins in the left hand, and your whip in
your right, held perpendicularly upwards, with the

252 HORSEMANSHIP.

thong falling loosely through your hand, when it
will be ready for all purposes. Cast your eye for-
ward, to take a view of the country, and then on
the body of the hounds, to satisfy yourself that
they are well settled to the chase. And now comes
the young fox- hunter's trial. Yotc must neither
take liberties with the hounds^ nor with your horse.
Ride wide off — that is, on the left, or on the right
of the former, turning as you see them turn, and
never find yourself exactly behind them, on their
line ; and no matter how perfect may be the lat-
ter, never trust him to himself, nor upset him by
going too fast for him, or, in other words, over-
marking him for pace. However good his mouth,
never ride him in chase with quite a slack rein, for,
independently of your own safety, it is not giving
him a fair chance. He requires your support, and
he should have it.

In riding to hounds, there is much to be gained
by what is termed picking out your country. Avoid
going straight across land highly ridged, and, con-
sequently, deeply furrowed, if possible to avoid it,
but rather take your line diagonally. If the fur-
rows are very deep and holding, make for the side,
or the head-land, where, of course, it is compara-
tively level ground. Even if it takes you a little
out of your line, you will find your advantage in
this, for you may increase your rate of going, and
that with ease to your horse, more than equal to
the extra distance you have to go. If your horse
appear somewhat distressed, it is on a head-land,
or still more on a long side-land, that you have a

RIDING TO HOUNDS. 253

good opportunity of recovering him ; and here you
may have recourse to the old-fashioned style of
riding a hunter. You may stand up in your stir-
rups, catching fast hold of your horse^s head, and
pulling him well together, when you will find, that,
without slackening his pace, he has recovered his
wind and can go on. Avoid deep ground as much as
possible ; but when in it, keep a good pull on your
horse, and by no means attempt to go so fast over
it, as you have been going over that which was
sound. After Christmas, turnip fields should be
skirted if possible ; for, by reason of the many
ploughings they receive at seed-time, the land sown
with turnips becomes so loose and porous after
severe frost, that it cannot carry a horse. Also
avoid crossing fallows, or land sown with wheat.
If obliged to go athwart them, get on the head-
land ; or, if you ride straight down them, choose
the wettest furrow you can see. It is sure to have
the firmest bottom, which is proved by the water
standing in it.

As no man can say where a fox-chase will end,
have an eye to your horse, and endeavour to give
him all the advantages in his favour that the coun-
try and the pace Avill admit of. Next to a judicious
choice of your ground, is quickness in turning with
hounds, as the difference between riding inside and
outside of them, in their turns, (be it remembered
hounds very seldom run straight,) is very consider-
able indeed ; and to a certain degree corresponds
with what is called " the whip-hand" in a race.
Again, if you wish to stand well with the master

254^ HORSEMANSHIP.

of the pack, and to obtain the character of a sports-
man, observe the following rules : — Never press
upon hounds, even in chase. When they have
lost the chase — in other words, when they are at
fault, pull up your horse, and keep wide of them ;
and, in the words of a celebrated old sportsman,
" always anticipate a cheeky

Never, for the sake of displaying your horseman-
ship, or your horse, take an unnecessary leap when
hounds are running, nor a large one when a smaller
is in your view, unless the latter take you too much
out of your line, or for a reason which we shall
presently give. If your horse is a good timber
leaper, and not blown, prefer a moderate timber
fence to a rough and blind hedge-and-ditch fence,
as less likely to give you a fall, neither will it take
so much out of your horse. But when your horse
becomes distressed, avoid timber, for if he do not
clear it, he will give you a worse fall in that state
than if he were quite fresh. A blown horse falls
nearly as heavy as a dead one. There is, however,
another precaution to be observed with horses a
good deal beaten by the pace. Have an eye, then,
rather to the nature of the ground on which it is
placed than to the size of the fence ; that is, prefer
a good-sized fence, where you see firm ground for
your horse to spring from, to a small one, where it
is soft and sticky. Moreover, a distressed horse
will often rise at a fence of some height and appear-
ance, whereas he will run into, or, at all events,
endeavour to scramble through a small one. If

COURAGE AND COOLNESS. 255

you decide upon the smaller place, let him go gently
at it, as he will be less likely to give you a fall ; at
all events, he may not give you so bad a one as if
you went fast up to it. Some horses get out of
scrapes better than others ; but it is as well not to
give them an opportunity of showing their prowess
in such matters.

A chief requisite to a good rider across a country
is, courage, one of the most common qualities of
human nature ; and another is, coolness. No man,
when flurried, can do any one thing well ; but when
we consider the variety of objects that the sports-
man, following hounds, has to attract his notice,
and the many obstacles he may have to encounter,
it is evident that, according to the old adage, " he
must have all his wits about him.'" The perfection
of fine horsemanship in the hunting-field, then, is
in a man riding well up to hounds, when going
their best pace, over a stift" country, and yet appear-
ing to be quite at his ease, and his horse, as it
were, sympathising with him in his calmness. Such
a man (and there are some such in every hunt, but
not many) is capable of taking every advantage
that can be taken of country, hounds, and all ob-
stacles which appear to oppose him in his career.
Another signal advantage to the sportsman also
arises from his coolness in these moments of no
small mental, as well as bodily, excitement and
exertion. He is able to observe the beautiful work-
ing of the hounds, which is displayed to advantage
with a burning scent ; and he enjoys it the more,

256 HORSEMAXSPIIP.

in consequence of the superiority of his horseman-
ship having placed him in a situation v/here he is
not molested bj the crowd.

The greater part of mankind, it is true, are en-
dowed with a capacity for performing, and, to a
certain deo:ree, excellins: in, the various exercises
which have been invented for our amusement ; but
we have reason to believe, that out of the vast num-
bers of persons who attempt the apparently simple
art of horsemanship, particularh^ that part of it
which we have now been speaking of, there are
fewer who arrive at perfection in it, than in any
other with which we are acquainted. Luckily, how-
ever, for sportsmen, it is not in horsemanship as
in the fine arts, which admit of no difference be-
tween distinguished success and absolute failure ;
and it is certain that there are more good and spi-
rited riders to hounds at the present day, than were
ever known since fox-hunting, as now practised,
began. And Englishmen may be proud of this ;
for although amongst the classical glories of anti-
quity, we hear nothing of leaping five-barred gates,
twenty-feet drains, and six-feet walls, after hounds,
yet a daring horseman always found honour. Alex-
ander the Great first signalized himself by subduing
an unruly horse, wdiich no man but himself dared
to mount ; and his celebrated general, Eumenes,
was first noticed by Philip, his father, on account
of his skill in horsemanship and all public exercises.
Neither are there wanting parallel cases in our own
country, in wdiich titles and honours have been con-
ferred upon persons who might have been but

RIDING TO HOUNDS. 257

slightly known to him who conferred them, but for
their possessing similar accomplishments.

Although speed in the hunter is now absolutely
necessary, from the much increased rate of hounds,
yet it is equally necessary, in most of our hunting
countries, that he should be a perfect fencer as well,
and that his rider should be an accurate judge of
the extent of his fencing powers. Thus it often
happens that some horses, not equal in speed to
others, get quicker over a stifly-inclosed country
than they do, because, by the means of their supe-
rior fencing, they are able to cut off angles and go
straighter. In fact, there are frequent instances of
one individual sportsman beating every other in the
field, and being alone throughout a run, merely by
clearing a great fence in the direct line of the hounds
at starting; in avoiding which, so much ground
had been lost by the rest of the field, that it could
not be recovered by them until the chase was ended.

The effect of the exertion of leaping, in horses,
is pretty accurately ascertained by the observation
and experience of sportsmen ; still some rather cu-
rious facts are drawn from them. A very large
fence, as has been before observed, exhausts a horse,
or, in the language of the field, '' takes a good deal
out of him ; '" nevertheless, a hunter becomes sooner
distressed over quite an open country, when the
pace is very severe, than he does over an inclosed
one, provided the fences are not very large indeed.
This is accounted for in two ways : First, fences
check the speed of hounds, and consequently the
speed of horses. Secondly, the mere act of pulling

258 HOESEMANSHIP.

or satherinor a liorse too^ether, to shorten his stride
previously to his taking his leap, is a very great
relief to his wind, as we know from the effect a
good pull at his bridle, towards the end of his
course, has on that of the race-horse. At several
kinds of fences, likewise, it is necessary that he
should be pulled up nearly, if not quite, into a
walk, to enable him to take them with safety, such
as fences by the sides of trees, hedges with ditches
on each side of them, particularly if they are what
is termed " blind :" in short, all places known in the
hunting vocabulary as cramped places, as well as now
and then a timber fence, which must be taken nearly
at a stand. And it was the old system of taking all
upright fences, such as gates, rails, stiles, and hedges
without ditches, at a stand, that enabled the low-
bred hunter of the early part and middle of the
last century to live with hounds as well as he did
live with them. The very short time that it takes
for a horse to recover his wind, to a certain extent,
mio^ht be proved by a reference to stage-coach work.
Previously to the perfect manner in which it is
now horsed, and the superior condition of the cat-
tle, from their owners havins^ at lengfth found out
how to feed them, it was not unusual for a coach-
man to have a high blower, as a thick or bad winded
horse is called on the road, in his team, which
might scarcely be able to keep time. If he found
him distressed, he would pull up his coach on the
top of a hill, and draw back the distressed horse
from his collar. But how long would he keep him
in this position ? Why, not many seconds, before

RIDING TO HOUNDS. 259

he would be sufficiently relieved to proceed. Thus
the country of all others which puts the physical
powers of horses to the greatest test in following
hounds, is one which is hilly, and totally without
fences, of which the Sussex South Downs, in the
neighbourhood of Brighton, may be taken as a sam-
ple. Nothing but a thorough-bred horse, and a
good one too, can live quite alongside hounds, going
their very best pace, more than half an hour over
such a country as this, and very few can do even
so much, if they carry more than average weight.
The open ploughed countries, such as great part of
Wiltshire and Hampshire, are for the same reason
very distressing to horses, and require them to have
a great share of blood ; but hounds do not, neither
can they, run so fast over ploughed ground, as over
old, or maiden turf, which the Sussex Downs are
clothed with. In the first place, the scent over the
former is seldom so good; secondly, the ground is not
only not elastic, which the other is, but it impedes
the progress of hounds from two other causes ; its
surface is less even, and the soil of all ploughed
land sticks more or less to the feet of hounds ; or.
in the language of the huntsman, it " carries'" inva-
riably after a slight frost on the previous night.

We now resume our advice to the young fox-
hunting horseman : — It is the practice of all first-
rate horsemen over a country to ride slowly at the
majority of fences. For example, if the ditch be
on the rising side, you may cause your horse to
put his feet into it before he rises at the hedge, if
vou hurry him at it. Should the ditch be on the

260 HORSEMANSHIP.

landing side, the case is somewhat altered, as the
pace you ride at must be regulated by its width.
If you have reason to believe it is of moderate
width, do not go fast at the fence, because it will
cause your horse to leap further than he needs to
leap, and of course help to exhaust him. But if,
when within a few yards of the hedge, going slowly
at it, you perceive the ditch is a broad one, " put
in some powder,'" as the modern sporting term is ;
that is, urge your horse by the hand and spur, and
he will be aware of what you wish him to do,
namely, to extend himself so as to clear a wide
space of ground. If the ground on the landing side
be lower than that on the rising side, causing what
is called " a drop leap,"' or even if the ground be
not lower, but soft or boggy, your horse will look
for assistance from you on alighting, which you
should give him by throwing your body back,
having at the same time a resisting power from your
stirrups. But another precaution is necessary when
the ditch is on the rising side, or indeed with all
fences except those (as will be hereafter named)
wliich require to be ridden quickly at. This is, to
shorten the horse's stroke so as to enable him to
gather himself together for the spring, or he may mis-
judge his distance, and get too near to his fence to
rise at it. In fact, to judge accurately of the distance
from the fence, at which the spring should be taken,
is a great accomplishment in a man and a horse.
In the former, it is the result of experience and a
quick eye ; wdth the latter, it is in great measure
dependent on temper ; and consequently violent

FENCING. 26T

horses, " rushing fencers," as they are termed,
never perfectly acquire it. It is a serious fault
in a horse to take his spring sooner than he need
take it ; and perfect fencers go close up to their
fences before they rise at them, particularly to
hedges when the ditches are on the landing side.
Horses, however, of hasty tempers, particularly well-
bred ones, with great jumping powers, cannot al-
ways be made to do so. Neither will they save
themselves by walking into, or pushing through,
places which do not require to be jumped ; on the
contrary, many otherwise excellent hunters will
scarcely suffer a brier to touch their legs. A good
bridle-hand here comes into play, more especially
with horses who are rather difficult to handle, either
from too fine a mouth, or a loose, ill-formed neck.
It is difficult, however, to offer instruction here, as
there ought to be an absolute interchange of feeling
between the instructor and the instructed, to ren-
der them intelligible to each other; but we will
endeavour to make ourselves understood : — When
you approach a fence with a horse of this descrip-
tion, you should leave him as much to himself as
you find it prudent to do, particularly when within
a few yards of it. If you are obliged to check his
speed, do so with as light a hand as possible ; and
if he shows a dislike to be much checked, by throw
ing up his head, or otherwise, drop your hand to
him, and let him go. He has by this time most
probably measured the fence by his eye, and it may
not be safe to interfere with him.

Double fences, particularly with a horse not quite

262 HORSEMANSHIP.

perfect in his mouth, and the setting on of his
head, try the hand of the horseman. The first
part of the fence, usually a ditch, may he cleared
without any difficulty, and so may the second, if
visible ; but it often happens that neither horse nor
rider is prepared for the second. Here it is that,
in our opinion, lifting a horse is to be recommended,
and in very few cases besides. Our objection to it
arises from the horse being led to expect it ; and
if he do not get it at the critical moment, it may
mislead him. In fact, it requires a hand nicer than
common to make a practice of lifting a horse at his
fences. Nevertheless, in the instance we have al-
luded to, the unforeseen ditch, it is useful ; as also
towards the end of a run, when a horse, from dis-
tress, is o'iven to be slovenly at his fences, if not
disposed to run into them. In leaping timber
fences, we consider the attempt to lift a hunter
dangerous — for a horse becomes a good timber-
leaper from confidence ; and if he finds he is to
wait, as it were, for your pleasure for him to rise at
a gate or a stile, he will be very apt to make mis-
takes.

We have already observed, that timber fences
are the most dangerous of any, by reason of their
general strength ; if a horse strikes them with his
fore-legs, or gets across them, as it were, by not
being able to bring his hinder-quarters clear of
them, they are nearly certain to cause him to fall.
And he falls from timber in a form more dangerous
to his rider than when he merely stumbles and
eventually falls, by putting his feet into a ditch.

FENCING.

263

In the latter case, his fore-quarters come to the
ground first ; and by breaking the force of the fall,
the rider has time to roll away from him before he
himself rolls over, should the violence of the fall
cause him to do so. In the former, if the timber
be strong enough firmly to resist the weight and
force of a horse that strikes it with his fore-legs,
especially if above the knees, the first part of his
body which comes to the ground is either his back
or his rump. Should the rider then not be thrown
clear of him, he must be made of hard materials if
no bones are broken, or some serious injury sus-
tained. All this, then, enforces the advice we have
already given, of avoiding strong timber with horses
not perfect at leaping it, as much as may be com-
patible with keeping your place with hounds ; and
still more so with horses, how perfect soever they
may be at it, that are blown, or very much dis-
tressed. It likewise induces us to point out the
best and safest method of riding at this description
of fence.

Never ride a horse fast at a timber fence, unless
it be a low one, with something wide to be cleared
on the landing side. If a man or a boy is seen exer-
cising himself in jumping heighth, you do not see
him run quickly at it, nor does he run over any
considerable space of ground before he springs. On
the contrary, he only takes a few steps, and those
at a moderate rate. Never, then, ride your hunter
fast at gates, stiles, &c., unless in the one case
alluded to. Mr. Thomas Assheton Smith, perhaps
more celebrated for his horsemanship in the hunt-

264 HORSEMANSHIP.

ing-field than any other person of the present age,
and who was for many years at the head of the
Quorndon (Leicestershire) Hunt, never rides fast at
any fences, brooks excepted, and then only under
circumstances which will be explained when we
treat on that part of our subject. When riding at
timber, however, take a firm hold of your horse's
head, chiefly by the aid of the bridoon, if his mouth
is good enough for it ; and let him understand, by
assuming an air of resolution on your part, that
you not only mean him to leap it, and that you
will not suffer him to turn his tail to it, but that
it is something at which his best energies will be
required of him. But, above all things, do not
interfere with his stroke or stride, unless absolutely
called upon by some peculiarity of the ground, such
as a grip on the headland, or a small ditch on the
rising side. A horse making up his mind to leap
a timber fence, will of his own accord regulate that
matter, and gradually gather himself together on his
haunches, previous to being required to take his
spring. He will also, if you let him, often make
choice of his pace at which he goes up to a gate, «Sz;c.
It is true, the deer can clear a greater height in its
trot than in any other pace ; but a horse prefers the
very slow gallop, or canter, when thus called upon
to exert himself ; for if he do trot to any upright
fence, we generally see him break into a canter in
the last few yards. As the fulcrum for the spring
comes from behind, the canter is the most natural
pace, the haunches being at this time more under
the body.

LEAPING WALLS WITH DITCHES. 265

The same instructions to the horseman hold good
with regard to stone walls as to timber fences, at
least to those met with in England, which are loose,
and without ditches. But in several parts of Scot-
land the case is different, as the sportsman very
frequently has to encounter walls with ditches on
one side or the other of them. In consequence of
their being placed at some distance from the wall,
to prevent the water which runs down them under-
mining the foundation of it, there is frequently
room, when the ditch is on the rising side, for a
horse to leap the ditch, and take a second spring
from the intermediate space, and so clear the wall.
But when he has to leap the wall, with the ditch
on the landing side, it becomes a very difficult
fence, and must be ridden at with judgment. If
the ditch be not too far from the wall, to come
within the stretch of a hunter, he should be ridden
quickly at it, and well roused by the rider, to make
him extend himself sufficiently ; but if it be too
far, he should be put very slowly at the wall, so ay
to enable him to drop with his hinder-legs at least,
on the intermediate space, and thence spring over
the ditch. This fence is very trying to horses not
accustomed to it ; and with those which are, one
fact becomes apparent, namely, that the mere hold-
ing the reins of a bridle does not constitute what
is called " a hand" on a horse. A workman with
a " finger" is wanted here.

In riding at every description of timber, your
seat as well as your hand requires attention. You
have already been told on what part of your horse

266 HORSEMANSHIP.

you ought to sit — namely, in the middle of your
saddle, which should be placed close to the shoulder
bones, when your seat will be most secure, from its
being just in the centre of motion when your horse
springs at his fence ; as, in the rising and falling
of a board placed in equilibrio, the centre will be
most at rest. Your true seat, indeed, will be found
nearly in that part of your saddle into which your
body would naturally slide if you mounted without
stirrups. But other security than this is required,
to insure safety over very high fences. It is not
the horse''s rising that tries the rider''s seat ; the
lash of his hinder-legs is what ought to be chiefly
guarded against, and is best done by the body's
being greatly inclined backward. Grasp the saddle
lightly with the hollow or inner part of your
thighs, but let there be no stiffness in any part of
the person at this time, particularly in the loins,
which should be as pliant as those of a coachman
on his box, when travelling over a rough road. A
stiff" seat cannot be a secure one, because it offers
resistance to the violent motions of the horse, which
is clearly illustrated by the cricket-player. Were
he to hold his hand firm and fixed when he catches
a ball struck with great force, his hand or arm
would be broken by the resistance ; but by yielding
his hand gradually, and for a certain distance, to
the motion of the ball, by a due mixture of opposi-
tion and obedience, he catches it without sustaining
injury. Thus it is in the saddle. A good horse-
man recovers his poise, by giving some way to the
motion, whereas a bad one is flung from his seat,

PLEASURE OF THE FLYING LEAP. 267

by endeavouring to be fixed in it. In old times,
when hunters were trained to leap all upright fences
standing, these precautions were still more neces-
sary, because the effect of the lash of the hinder-
quarters was more sudden and violent, in conse-
quence of the horse being so close to his fence that
he rose perpendicularly at it, and not with the
lengthened sweep of a flying leap.

Although Virgil, in his third Georgic, speaks of
not suffering the brood mare to leap fences, {non
saltu super are mam,) we find nothing on this sub-
ject in the classics, to induce us to believe that the
ancients, although they hunted, were given to ride
over fences. Here they sustained a loss ; for we
know few more delightful sensations, than that ex-
perienced in the act of riding a fine flying leaper
over a hidi and broad fence. Nothino- within the
power of man approaches so nearly to the act of
flying ; and it is astonishing what a great space of
ground has been covered at one leap by horses fol-
lowing hounds, or, at other times, with first-rate
horsemen on their backs, who alone have the power
of making them extend themselves to the utmost ;
and particularly when the ground, on the rising
side, is sound, and somewhat in favour of the horse.
In the grand Leicestershire steeple-chase of 1829,
a grey horse, called " The King of the Valley,""*
the property of Mr. Maxso, and ridden by the
justly celebrated Mr. Richard Christian of Melton
Mowbray, cleared the previously unheard-of space
of eleven yards, or thirty-three feet. Yet, after
all, the most extraordinary fact relating to the act

268 HORSEMANSHIP.

of leaping in horses, is the power they have of ex-
tending themselves by a second spring, as it were,
when, on being suspended in the air, they perceive
something on the farther side of a fence, for which
they were not prepared. That they occasionally
do this under good horsemen, all good horsemen of
experience can vouch for ; but whence the fulcrum,
or the power to do it, is derived, it would be diffi-
cult to determine. All horses which have been in
Leicestershire, and other countries where the fences
are large and wide, become more or less accomplished
in the act of throwing themselves forvv^ard, as well
as springing upward, causing a very pleasant sen-
sation in the rider, as well as an assurance that he
is not likely to drop short into the ditch or brook.
We have already said, that brooks stop a field
more than any other description of fence, and for
the following reasons : — Very few men, and still
fewer horses, like jumping brooks. In the first
place, as concern the rider, they are very apt to
injure his horse by a strain, or a bad over-reach ;
secondly, water is deceiving as to the extent of it ;
thirdly, a wide brook takes much out of a horse ;
and, lastly, the banks often give way, after the
horse supposes he has landed himself ; and although
it is easy for him to get into a brook, it is often
very difficult for him to get out of one. Few-
horses become very good water-jumpers, unless
they have been hunted a good deal in countries
where brooks abound, and also have been fortunate
in not getting into one of them in their noviciate.
For this reason, it is a hazardous experiment to

LEAPING BROOKS. 2()9

give a large price for a hunter, how high soever
may be his character, that has been only hunted
in counties like Hampshire or parts of Wiltshire,
where there are no brooks but such as, from the
soundness of their bottoms, horses may walkthrough.
We have already stated the most likely way to
make a young horse a good brook-jumper ; a very
superior accomplishment in a hunter, and chiefly
to be attained by his acquiring confidence.

There is one other untoward circumstance at-
tending leaping brooks with hounds. They are, for
the most part, met with in the middle of a field,
and it often happens that, until the horseman ar-
rives on the very brink of them, he cannot form a
correct estimate of their nature or extent. They
also vary much in both these respects, we mean in
the soundness or unsoundness of their banks, and
in their width, in the space of a few yards ; so that
it is in some measure a matter of chance w^hether
you have to leap a wide brook or a narrow one.
But then, it may be said, you can always satisfy
yourself on these points. True ; you may do so :
but what would too often be the consequence i
Why, if you show your horse a brook before you
ride him at it, it would too frequently happen that
he would not have it at all ; add to which, whilst
you were doing this, on a good scenting day, the
hounds would get a long way a-head of you. Be-
sides, the ms vwida, or momentum of the horse's
gallop, so necessary to get him wtII over wide
brooks with rotten banks, is wanted, but in this
case it would to a certain extent be lost ; and if he

270 HORSEMAXSHIP.

is once pulled up, and turned around, it is not so
readily acquired again, as he is always more or less
alarmed, after having got a sight of what he is
going to encounter. Wide brooks, then, with un-
certain banks, are the only fences wdiich should be
ridden at very fast ; for, exclusive of the advantage
the horse gets from the impetus derived from speed,
should he fall on the other side from false ground,
he will generally save himself from dropping back-
wards into the brook, an object of no small import-
ance to him, as also to his rider. There are, how-
ever, exceptions to the rule of riding fast at brooks.
When they are not wide, and the banks are sound,
it takes less out of a horse to put him at a mode-
rate rate at them. Neither should he be ridden
quickly at them when they overflow their banks, as
it will then require all his circumspection and care
to know when, or where, to spring from, to cover
them. In fact, overflown brooks are rather formid-
able obstacles ; but (a fine trial of hand) numer-
ous instances do occur in the course of a season,
where they are leaped when in that state by some
of tlie field, but not by many.

Although, when the sportsman rides over a very
wide brook, or any other fence which requires much
ground to be covered, he has a certain hold by his
bridle ; yet, as may be supposed, it is very unequal
to the weight of his own body, increased by the
resistance of the air. How happens it, then, that
his horse does not leap from under him ? or, at
least, how is it that, when the horse alights, the
rider alights in the very same spot in the saddle on

LEAPING. 271

which he sat when his horse rose at it ? The fact
is, his body so far partakes of the speed of his
horse, and increases in common with it, that, with
very little assistance from his bridle-reins, he keeps
himself in his proper place. If it were not so, what
w^ould become of the rider in the circus, who leaps
directly upward, through a hoop perhaps, or over
his whip, whilst his horse is going at considerable
speed I He would, of course, alight upon the
ground, perpendicularly, under the point at which
he sprang from his saddle. It is evident, however,
that on leaving the saddle, the body of the rider
has equal velocity with that of the horse ; and the
spring, which he takes perpendicularly upward, in
no degree diminishes this velocity ; so that, while
he is ascending from the saddle, he is still advanc-
ing with the same speed as his horse, and continues
so advancing until his return to the saddle. In this
case, the body of the rider describes the diagonal
of a parallelogram ; one side of which is in the di-
rection of the horse's motion, and the other perpen-
dicularly upward, in the direction in which he makes
the leap. From these facts, these striking instances
of the composition of motion, then, may the advan-
tages of good, and the disadvantages of bad, horse-
manship be appreciated ; and as it appears that
the motions of the rider and his horse are so inti-
mately connected and in unison with each other
(for were the circus rider to project his body for-
ward, in his leap through the hoop, as he would do
if it were on the ground, he would alight on his
horse's head or neck, or perhaps before his head,

272 HORSEMANSHIP.

for he would then advance forward more rapidly
than his horse,) the importance of a steady seat
and a good hand is apparent, and accounts for some
men crossing a country on middling horses, quicker
and better than others do upon really good ones.

Having spoken of overflown brooks, and being
aware of the many fatal disasters that have occurred
to sportsmen in water, and the narrow escapes of
drowning from crossing flooded rivers, by others,
within the last twenty years, we are surprised that
the exercise of swimming horses, in the summer
months, is not more generally resorted to. It was
practised by the ancients ; we find Alexander swim-
ming the Granicus with thirteen troops of horse.
But the horses should be practised in swimming as
well as their riders, or it would not avail the
sportsman so much, as we know some horses are
very much alarmed when they lose their legs in
water, and often turn themselves over. That the
act of swimming on horses is a most simple and
safe one to those who practise it, may be proved at
any of our watering places in the summer, where
boys swim them out to sea, two at a time, chang-
ing their seats from one to another with the great-
est ease. We observe they generally lean their
body forwards, so that the water gets under it, and
partly floats it, interfering as little as possible with
the horse's mouth ; at all events, never touching
the curb rein. When the sportsman or the traveller
has occasion, or is accidentally called upon, to swim
his horse through deep water, and the banks will
admit of it, he should enter it as gradually as pos-

RIDING YOUNG HUNTERS. 273

sible, as not only will his horse be less alarmed at
the loss of his footing, but less liable to turn him-
self over. Thus in fording a brook too wide to
leap, and with a soft bottom, a horse should be
ridden tery slowly into it, which will enable him to
get his hinder-legs well under his body before he
makes his spring to ascend the opposite bank ;
which he cannot do if he enter the brook quickly.

As the young sportsman may be induced to
" make his own horses," as the term is for qualify-
ing them for the appellation of hunters, it may not
be amiss to offer him a few words of advice. Be
careful, the first season, how you ride them at very
cramped places, especially where there is timber,
for they cannot be expected to be au fait at such
things ; and many of the worst falls that some of
our hard-riding sportsmen have experienced, have
been from expecting young horses to do what old,
or at least experienced ones, only can do. Avoid
also taking the lead with hounds, especially if they
run hard, with a young horse, for it may cause him
to refuse a big fence which he might have followed
another horse over, and thus become a refuser ever
afterwards. Although horses do not understand
languages, they understand the arbitrary signs of
their masters or riders ; and if a young hunter
makes a slovenly mistake with you at a fence, he
should be corrected with either spur or whip, and
also by the mice. The merely calling out to him,
or exclaiming, " For shame — what are you about,
eh ! " accompanied by a slight stroke of the whip,
has often a very good effect, and will be visible at

274 HORSEMANSHIP.

the next fence, when he will be more careful where
he puts his feet, and take a greater spring. A
horse knows his errors ; also, when he is corrected,
and when cherished, each of which he should be
subject to in their turns ; but as, according to the
old adage, a coward and a madman are equally un-
fit to be horsemen, the correction of a young hunter
should not be severe. Nothing would be more
likely to make him what is called a " rushing,'"
and consequently an unsafe fencer for the rest of
his life, than beating him severely^ for any trifling
faults he may commit in the field. Martingals on
hunters are now generally condemned ; but, in our
opinion, more generally than they deserve to be,
particularly during the first season of a young
horse, as a long martingal serves to steady his
head, if he is a little impetuous, and saves him
many falls, which, putting his rider out of the
question, are injurious to him, as all horses become
large fencers, in a great measure, by having confi-
dence in themselves, which falls must necessarily
shake. All horses, indeed, whose necks are weak
and loose, may be ridden with advantage by the
aid of a martingal on the bridoon rein, the rings
coming quite up to their jaws, when it cannot inter-
fere with their galloping or their leaping. We re-
member the time, indeed, when the first sportsmen
and hardest riders of the day, were never seen
without a long martingal, o?i hoi^ses ichose head's were
not quite in the right place, and be it remembered
that nineteen out of twenty race -horses are ridden
in martingals. Nevertheless we would avoid the

OPENING GATES. 275

use of them when not absolutely necessary, as the
more liberty a hunter has, the more likely he is to
recover himself when in difficulty.

The perfect command of a horse in the hunting
field is in nothing more essential than in passing
through half-opened gates, and many have been the
bad accidents that have arisen from the want of it,
horses being often stuck fast between the gate and
the post, to the no small injury to their rider's legs
or knees. Indeed the being handy in opening a
gate, is no trifling accomplishment in a hunter ;
and here a few lessons in the school may be of ad-
vantage to him. He would there be taught to obey
the leg as well as the hand ; and, by a slight touch
of the spur, would throw his haunches round to the
left, on his rider unfastening the latch with his
right hand, and thus enable him to throw the gate
behind him, and pass through it. This has refer-
ence to gates that open toioards the horseman ;
such as open y*?'om him, require not the horse's aid,
unless it be, to push them outward, with his breast.
But it often happens when a horse is blown, or
beat, that unless he have a very good mouth, he
will hang upon a gate, that opens towards him,
and nearly prevent his rider from opening it at all.
One precaution, however, should always be taken
with gates ; the rider should never trust to catch-
ing the topmost bar, or w^hat is called the head of
the gate, but should pass his hand inside of it,
when he will be certain to come in contact with
some part of it.

276 HORSEMANSHIP.

Falls. — There is a proverb, and a true one,
which says, " He that will venture nothing, must
not get on horseback." All men, however, who
ride a-hunting are subject to falls, but those who
ride near to hounds, or " hard," as the term is,
seldom escape without having several in the course
of a season. It is well, then, that the young
sportsman should know, that there is an art in
falling, as well as in preventing falls. This con-
sists in getting clear of the horse as soon as pos-
sible, which a man in the habit of falling has a
better chance to do than one who runs less risk of
it, having greater self-possession at the moment.
Next to a horse coming neck and croup over a high
timber fence, a fall in galloping at full speed is
most dangerous, and apt to dislocate the neck, by
the head cominsr first to the o:round ; and from the
velocity of the fall, the rider has no time for pre-
cautions. However, even in this case he should
endeavour to put out one hand, if not both, to
break the force of the fall, as well as to act in re-
sistance to his head coming first to the ground, and
receiving the whole force of the concussion. By so
doing, it is true, the collar-bone stands a great
chance of being fractured ; but that is an accident
merely of temporary inconvenience, and unattended
with danger, whereas a dislocated neck is very rarely
reduced. But it is a curious fact, that there are
fewer instances of broken necks in the field in the
present age, than there were nearly a century ago,
notwithstandino: that for one man who rode a-hunt-
ing then, there are fifty now; and the pace of

FALLS. 277

hounds, as well as style of riding, much altered as
to speed. This has been accounted for in two ways :
first, the modern sportsman sits, for the most part,
down on his saddle, whereas the sportsman of olden
times stood up in his stirrups, and, when his horse
fell with him in his gallop, was nearly certain to
fall on his head. Secondly, he did not ride the
well-bred, superiorly actioned horse that the modern
sportsman rides, which would account for his falling
oftener in his gallop, and particularly as the sur-
face of the country, in his day, was very uneven
and uncultivated compared to what it now is. JN ei-
ther was the hunting cap of much service to him
in accidents of this description. On the contrary,
from its being so low in the crown, as it was then
made, coming in immediate contact with the top of
the head, the concussion was greater if he were
thrown upon his head, than if it had been cased in
a hat which, from the depth of it, would break the
fall.

In all falls, the horseman should roll away from
his horse as soon as he possibly can, lest in his
struggle to rise again he strike him with his legs
or head. It frequently happens that the horse him-
self rolls after he falls, and, if in the direction in
which his rider lies, is apt to crush and injure him.
Indeed, there is scarcely any hard rider who has
not been thus served ; but here again self-posses-
sion often stands his friend. When he sees the
body of his horse approaching him, he frequentl}'
saves himself by meeting it with one of his feet,
and, by obtaining a fulcrum, shoves his own body

278 HORSEMANSHIP.

along the ground out of his reach. Coolness in this
hour of peril, likewise serves the sportsman in an-
other way. Instead of losing hold of his reins, and
abandoning his horse to his own will, as the man
who is flurried at this time invariably does, he
keeps them in his hand, if not always, perhaps in
nine falls out of ten, and thus secures his horse.
It was the remark of a gentleman to whom we have
before alluded, and who {singulus in arte) was, from
his desperate system of riding, and despite of his
line horsemanship, known to have more falls than
any other man during the time he hunted Leices-
tershire, that nothing had so low an appearance as
that of a man running on foot over a field, calling
out, " Stop my horse."

Before quitting this part of our subject, it may
be well to observe, that in cases of bad falls, parti-
cularly those afl'ecting the head, a large wine glass-
ful of equal parts of strong vinegar and water, drunk
by the sufl'erer, is found to be very efficacious, from
the revulsive powers of the vinegar acting on the
general circulation of the system. In countries
where there is much timber to be leaped, stiles par-
ticularly, calkins to the shoes of the hinder feet of
a hunter should never be omitted, as should those
feet slip under his body, the fulcrum, to spring
from, is lost, and a fall nearly certain.

We have only a few words more to offer to the
young sportsman. Nature is invariably the standard
of excellence, and unless she have endowed you
with a cool head, a vigorous body, and a stout
heart, you wdll not long distinguish yourself in the

GENERAL MAXIMS. 279

hunting field, as what is now termed " a first-flight
horseman!''' You may sing with Hector,

■TJie foremost place 1 claim,

The first in danger, as the first in fame ;"

but you will not obtain it unless you possess the
above named requisites. But having them, do not
consider the following admonitions unworthy of
your notice : — Never ride at impenetrable or im-
practicable places ; you may get over or through
them with a fall, but your horse will surely be the
worse for the attempt, and will the sooner sink
under you in a good run. Never abandon your
horse to himself over any ground, but be sure to
hold him fast by his head, either up or down hill,
and in soft ground. If you doubt the effect of a
tight hand at these times, ask the first Newmarket
jockey you meet, and he will fully satisfy your
doubts. In the daring movements of that " laidess
moment^'''' which the first start after hounds, in
some countries, may now be termed, from the des-
perate attempts hard -riding men make to get the
lead, do not fail to have your eyes about you, and
also keep a good command over your horse. In
plain English, do not ride over any man. Some of
the worst accidents to sportsmen have arisen from
this cause. In the first place, one man will often
ride so close to another who is going to leap a fence,
that if the first horse falls, the second is almost certain
to leap either on or over him and his rider, as he can
rarely be pulled up, or even turned, in so short a
space. But even should the second man see the
first man's horse in the act of leaping the fence, he

280 HORSEMANSHIP.

should allow him some time to get away from it,
for in the event of his clearing it, it is still possible
he may fall, by stumbling over something after
landing ; stepping into a grip or rut, or into false
ground, all of which he is subject to, but more es-
pecially towards the end of a chase, when, of course,
his strength and action are reduced. It is better,
if you can, to take a line of your own than to fol-
low any one at this time, as your horse is now fresh ;
and, by not having cause to pull him up to let
others go before you, you have a better chance to
get a good start, which gives you a great advan-
tage. When once along side the pack, quit them
not until they have finished their work, or at least
as long as your horse can go without trespassing
too hard on his powers. If, however, you get the
lead, and can keep it for forty minutes, best pace o'cer
the grass^ with rasping fences and two wide brooks
in your way, the laurels Caesar won would be weeds,
and withered ones too, compared with those which
would, for that one day, be yours.

There have been, and are now, some splendid
specimens of horsemanship, and the management
of horses in other ways, amongst servants, and it
appears there always were such. Amongst the ce-
lebrated ones of antiquity we find the following,
moving in this humble sphere : — Automedon, ser-
vant to Achilles ; Idseus to Priam ; Metiocus to
Turnus, king of Rutuli ; Myrtilus to OEnomous, a
son of Mars ; Ceberes to Darius ; and Anniceris,
servant to Cyraneus. And why should not the
servant, by practice, become as fine a horseman as

IMPORTANCE OF A FINE HAND. 281

his master ? The question appears to be easily an-
swered, namely, — the chances are equal, with equal
instruction and experience. But such has not been
found to be the case ; and althouo^h amono-st the
various huntsmen, whippers-in, and what are known
by the appellation of second-horse-men, namely,
those grooms who ride horses with hounds, to sup-
ply the place of those their masters ride, when they
become fatigued, a most humane, as well as econo-
mical plan with all who have a stud of hunters,
some super-excellent horsemen may be found, the
generality of servants are deficient in that first
essential to good horsemanship, a fine or sensitive
hand. Nor is this a matter of surprise. The ner-
vous influence, proceeding from the organs of touch,
may be said chiefly to constitute what is termed the
" hand" of the horseman ; and that influence may
easily be supposed to be greater in a person whose
situation in life has not subjected him to rough
and laborious employments which must necessarily
tend to deaden it. Until of late years the seat of
servants was unfavourable to a good hand on their
horse, as they, with very few exceptions, rode with
too short stirrups, and, consequently, by being not
well placed in their seats, wxre perpetually inter-
fering with their horses'* mouths, from their un-
steadiness. So fully aware of these objections was
the late Mr. Childe of Kinlett Hall, Shropshire,
that, during the period of his keeping fox-hounds,
he had onlv one servant in his lar^^e establishment
that he ever suffered to mount the horses he him-

282 HORSEMANSHIP.

self rode, and that was William Barrow, afterwards
more than twenty years huntsman to the late Mr.
Corbet of Sundorjip Castle, Shropshire, who so long
hunted Warwickshire, and who was remarkable
for his fine bridle-hand. Notwithstandino: this, it
may fairly be maintained, that, from the fact of
the comparatively small number of good horsemen
who have obtained instruction from the schools,
there is more of nature than of art in the acquisi-
tion of skill and talent on the saddle.

Saddles and bridles form no unimportant feature
in the equestrian art, as well as in the establish-
ment of a sportsman. Nothing sets off the appear-
ance of a horse and his rider more than a good
saddle and bridle, nor does any thing contribute
more to the comfort and safety of the latter than a
well-made roomy saddle, with spring bars for the
stirrup-leathers ; stirrups rather heavy than other-
wise, and sufficiently large for the feet. Some per-
sons, not contented with the spring bars, require
spring stirrups as well; but, in our opinion, no
man can hang in a common stirrup, provided he
do not wear thick boots nor use small stirrup-irons.
Of the various sorts of bridles, the snaffle is most
in use on the turf, and the curb for military horses,
hunters, roadsters, and coach-horses. Not one
hunter in twenty has a mouth good enough for a
snaffle only ; although there are a few horses in
every hunt that will not face the curb. Some,
however, go very well on the snaffle up to a certain
period of a run, when all at once they require the

SADDLES AND BRIDLES. 28o

, assistance of the curb. Such horses should be rid-
den with a double bridle, so that the rider mar
have recourse to the curb-bit, wl^en wanting.

There is often great nicety required in fitting a
horse with a bridle, if irritable in his temper, or a
very hard puller. If the former, he must have a
bit of just sufficient severity to control him, and
not any thing more. The one called the '' Pel-
ham," is well adapted to horses of this description,
as it partakes of the double properties of snaffle
and curb. With very hard pulling horses, the
curb to a severe bit must be used ; but the evil of
this is, that, after a certain time, the mouth, thus
acted upon, becomes " dead," as the term is, and
the horse is unpleasant to ride and difficult to turn.
To remedy this, three players should be attached
to the port of the bit, which, by hanging looselv
over the tongue, keep the mouth alive. A bridle
of this description, very long in the cheek, is known
in the hunting world as the " Clipper bit," being
the one in which that celebrated horseman Mr.
Lindow, rode a horse called the Clipper, several
years over Leicestershire, in which far-famed county
he was supposed to be the best hunter going. If
a horse rushes at his fences, a moderately tight
nose-band is useful, as also to prevent his opening
his mouth, and snatching at his rider's hand. The
less a horse opens his mouth in his work the bet-
ter, as it tends to make it dry ; whereas it cannot
be too moist for his own good. Bits very high in
the port are of course the most severe, owing to
the increased purchase ; but witli every description

284 HORSEMANSHIP.

of bits, care should be taken that they are suffi-.
ciently wide for the mouth, so as not to press
against the horse's cheeks, and that the headstall
is sufficiently long to let the bit drop well into the
mouth.

As we read in the 22d chapter of Genesis, Sd
verse, that " Abraham rose up early in the morn-
ing, and saddled his ass,"" saddles of some sort must
have been used in very early days ; but few things
appear more extraordinary to those persons who
look into ancient history, than the fact of saddles
with stirrups being a comparatively modern inven-
tion. Although a French translator* of Xeno-
phon, by an oversight, makes a governor of Armenia
hold the stirrup of the Persian king when he
mounted his horse, — " II lui tenoit Teti^ier lorsq'il
montoit a cheval," it is well known that the ancients
had no stirrups, but that men of rank among them
were accompanied by a person whose office it was
to lift them into the saddle, whom the Greeks
called ava(3oXivg^ and the Romans strator. There
is no mention of stirrups in any Greek or Latin
authors, no figure to be seen in any statue or monu-
ment, nor any word expressive of them to be met
with in classical antiquity. In the celebrated
equestrian statues of Trajan and Antoninus, the
legs of the rider hang down without any support,
whereas, had stirrups been used at that time, the
artist would not have omitted them. Neither are
they spoken of by Xenophon in his two books upon
horsemanship, in which he gives directions for

•" D'Abkncourt.

SADDLES AND BRIDLES. 285

.mounting ; nor by Julius Pollux in his Lexicon^
where all the other articles belono-in^^ to horse-fur-
niture are spoken of. The Roman youth, indeed,
were taught to vault into their saddles,

" Corpora saltu
Subjiciunt in equos ; " *

and in their public ways, stones were erected, as in
(xreece also, for such as were incapable of doing so.
As another substitute for stirrups, horses in some
countries were taught to bend the knee, after the
manner of beasts of burden of the East ; -|- and in
others, portable stools were used to assist persons
in mounting. This gave birth to the barbarous
practice of making captured princes and generals
stoop down, that the conqueror might mount his
horse from their backs ; and in this ignominous
manner was the Roman Emperor Valerian treated
by the Persian King Sapor, who outraged humanity
by his cruelty. The earliest indisputable mention
of stirrups is by Eustathius, (the commentator of
Homer,) about six hundred years back, who uses
the word stabia.

Although the history of the saddle has not exer-
cised the learned world so much as the antiquity of
the stirrup, a good deal has been written and said
about it. Like all other inventions, it appears to
have been suggested by the necessity of making

* Virgil, JEndd xii., 287.

i" See Siiicus Italicus, lib. x., 4G5, —

" I tide inclinatus colium, submissus et armoa

De more, inflexis praibebat scandere terga

Cruribub."

286 HORSEMANSHIP.

the rider sit easily upon his horse, and some kind
of covering, consisting of cloth or leather, (skins
or hides, perhaps,) was placed on the animaPs back.
These coverings, however, became afterwards ex-
tremely costly; * they were made to hang down on
each side of the horse, and were distinguished
among the G-reeks and Romans by various names.
After they became common, however, it was es-
teemed more manly to ride without them ; and
thus we find Varro boasting of having ridden bare-
backed when young. Xenophon also reproaches
the Persians with having placed as much clothes
under their seats, on their horses' backs, as they
had on their beds. It is certain that no coverings
to the horses'* backs were for a long time used in
war; and, according to Caesar, the old German
soldiers despised the cavalry of his country for
having recourse to such luxuries. In the time of
Alexander Severus, the Roman soldiers rode upon
very costly coverings, excepting at reviews, when
they were dispensed with, to show the condition of
their horses. But we should imagine we must look
to later times for the costly trappings of the horse.
In his description of the city of Constantinople, the
author of the Letters of the Turhhh Spy says,
" The next thing worthy of observation is the
Serayan, or house of equipages, where are all sorts
of trappings for horses, especially saddles of im-
mense cost and admirable workmanship. There

* See Virgil, JEncid vii., 276 ; viii,, 552. Ovid, i\Ieiam., lib. viii.,
33. Also Livy, lib. xxxi., cap. 7, who speaks of a man who dressed
his horse more elegantly than his wite.

HISTORY OF THE SADDLE. 287

cannot be a more agreeable sigbt, to such as take
pleasure in horses and riclmg, than to see four
thousand men here daily at work in their shops,
each striving to excel the rest in the curiosity of
his artifice. You shall see one busy in spangling
a saddle with great Oriental pearls and unions in-
termixed, for some Arabian horse, belonging, per-
haps, to the Vizier Azem ; another fitting a curb
or bit of the purest gold to a bridle of the most
precious Russian leather. Some adorn their trap-
pings with choice Phrygian work ; others with
diamonds, rubies, and the most costly jewels of the
east."

But to return to the history of the saddle, its
invention, and general use, the latter a point very
difficult to be ascertained. The word epMppium,
by which the ancient Romans expressed it, being
merely derived from the Greek words scr/, tipon^ and
/'77ro$, a Jiorse^ leads us to conclude that, by degrees,
the covering spoken of was converted into a saddle.
The Greek word £%«, used by ancient authors, is
believed to have been to express a saddle, and is
more than once used by Xenophon, in his De Re
Equestri ; and Vegetius, who wrote on the vete-
rinary art nearly 400 years b. c, speaks of the
saddle-tree. Perhaps the clearest proof of the use
of any thing approaching to the form of the mo-
dern saddle, is the order of Theodosius (see his
Code,) in the year 385, by which such persons as
rode post-horses in their journeys were forbidden to
use those which weighed more than sixty pounds ;
if heavier, they were ordered to be cut to pieces.

288 HORSEMANSHIP.

What would the people of those times have thought
if they could have seen one of our Newmarket rac-
ing saddles, weighing under four pounds, but giving
the rider a very comfortable seat. The order here
alluded to, doubtless applied to something resem-
bling a saddle, although of rude workmanship, as
its weight bespeaks. Every traveller, we may con-
clude, was provided with his own saddle ; and about
this time the Latin word sella more frequently oc-
curs. In the fifth century, again, we find articles
bearing something of this stamp, and made so ex-
travagantly magnificent as to call forth a prohibi-
tion by the Emperor Leo L against any one orna-
menting them with pearls or precious stones. The
saddle-tree is also mentioned by Sidonius Apolli-
naris, a Christian writer, who was born a. d. 430 ;
and in the sixth century, the saddles of the cavalry,
according to Mauritius, who wrote on the military
art, had large coverings of fur; and about this
period, the Greek word cO^a {sella) is used. It is
considered probable, however, that the merit of the
invention of saddles may be due to Persia, not
merely from the circumstance of Xenophon's men-
tioning the people of that country as being the
first to render the seat on the horse more conve-
nient and easy, by placing more covering on their
backs than was common in other parts, but also
because the horses of Persia were made choice of
for saddle-horses in preference to any others. That
the word saddle is derived from the Latin word
sedeo^ to sit, may fairly be presumed. That the
proper saddle itself, however, was unknown in Eng-

THE SPUR. 289

land until the reign of Henry VIL, we have good
reason to believe ; and in Ireland, from the ab-
sence of any representation of it on their coins, it
may be conjectured, not till many years subsequent
to that period. The woman's saddle, called by us
the side-saddle, first appeared in Richard the Se-
cond's time, when his queen rode upon one ; but
from the pictures of men and women's saddles used
in England's early days, we find they were miser-
able apologies for our modern saddles. Indeed, at
the present time. Great Britain is the only coun-
try in which proper saddles are made. Hunting
saddles should have their pannels well beaten and
brushed to prevent sore backs ; and no sportsman,
even if light, should use a short saddle — ^. ^., under
sixteen inches from pummel to cantle.

The antiquity of the spur does not appear to
have much excited curiosity ; but the use of this
instrument was known in the very earliest age of
which we have any satisfactory history. At least
we may presume that it was so, from the Hebrew-
word signifying horseman {Pavash^) appearing to
be derived from a Hebrew root signifying to prick
or spur. So at least says Buxtorff ; and he adds,
that the horseman, or spurrer, was so called on this
account : Eques quod equum calcarihus pungat ; and
he quotes Eben Ezra in confirmation of his opin-
ion : A calcarihus quw sunt in pedihus ejus. Spurs
occur but seldom on seals, or other antiques, in the
eleventh century, but in the thirteenth they are
more frequent. As it is necessary that a horse
should obey the leg as well as the hand, all mili-
2b

290 HORSEMANSHIP.

tarj and parade horses are ridden in spurs ; and,
as we have already said, they are very useful to
the sportsman in riding across a country, particu-
larly in the act of opening gates ; also all race-
horses that will bear them are ridden with them,
because, should punishment be wanting in a race,
it is more easily inflicted by the heel than by the
hand ; add to which, these horses not only require
the jockey's two hands at the same time, but are
apt to swerve, or shut up, if struck severely by the
whip.

Race-Riding, or Jockeyship. — Race-riding and
riding over a country cannot be called sister arts.
Indeed the former bears little relation to any other
system of horsemanship, because, from the rapidity
with which the race-horse gets over the ground,
there is neither time nor necessity for a display of
the various aids which it is in the horseman's power
to afford to his horse in most other cases. Never-
theless, the very refinement of the art, the nice
and delicate hand, together with a firm and strong
seat, is absolutely essential to a good jockey.
Neither is this all. He must possess a stout heart
and a clear head.

Something like jockeyship was practised in very
early times, the Greeks having introduced it at
their celebrated games. In the 33d Olympiad they
had their race of full-aged horses. In the 7Jst
Olympiad they instituted that for mares called the
Calpe, bearing a resemblance to our Oaks Stakes
at Epsom ; and an interesting anecdote is handed

ANCIENT RACING. 291

down to US, relating to this race. A mare, called
Aura, the property of one Phidolas, a Corinthian,
threw her jockey, but continued her course as if he
had kept his seat, increasing her pace at the sound
of the trumpet, and, finally, as the story goes, pre-
senting herself before the judges, as if conscious of
having won. The Eleans, however, declared her to
be the winner, and allowed Phidolas to dedicate a
statue to her. In the 131st Olympiad, the race
of the 'TT^'kog xsXtjs, or under-aged horses, was esta-
blished ; but with respect to all these races, we are
left in obscurity as to the weight the horses carried,
as also the distance they ran ; and whether or not
such matters were regulated by their age, and not
at all by their size. It is the general opinion that
they were left to the discretion of the judges (the
Hellanodics, as they were called,) who regulated
all matters at Olympia, as the members of our
Jockey Club do at Newmarket ; but, as may be
expected from the character of the times, exercising
a power over their brother sportsmen, which would
not be relished at the present day, although, in
some respects, well worthy of imitation. For ex-
ample, they not only excluded from the games and
imposed fines upon such as were convicted of frau-
dulent or corrupt practices, but inflicted bodily cor-
rection upon them besides. And some very inter-
esting facts are the result of the rigid scrutiny of
this Elean Jockey Club. Alexander the Great was
ambitious of obtaining the Olympic crown, but was
objected to as being a Macedonian, the prize he
wished to contend for being confined to Grecians.

292 HORSEMANSHIP.

Alexander cleared himself by showing, that al-
though he was a prince of Macedon, he was de-
scended from a family that came originally from
Argos ; and the Hellanodics allowed him to start,
but he did not win. Themistocles objected to Hiero,
King of Syracuse, as a tyrant, and proposed that
the magnificent pavilion which contained his race-
horses should be pulled down. The objection, how-
ever, was overruled, _^and he became a winner ; but
we do not wonder, that, in a Grecian assembly, the
name of tyrant should have been abhorred.

The seat of the jockey is one of peculiar elegance,
heightened by the almost universal symmetry of
his form, or figure, for very few ill-proportioned
men are seen in the racing saddle. The good ap-
pearance of the jockey is also increased by the neat
fit of his clothes ; his appropriate costume to his
calling ; the extreme cleanliness of his person, pro-
duced by his necessary attention to it during his
preparatory course of exercise ; and, though last,
not least, his almost affinity with the noble animal
we see him mounted upon. Yet for this he is, in
great part, indebted to Nature — to the relation
that the bodies of animals hold to natures alto-
gether external to their own ; and it is most hap-
pily exemplified in that of a man to his horse,
which appear to have been especially formed for
each other. But, as a celebrated moral philosopher
has observed, " There is throughout the universe
a wonderful proportioning of one thing to another.
The size of animals, of the human animal espe-
cially, when considered with respect to other ani-

SEAT OF THE JOCKEY. 298

mals, or to the plants which grow around him, is
such as a regard to his conveniency would have
pointed out. A giant or a pigmy could not have
milked goats, reaped corn, or mowed grass ; could
not haise rode a horse^ trained a vine, or shorn a
sheep, with the same bodily ease as we do, if at all/^
Previously to describing the proper seat of the
jockey, we will now endeavour to exhibit him in
the most likely form to acquire that seat. In height
he should be about five feet five inches. We are
aware there are several excellent jockeys under this
standard ; but they do not look so well on their
horses, neither can they be so firm in their seat
from want of a better clip, which the firm grasp of
a longer thigh gives them. He should be rather
long in the fork for his height, with low shoulders,
rather long arms, moderate length of neck, small
head, and a very quick eye. He should be of a
naturally spare habit, to save the expense to his
constitution by wasting ; but he should have as
much muscle in his arms and thighs, as his dimi-
nutive form will admit of ; in short, to ride some
horses at such very light weights, he should be a
little Hercules. But there must be nothing like
rigidity in his frame. On the contrary, there
should be a great degree of pliability about his
arms, shoulders, and back-bone, to enable him to
be in perfect unison with his horse. He should
have very free use of his hands, so as to change
his reins from one to the other in a race, and to
whip with the left, as well as with the right, when
occasion requires it ; he should possess much com-

294

HORSEMANSHIP.

mand of temper ; and, lastly, he should have the
abstinence of a Brahmin.

The seat of the jockey may be described in a few-
words. He should sit well down in his saddle
when he walks his horse to the post, with his stir-
rups of moderate length, so as to enable him to
clear his pummel, and have a good resisting power
over his horse. No man can make the most of a
race-horse with long stirrup leathers, because, when
he is going at the top of his speed, he sinks down
in his fore-quarters, in his stride, to the extent of
several inches. It was calculated that Eclipse, na-
turally a low fore-quartered horse, sank nearly eight
inches. The circumstance, then, of the use of the
stirrup, in ancient racing, being unknown, fully
accounts for racing on horseback, as we now race,
being, comparatively with chariot-racing, but little
resorted to ; and the excellency of a jockey in the

RACE-RIDING. 295

Olympic Hippodrome, consisting more in a sort of
harlequin feat of jumping from one horse, and
vaulting upon another, in a race, than riding and
finishing it, as it is now finished, in a severe trial
of speed, bottom, and jockeyship. Indeed, some
racers go with their heads so low as to bear up
their rider from the saddle whether he will or not,
and they would pull him over their heads, if he
had not the power of resistance from his stirrups.
Much nonsense was written by the late Samuel
Chifney, in a pamphlet called Genius Genuine^ on
riding the race-horse tmth a slack rein, which sys-
tem, although we by no means approve of a hard,
dead hand upon any horse, we are convinced can
never be put into practice with advantage to either
the horse or his rider. Exclusive of the necessity
of restraining a free horse, who would run himself
to a stand-still, if suffered to do so, or, in making
what is called a waiting race, all race-horses feel
themselves relieved by a strong pull at their heads,
and many will nearly stop, or, at all events, very
much slacken their pace, on finding their heads
loose. In our opinion, the hand of a jockey on his
horse should always be firm, though at times deli-
cate to an extreme ; and he should never surprise
or disturb the mouth of his horse, in his race, by
any sudden transition from a slack to a tight, or
from a tight to a slack rein. In fact, every thing
in horsemanship is best done by degrees, but at the
same time with a firmness and resolution which a
horse well understands ; and the hand which, by
giving and taking, as the term is, gains its point

296 HORSEMANSHIP.

with the least force, is the best and most service-
able, as well as most agreeable to a horse.

Considering the variety of horses of all forms,
shapes, and tempers, that a jockey in much repute
rides in the course of a year, the necessity for a
good bridle-hand is obvious. Some thorough-bred
ones have their necks set so low on their shoulders,
that they bend first down, then upwards, like a
stag's ; and were it not for the power of their rider,
such horses would absolutely look him in the face.
Others have the upper line of their necks, from the
ears to the withers, too short. A head attached to
such a neck as this is very difficult to bring into a
good place, because the inflexibility of it will not
admit of its forming an arch ; for in long and short-
necked horses the number of the vertebrse, or neck-
bones, are the same. On the other hand, some
horses' necks are as loose as if they had joints in
them, and consequently have the power of tossing
up their nose almost in defiance of their rider's
hand. Others get their heads down in their gallop,
in the act of reaching to get more liberty of rein,
snatching at their rider's hand with great force.
Some pull very hard, and others will not pull
enough. Were it not, then, for the tackle in which
these low-necked, short-necked, stiflP-necked, loose-
necked, snatching, pulling horses are ridden in,
even the fine hand and firm seat of a first-rate
jockey would not be a match for them ; and, as it
is, it is as much as he can do to manage them ;
but they would be nearly their own masters with a
man on their back who had neither one nor the

RACE-RIDING. 297

other. This tackle consists, in addition to the
bridle, of the common martingal, with a spare mar-
tingal-rein, independent of that to the snaffle-bit ;
a gag-bit and rein, and the martingal running rein.
The first, the common martingal-rein, is merely to
prevent a loose-necked horse throwing his head up.
The jockey uses it altogether, or lets it lie on his
horse's neck till he wants it. The gag-rein, from
its severity, is generally knotted, and remains un-
touched till wanted. Its use is to prevent a horse
getting his head down, when he goes too much on
his shoulders, or bores, and is consequently very
difficult to ride, and be made the most of in a race.
By gradually giving and taking with this and the
snaffle-rein, the jockey gets his horse's head into a
proper place, and rides comparatively at his ease.
We say " gradually," because, if done with vio-
lence, it may cause him to alter his stride. The
running martingal-rein (the most common now in
use, particularly with young things) is merely to
steady a horse's head, and to give his jockey more
power over him to prevent his breaking away with
him in a race, and to enable him to pull him up at
the end of it. No hard puller, or very free-going
racer, is ridden without this running martingal-
rein. The jockey uses it much in the same way as
he uses the snaffle-rein, giving and taking with it
in his pulls, so as to keep his horse's mouth alive,
and thereby bring his head into a proper place.
The necessity for this perfect command of the race-
horse, by some one of these means, is obvious, when
we see how often they are huddled together in a

298 HORSEMANSHIP.

race, and knowing that, if a foot of either of them
should strike or get locked in that of another, a
fall is the inevitable consequence. Besides, no
horse can exert his utmost speed for any length of
time, unless he will allow himself to be handled by
his rider, and pulled well together, to prevent his
over-striding as well as over-pacing himself. These
check-reins can all be used with the double curb-
bridle, if necessary, though they seldom are, with
the exception of the first, the common martingal-
rein. It is pleasant to see a race-horse go with his
head in a good place in a simple snaffle-bridle,
without any additional reins ; and no doubt it must
be as agreeable to the horse, but it is rather a rare
sight, and particularly with young things. That
the snaffle-bit is the best in which the race-horse
can be ridden, there cannot be a doubt, not merely
on account of his being able to support himself to
a certain degree in his gallop, by leaning upon it
to the extent his rider permits him, but because
his jockey can pull his head any way he likes, to
the right or to the left ; as in a turn, for instance,
or to avoid treadins: on another horse's heels which
is before him ; whereas the curb-bit only acts in a
straight line. It is better, however, to have re-
course to the curb than to let a hard-pulling race-
horse get the better of his jockey, and overpace
himself at any period of his race.

We will now bring our jockey to the starting-
post, where the first thing he does is to strip.
Having inspected the saddling of his horse, and
found every thing about him secure, he cocks up

RACE-RIDING. 299

his left leg, and is chucked into his saddle by the
trainer, who generally wishes him " luck'''' as he
performs this office for him. After he has seated
himself firmly down in it, and tried the length of
his stirrup leathers, he takes his " up-gallop," as
he calls it, of perhaps half-a-mile, his trainer gene-
rally leading the way on his hack ; and then walks
his horse quietly to the starting-post. But his
method of starting his horse depends entirely on
circumstances. If, for a half-mile-race, in which
a good start is a great advantage, he catches fast
hold of his horse's head, and, if he will not start
quickly without, sticks both spurs into his sides as
soon as the word " go " is given, taking his chance
of getting his head dow^n into its place when and
how he can. If, for a two-mile-race, or over that
distance, he need not be in such a hurry at start-
ing, provided he do not lose too much ground ; but
all this must in great measure be regulated by his
orders, whether to make running or to lie by and
wait. We will, however, put him in all these dif-
ferent situations.

The Half-mile Race^ generally straight. Orders,
" To make rumiing!'^ Having turned his horse
round beyond^ or, we should rather say, behind^ the
post, he brings him as quietly as he can back to it,
with his near-side bridle-rein passing outside of,
and over the lower part of, the palm of the left
hand, and then pressed firmly by the thumb, and
with the ofF-side rein between the middle and third
fingers of the right hand, in which he also has his
whip ; but, at starting, and throughout a race,

300 HORSEMANSHIP.

unless obliged to strike his horse, a jockey always
holds his horse's head with both hands. If a
double rein to a curb-bit is used, the near-side rein
passes between middle and third fingers of the left
hand, and the off-side one between the middle and
third fingers of the right hand. On the word being
given, as we have already said, he sticks the spurs
into his horse's sides, or, by any other means in his
power, gets him on his legs — that is, on his speed
— as soon as he possibly can, dropping his hand to
him to enable him to feel his mouth. He lets him
go perhaps half the distance he has to run with
only his head hard held, before he gives him his
first pull ; but this event (the half-mile race) being
soon over, there is no time for much speculation, and
the pull must be but a short one. He then runs up
to his horses again ; lives with them to the end,
and wins, if he can, without a second pull ; but if
he finds other horses too near to be pleasant, or, in
other words, appearing to be as good as his own,
he takes a second pull within the last one or two
hundred yards, when he again lets loose and wins.
The same directions hold good in a mile race, with
the exception that the jockey need not be quite so
much on the qui mm at starting, and his pulls may
be longer, and the last further from home.

The Half-mile race. Orders, " To wait.'''' In
this case, the jockey gets well away with his horses,
but never more than a length behind any of them,
as more than that distance is diflicult to make up
in so short a race. Within a hundred and fifty, or
perhaps two hundred yards of liome, he gets " head

RACE-RIDING. SOI

and girth,"" as the term is, with the leading horse,
and then lets loose, and wins, if he can.

The Mile Race. Orders, '' To waiC The jockey
may start last of all if he like, but he must not
lose much ground. However good judge a jockey
may be of pace, it is a fault to lie far out of his
ground. Let him then also lie well with his horses
all the way, creeping up to them by degrees, and
not quit them to win till he feels certain he has
the race in his hand — that is, till he sees that the
other horses have overmarked themselves by the
pace. His orders to wait have been given him
from the supposition or knowledge that speed, not
stoutness, is the best of his horse, and, consequently,
that if he had made the running or " play," he
would not have run home.

The Two-mile Race. Orders, " To make run-
ning.'''' Nothing, next to the struggle of the few
last yards between two horses very nearly equal,
called on the Turf, " the set-to," is so difficult in
racing horsemanship, as making running or " play"
by a jockey, solely for the benefit of the horse he
himself is riding. In other words, it is a great
accomplishment in a jockey to be a superior judge
oipace — that is, of not merely the pace he himself
is going, but how that pace affects the other horses
in the race. And this task is more difficult with
some horses than with others, and especially with
idle or lurching horses, which, when leading, re-
quire urging by the hand or leg every yard they
go. In this case, the jockey works hard to keep
his horse going. He has to use his hands, arms,

302 HORSEMANSHIP.

legs, and feet, and occasionally to turn his head
round, with all his limbs in action at one and the
same moment, and yet not disturb his horse's
action; and this in addition to great anxiety of
mind, lest he should upset his horse, and so lose
the race. The upshot is, if his horse answers the
opinion entertained of him, by cutting up his com-
petitors by severe " play," he wins his race, and
has the character of being a stout, honest horse.

The Two-mile Race. Orders, " To icaitr In
this case the jockey goes off at a steady pace, with
a good hold of his horse's head, as near to the other
horses as he likes, but not attempting to go in
front. Thus he continues in his place to within a
certain distance from home, probably specified in
his orders, when he brings out his horse, as the
phrase is, challenges all the others at once, and
wins, if his horse be good enough. This is one of
the easiest tasks a jockey has to perform, and if he
is pleasantly mounted, he gets an agreeable ride.
We shall say little of races more than two miles,
for two reasons — First, because the same observa-
tions apply to them as do to those of two miles,
with proper allowance for the extra distance ; and,
secondly, because four-mile races are now very
nearly abolished. In the latter, the chief qualifi-
cation for a jockey is strength of constitution and
a firm seat, added to a very correct idea of pace,
for a four-mile race seldom comes to a very nice
point at the finish.

The duty of a jockey is to win his race if he
can, and not to do more than win it. A neck is

RACE-RIDING. 308

sufficient if he have the race in hand ; but he should
win by a clear length whenever he is in doubt as
to the state of the horses he is running against.
This is a nice point for a jockey to decide upon,
and one which is highly esteemed by his employers,
who are always anxious that the powers of their
horses should not be unnecessarily exposed. Per-
haps one of the finest specimens of science in this
peculiar department of the art of horsemanship,
was displayed by those celebrated Newmarket
jockies, Kobinson and Chifney, in a struggle for the
St. Leger stakes at Doncaster in 1827.

All good jockeys avoid the use of the whip as
much as possible. When a race-horse is in the
fullest exercise of his powers, and doing his best, it
is unnecessary, for it cannot make him do more ;
but the blow of a whip often does harm, particularly
if it fall under the fiank. Instead of its having
the effect of making the horse extend himself over
a larger surface of ground, it may have quite a con-
trary effect, from his shutting himself up, as it
were, or shrinking, to avoid the blows. The spur,
properly used, is a much better instrument for in-
creasing the speed of a horse, although there are
times when the application of the whip, or the
mere act of flourishing it in tlie hand, is eminently
serviceable to the jockey. We mean when his
horse hangs to one side of the course or the other, or
towards other horses in the race, or exhibits symp-
toms of running out of the course, or bolting. A
jockey ought to be able to use his whip with vigour
when necessary, and (though this do not often

304? HORSEMANSHIP.

happen) with his left hand, as well as with his
right, in case of his losing what is called the whip-
hand, or being pressed upon bj the other horses in
the race, when he cannot use his right.

The nature and form of race-courses are points
very much to be considered in jockeyship. Such
as are quite flat and straight are, of course, the
least difficult to ride over ; but a little variety of
ground is favourable to the horse, and not unplea-
sant to the jockey. Those which are hilly require
much judgment to know where to make the best
play ; or, in other words, what part of the ground
is best suited to the action and nature of the horse.
All horses, however, require holding hard by the
head both up and down hills, or they will soon run
themselves to a stand-still. A small ascent is de-
sirable to finish a race upon, as it is safer for the
riders, who occasionally lose their horses' heads in
the last few strides ; and also in pulling them up,
when they are often in an exhausted state, and,
consequently, liable to fall or slip on uneven ground,
especially if it be in a slippery state from drought
or wet. Most country courses have turns in them,
which must be provided against in two ways. First,
the jockey, at starting, should endeavour to get the
whip-hand of his competitors ; that is, he should
try to be on the right side of the other horses, if
the posts are on his right hand, and on the left
side of them, if they are on the left. He will, of
course, in this case, have to describe a smaller
circle of ground in his race than the other horses
will have, and also, if the turns be on his right,

RACE-COURSES. 305

the use of his right or whip-hand, at any period of
the race ; which he would not have, if he were on
the outside of one or more horses in the race. But
he must be wide awake over a course with turns
in it, as some of them are very difficult to make,
especially if all the horses are in strong running at
the time, and the one he is riding should not be
what is called kind at his turns, or an easy horse
to ride. He must not omit the precaution of lying
a little out of his ground before he comes to a turn,
so as to make it pretty close to the post, when he
will be less likely to disturb the action of his horse
than if he made it at a more acute angle, which he
would necessarily do if he did not take this sweep.
Another precaution is also necessary ; as, when a
horse is galloping in a circle, the first leg towards
the centre takes the lead, the jockey should endea-
vour to make his horse lead with the leg next the
turn, which will prevent his changing his leading
leg in the turn, which he will be obliged to do, un-
less a very easy one indeed. This is best effected
by keeping his head a little to the opposite side of
his body ; that is, a little to the left hand, if the
posts are to the right, as they generally are, and
vice versa. When a race-horse is extended at the
very top of his speed, his head should, of course,
be kept straight ; but as he is never going his best
pace in his turns, the keeping of his head away
from them, for the purpose we have noticed, can-
not be at all injurious to him. In quite straight
running, it is, we believe, of very little consequence
2c

306 HORSEMANSHIP.

with which leg the race-horse leads, at least, such
was the opinion of the late Samuel Chifney.

Our remarks on the art of race-riding may be
concluded by stating the manner in which horses
of various tempers, dispositions, and capabilities,
are to be ridden, with the best chance of being
made the most of. Nine racers in ten are free-
going ones, if not hard pullers. On one of this
description, the great art of the jockey is to econo-
mise his powers according to the length he has to
go, as also the weight he is carrying, so as not to
let him overmark himself, and have little or nothing
left in him at the finish. If other horses make
running, this can only be done by his sitting per-
fectly still in his seat, dropping his hands, and
havino^ oood hold of his horse's head. The less he
interferes with his mouth the better ; and if he
likes to be well up with the other horses, he is bet-
ter there, supposing him not to be a regular jade,
than pulled at, to be kept back. Temper is a great
thing in this case — we mean in the jockey ; for a
hasty horse and a hasty rider are sure to disgrace
themselves. Every unnecessary movement in the
one is instantly responded to by the other, who
becomes flurried, and pulls more determinedly than
he did before.

The lazy, sluggish, or " craving'' horse, as
trainers call him, requires riding from end to end
of his race. By this we mean, that although the
body of his jockey should not move, he is often
obliged to raise his hands off" his horse's withers,
to shake him now and then ; as well as to use his

TEMPER IN HORSES. 307

feet to urge him to a better pace, or even to keep
him at the one he is going. Indeed, he will some-
times require a blow with the whip, or at least to
be very much roused, to make him extend his
stride towards the finish of his race. This is the
sort of horse that used to distinguish himself over
the Beacon Course at Newmarket, when four-mile
races were more in fashion than they now are, and
was, of course, not thought the worse of by his
owner, whatever he may have been by his jockey,
for takino^ so much ridino: to makins: liim do his
best.

But the most ticklish and difiicult horse, next to
the determined restive one, or bolter, is what is
known by the appellation of the " Flighty Horse,'"
one v/hich is as difficult to train as he is to ride,
being delicate in constitution, of extremely irritable
temper, and very easily alarmed, either in his
stable or out of it. Nothing, in short, can be done
with him, but by the very gentlest means ; for if
once ruffled, he is very hard to be appeased. The
jockey, then, that has to ride a horse of this de-
scription, should have a temper the very reverse of
his, and a hand as delicate as a woman's. He
must also indulge him in every way in his race
save one, which is, in not allowing him to overpace
himself. But here, also, he must be careful ; for
this horse will neither bear to be pulled nor hustled,
but must be let to go nearly in his own way, with
the exception of being kept well together by a steady
hold of his head. If challenged in the race, he
must accept the challenge, and come out of the

308 HORSEMANSHIP.

conflict as well as he can. He is too often a jade ;
at all events, he should always be ridden as if he
were one ; and the same precautions, as to steadi-
ness of seat and hand, that we have recommended
for the free-going race-horse, or hard puller, should
be observed with regard to him.

Jockeys delight in riding a fine-tempered racer,
such as Zinganee was in the year 1830, and of
which year he was considered the best horse. In
a plain snaffle-bridle, without even a martingal, as
he was ridden by Chifney, and with an obedient
mouth, it is a pleasing instead of an irksome task.
A horse of this description is easily held, is kind at
his turns, in fact, will nearly make them of his own
accord ; will either wait or make play, as his rider''s
orders may be ; and when called upon to challenge,
is ready to do his best. More than this, he is
always going within himself, because he is obedient
to his jockey'*s hand ; and his temper is at least
equal to 4 lbs. weight in his favour.

We now conclude our remarks on jockeyship
with a short description of the finish of a race, con-
finino- the scene of action to the last four hundred
yards ; the leading horses being, we will suppose,
some head and girth, others head and neck, and
others head and head. We will farther suppose
our jockey to be in the midst of them, with very
little left in his horse, but just enough to win his
race. The set-to is about to begin, or, in other
words equally technical, he is about to " call upon
his horse.'" But before he does this, he alters his
position in his saddle. He has been previously

' FINISH OF A RACE. 309

standing up in his stirrups, with his body leaning
a little forward over the horse's withers, and his
hands down, somewhat below them. He now
changes the position of both body and hands : he
seats himself firmly down in his saddle, his body
catching, as it were, the stride of the horse ; and,
raising his hands off his withers, first gives him an
easy pull, and then, and not till then, the set-to
begins. He now moves his hands, as if describing
a circle, by way of rousing his horse, by " shaking
him,'' as it is called ; and although he does not
quite slacken his reins, he allows him to reach with
his head, as a distressed horse will always do, and
which is technically termed " throwing him in."
Then comes the last resource. If he finds, when
within a few yards of home, that he cannot win by
these means, and that his horse appears to sink in
the rally, he stabs him a few times with his spurs ;
gets his whip up in his right hand, giving a good
pull with his left, and uses it as occasion may re-
quire.

Steeple-Chase Racing. — A new system of rac-
ing jockeyship has come into fashion in Great Bri-
tain and Ireland within the last twenty years,
which, however in character with the daring spirit
of our present race of sportsmen, we cannot com-
mend. We think it an unreasonable demand on
the noble energies of the horse, to require him to
go so very nearly at a racing pace (for such we find
to be the case) over rough and soft ground, instead
of upon smooth and elastic turf, with the addition

310 HORSEMANSHIP.

of having too often a country selected for him to
run across, abounding in almost insurmountable
obstacles, as well as, in some cases, deep ri\^ers ;
likewise under a heavy weight. Human lives have
already been the victims of this practice, and, we
are sorry to say, several horses have died from
over-exerting themselves, as well as by accidents, in
steeple-races. We have reason to believe, however,
that they will not become a lasting amusement of
British sportsmen.

Qualifications for a Steeple-Chase Rider.- —
These are exactly what are wanting in a very fast
run over a stiffly enclosed country with fox-hounds ;
namely, a fine bridle-hand, a steady seat, a cool
head, undaunted courage, and, above all things,
great quickness, and very prompt decision. But the
steeple-chase jockey has one evil to guard against,
which the racing jockey is, comparatively, but
little subject to, and this is a fall. The best pre-
ventive of it is keeping a horse well together, and
making: him o^o in a collected form at his fences, as
well as over rough ground, which, when going
nearly at the top of his pace, will be only done by
a rider with a very good bridle-hand. But, at the
same time, he must be careful not to overmark his
horse, or he will not be able to rise at his fences
when he gets to them. And here lies the great
difficulty after all, as far as the horse is concerned.
He must go, at least he is called upon to go, at a
much quicker rate than he can reasonably be ex-
pected to maintain, for any considerable length of

STEEPLE-CHASE RACING. 311

time, without becoming distressed, because his
competitors in the race are also doing so, and he
will be left behind, to a certainty, if his rider do
not endeavour to make him keep with them. That
horse, then, has the best chance to win who, barring
a fall, is the stoutest runner and surest fencer, and
whose rider is good enough, and strong enough, to
give him all the assistance he requires, at least as
much as a rider can give him, to enable him to
struggle through his difficulties to the end. ]3ut
there is one quality in a horse, especially calculated
for steeple-chase racing, and that is quickness. Our
readers can distinguish between a quick horse and
a fast horse ; the fast horse may require to be going
some time before he begins to extend himself nearly
to the extent of his speed ; whereas the quick horse
is on his legs in a few hundred yards. A similar
difference is observed by sportsmen in the fencing
of horses. Some are on their legs again, and al-
most instantly away, as soon as they alight on the
ground, be the fence ever so large, whilst others
dwell for some time after landing, previously to
their recovering their equilibrium, and so lose time.
It is evident, then, that a quick horse, with a quick
man on his back, is best adapted to a steeple-race ;
and would beat another, supposing leaping and
other qualifications, this excepted, to be equal, who
could give him half a stone weight over the Beacon
Course, and beat him.

Steeple-chase racing never can be a game to bet
money upon, from the almost perpetual liability to
accidents ; nor do we think it fair that such animal

312 HORSEMANSHIP.

suffering as we find it creating, can be considered a
proper medium for that purpose, allowing for a
moment that such a medium must be found. But
has man, who may be considered the delegate of
Heaven over inferior creatures, the right thus to
speculate upon their endurance of suffering ? We
think not ; but of this fact we are certain — There
is hardly a more certain token of a cruel disposition
than the unnecessary abuse of animals which con-
tribute, as the horse specially does, to our advan-
tage, convenience, and pleasures ; and even a Pagan
has told us that he who smothers a cock, without
necessity^ is no less guilty than the man who
smothers his father.

Neither is it a great compliment to this species
of horsemanship to show its origin, which is thus
given in a work called The Gentlemaiis Recreation^
written nearly two hundred years back : — " But
before I enter upon the subject proposed,'' (training
of horses) says the author, " I think it convenient
to tell you the way our ancestors had of making
their matches, and our modern way of deciding
wagers ; first, then, the old way of trial was, by
running so many train scents after hounds, this
beino^ found not so uncertain and more durable
than hare-hunting, and the advantage consisted in
having the trains laid on earth most suitable to the
nature of the horses. Now others choose to hunt
the hare till such an hour prefixed, and then to
run the wild-goose chase^ which, because it is not
known to all huntsmen, I shall explain the use and
manner of it. The wild-goose chase received its

THE WILD-GOOSE CHASE. 31 S

name from the manner of the flight which is made
by wild-geese, which is generally one after another,
so that two horses, after the running of twelve
score yards, had liberty, which horse (qy. rider ?)
soever could get the leading, to ride what ground
he pleased, the hindmost horse being bound to fol-
low him within a certain distance, agreed on by
articles, or else to be whipt up by the tryers or
judges which rode by, and whichever horse could
distance the other won. the match. But this chase
was found by experience so inhumane, and so de-
structive to horses, especially when two good horses
were matched, for neither being able to distance the
other, till ready both to sink under their riders
through weakness ; oftentimes the match was fair
to be drawn, and left undecided, though both horses
were quite spoiled. This brought them to run train
scents, which was afterwards changed to three
heats, and a straight course." Our readers will
acknowledge the resemblance between the modern
steeple and the ancient wild-goose chase ; and we
trust that, ere long, the example of our ancestors
will be followed, and the man who is capable of
exhibiting his horsemanship as the winner of a
modern steeple-chase, will reserve his prowess for a
better if not a nobler cause.

2d

314

THE HOUND.

SAGACITY AND FIDELITY OF THE DOG HIS ORIGIN AND

HISTORY REPUTATION OF THE DOGS OF BRITAIN

ENGLISH BLOOD-HOUND AND STAG-HOUND THE FOX-
HOUND DIFFICULTY OF BREEDING A PACK SYM-
METRY' SIZE DISTEMPER — KENNEL MANAGEMENT

COLOUR THE TONGUE, OR CRY' OF HOUNDS AGE

SEPARATION OF THE SEXES NAMING OF HOUNDS

VALUE OF A PACK THE HARRIER THE STAG-HOUND

THE BEAGLE THE GREY-HOUND THE TERRIER.

From the combination of various causes, the his-
tory of no animal is more interesting than that of
the dog. First, his intimate association with man,
not only as his valuable servant and protector, but
as his constant and faithful companion throughout

m

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':' ■ "\

1

fflli

■r^: p.

'-^^

,\J^,f^,«>^»\^\\un*

SAGACITY OF THE DOG. 315

all tlie v^icissitudes of life. Secondly, from his
natural endowments, not consisting solely in the
exquisite delicacy of one individual sense, that fine-
ness of olfactory nerve by which the earth and air
send forth showers of perfumes ; not merely combin-
ing memory with reflection that soars above instinc-
tive preservation or self-enjoyment ; but qualities of
the mind that absolutely stagger us in the contem-
plation of them, and which we can alone account for
in the gradation existing in that wonderful system
which (by different links of one vast chain, extend-
ing from the first to the last of all things, till it
forms a perfect whole) is placed, as Professor Har-
wood elegantly expresses it, " in the doubtful con-
fines of the material and spiritual worlds/' It
might have been instinct that enabled Ulysses's
dog to recognise him on his re-landing in Ithaca,
after an absence which must have set the powers
of memory at defiance ; and he recognised him
with all the acuteness and affection which instinct
boasts ; hut what caused him to expire at his feet on
the sudden dawn of unexpected happiness ? The
heart of man could go no farther than this ; and
although perhaps the poet's fiction is only present
to us in this instance, by what name can we call
those tender affections, those sincere attachments,
those personal considerations, which we every day
witness, in these faithful creatures towards human
kind? Virtue alone is too cold a term, as almost
every good quality to be found in animated nature
is to be found here ; and when we reflect upon the
miserable existence so often the lot of this kind-

316 THE HOUND.

hearted animal in this world, and the more than
uncertainty that, as Byron says, he will be

" Denied in heaven the soul he held on earth,"

we cannot but feel regret that he should be without
his reward. But yet this is a point not exactly
decided upon by man ; at least, it has been con-
sidered as a fit subject for speculation by deep and
able thinkers. Mr. Locke, for example, doubted
whether brutes survive the grave, because there is
no hint given of it in revelation ; but Dr. Priestley
thought, if the resurrection of the dead be within
the proper course of nature, and there be something
remaining of every organized body that death does
not destroy, there will be reason to conclude that
they will be benefited by it as well as ourselves.
" The misery,*" says this forcible writer, and great
moral philosopher, " some animals are exposed to
in this life, may induce us to think that a merciful
and just God will make them some recompense for
it hereafter."

But no animal has met w^ith more variety of
respect shown towards him than the dog has. By
the law of Moses he was declared unclean, and was
held in great contempt by the Jews, as also by the
Turks, and kept by both merely for the purposes
of scavenging their streets. In every part of the
sacred writings, as also in those of Greece and
Rome, not only are images introduced from the
works of nature, and metaphors drawn from the
manners and economy of animals, but the names of
them are applied to persons supposed to possess

ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 317

any of their respective qualities. Thus our Saviour,
adopting this concise method, applies the word
"dog" to men of odious character and violent
temper ; and, as with us at present, the term of
reproach, " he was a son of a dog," was in common
use among the Jews. The wife Abigail (1 Sam.
XXV., 3,) " was a woman of good understanding,
and of a beautiful countenance ; but the man
(Nabal) was churlish and evil in his doings, and
ivas of the house of Caleb.'''' But this last, says an
able expounder of the Scriptures, is not a proper
name. Literally it is, " he was the son of a dog."
On the other hand, the idolatrous Egyptians held
the dog sacred, and worshipped him in their god
Anubis, representing the form of a man with a
dog's head, which Juvenal complains of in his fif-
teenth satire :

" Oppida tota canem venerantur, nemo Dianam."

Anubis, says Strabo, is also the city of dogs, the
capital of the Cynopolitan prefecture. " Those
animals," says he, " are fed there on sacred ali-
ments, and religion has decreed them a worship."
This absurd adoration is confirmed by Diodorus
Siculus and Herodotus ; and Rome having adopted
the ceremonies of Egypt, the Emperor Commodus,
when celebrating the Isiac feasts, shaved his head,
and himself carried the dog Anubis.

But to proceed to their origin and history. It
has been justly remarked, that " all dogs whatso-
ever, even from the terrible Boar-dog to little
Flora, were all one in the first creation ; '' and

318 THE HOUND.

every virtue and faculty, size and shape, which we
find or improve in every dog upon earth, were ori-
ginally comprehended in the first parents of the
species, nothing having remained constant but
their natural conformation ; and all the variety
which we now behold in them is either the product
of climate or the accidental effect of soil, food, or
gituation, and very frequently the issue alone of
human care, curiosity, or caprice. This we take to
be the case with other departments of the creation.
For example, we only acknowledge two sorts of
pigeons, the wild and the tame. Of the first there
is but one, the cenas, or vinago of Ray. Of the
last, the varieties are innumerable. The tame and
the wild goose are likewise originally of the same
species, the influence of domestication alone having
caused the tame ones to differ from the parent
stock. Notwithstanding, however, the efforts and
effects of human industry and skill, there is fortu-
nately a lie plus ultra in nature which cannot be
passed ; and as there is a distinct specific difference
in all living creatures, a pigeon is still a pigeon, a
goose a goose, and a dog remains a dog. Still,
although no human device can add one new species
to the works of the creation, and nature is still
uniform in the main, as has been already observed,
in the foregoing remarks on the horse, she is
always ready to meet the demands of art, a fact
beautifully set forth in these lines of Hudihras : —

" How fair and sweet the planted rose.
Beyond the wild in hedges grows !
For without art the noblest seeds
Of flowers degen'rate into weeds.

EARLY REPUTATION OF BRITISH DOGS. ol9

How dull and rugged, ere 'tis ground
And polish'd, is the diamond.
Though Paradise were ere so fair,
It was not kept so without care :
The whole world, without art and dress,
Would be but one great wilderness ;
And mankind but a savage herd,
For all that nature has conferred.
This does but rough-hew and design.
Leaves art to polish and refine."

We have good reason to believe that England
(in a great measure from the congeniality of its
climate) has long been famous for dogs, which, on
the authority of Strabo, were much sought after
by all the surrounding nations. So high indeed in
repute were British dogs amongst the Romans,
after the reduction of our island, not only for excel-
lence in the chase, but fierceness in the combat,
that an officer from that country was appointed to
reside in the city of Winchester, for the express
purpose of collecting and breeding them to supply
the amphitheatre, as well as the imperial kennel, at
Rome. Nor was this all. As a kind of earnest
of our present celebrity in the various sports of the
field, all the neighbouring countries, as Dr. Camp-
bell remarks, " have done justice to our dogs,
adopted our terms and names into their language,
received them thankfully as presents, and, when
they have an opportunity, purchased them at a
dear rate." * Thus we find, that when King Al-
fred requested Fulco, archbishop of Rheims, to
send some learned ecclesiastics into England, he
accompanied his letter with a present of several

'^ Campbell's Political Survey, vol. ii., p. 205, note (D.)

320 THE HOUND.

dogs, being the most valuable he could, in those
times, bestow. The congeniality of our climate
has contributed much to this excellence, as our
dogs, hounds especially, are found to degenerate in
most others ; which Somerville alludes to in his
poem of the Chase.

" In thee alone, fair land of liberty,
Is bred the perfect hound, in scent and speed
As yet unrivall'd, while in other climes
Their virtue fails, a weak degen'rate race."

We do not benefit much by research into ancient
authors on the subject of dogs ; for although they
have been much written upon, and immortalised in
song by Oppian, Claudian, Gratius, and others,
(Virgil says little about them,) yet, from our igno-
rance of the sort of animal bred in their time, and
the use they made of them, as sportsmen, we can
draw no parallel between them and our own that
would tend to a good purpose. No doubt the
" canis vestigator'''' of Columella, and the " canis
odorus'''' of Claudian, were of what we term a low-
scenting sort, as the epithets applied to them sig-
nify ; but it would be difiicult to pronounce an
opinion upon the ^atfTo^/a/, or the aXwcrsx/^sc, of
Xenophon, although the characteristic properties
of good-hunting hounds are very well and accu-
rately laid down by him in the third chapter of
his K-ji/'/j/sr/ziog, as well as their defects in form, &;c.,
equally clearly exposed; and his observations on
these points might be perused with advantage by
huntsmen of the present day.

Great encourasfement has been iriven to the

THE ENGLISH BLOOD-HOUND. 821

breeding of hounds in England by the various
monarchs who have reigned over it. Henry II.
was perhaps the first who made himself conspicuous
in this department of the sportsman's occupation,
being, as one of his historians says of him, " parti-
cularly curious in his hounds, that they should be
fleet, well-tongued, and consonous.""* The last epi-
thet is in reference to a property not only little
regarded, but nearly lost now — namely, the deep
tongue of the old English blood-hound, which
Shakspeare alludes to in his celebrated description
of those " of the Spartan kind,'' —

" So flewed, so sanded, and their heads are hung
AVith eai's that sweep away the morning dew.
Crook-knee'd and dewlapt, like Thessalian bulls ;
Slow in pursuit ; but vudcWd in mouth like bells,
Each under each ; " —

which would now be considered a disgrace to any
man's kennel, and we believe no where to be found,
bearing the faintest resemblance to the picture
drawn of them by this master-hand.

In Queen Elizabeth's time a classification was
made by Dr. Caius, physician to the Queen, in his
treatise De Canibus Britannicis^ of the different
kinds of dogs peculiar to Great Britain ; but many
of the names (the sleute or sluth-hound of the
Scotch, for example) having since become obsolete,
they were again classed by Mr. Daniel, in his
Rural Sports^ which work contains a full and satis-
factory historical account of their origin, different
crosses, &c., under the following genealogical heads :
— Shepherd's Dog, Iceland Dog, Lapland Dog,

322

THE HOUND.

Siberian Dog, Hound, Terrier, Large Spaniel,
Small Spaniel, Water Dog, Small Water Dog,
Bull Dog, Large Danish Dog, Irish Greyhound,
English Greyhound, and Mastiff. Taplin, in his
Sporting Dictionary^ expresses his surprise that the
Pointer is omitted ; but we consider the Pointer
as a dog of recent foreign extraction, and to our
early ancestors certainly unknown.

The original stock from which English hounds
have been bred would be very difficult to determine
upon ; but one thing is certain, namely, that the
several sorts with which the country once abounded
have been becoming fewer and fewer, in the course
of the last hundred years, and now centre in three
varieties, namely, the Fox-hound, the Harrier, and
the Beao^le. The stao:-hound is ojone, at least there
is no pack of real stag-hounds now kept in Great
Britain, the last having been disposed of and sent
abroad, soon after the stag hunting establishment
in Devonshire, was broken up, a few years ago.
The beao'le is also become rare ; and otter-hounds,
such as we may conclude the y^cKsro^iai of Xenophon
1 0 have been, never existed in this country, the dog
used in hunting the otter being the common rough-
haired harrier ; and perhaps the parent of all, the
majestic blood-hound, whose

" Nostrils oft, if ancient fame sings true,

Trace the sly felon through the tainted dew,"

is at present very thinly scattered, here and there
only, at keepers' lodges in some of our royal forests.
But we more than doubt whether a true specimen
of the original English blood-hound exists in Eng-

THE BLOOD-HOUND. S2o

land at all at the present day ; nor is this a matter
of regret, as, unlike the rest of his species, his cha-
racter is said to be that of decided enmity to man.
Strabo describes an attack upon the Gauls by these
animals, and likewise says they were purchased in
Britain by the Celtse, for the purposes of war, as
well as those of the chase ; but it is doubtful whe-
ther the most savage of this race would devour man
without being trained to it, which we know that
they were on a late horrible occasion, when, as
vStated in Rainsford's History/ of St. Domingo^ they
were fed upon blood, and a figure representing a
negro, containing blood and entrails of beasts, was
the object they were led to pursue. In the West
Indies, however, the blood-hound, under proper con-
trol, has been found useful in tracino; runaway ne-
groes, as the sluth-hound of the Scotch was early
applied to discover the haunts of robbers ; and to
the same purpose also on the confines of England
and Wales, where the borderers preyed on the
flocks and herds of their neiglibours, whenever an
opportunity offered. Of deer- stealers, who were so
numerous a century or two ago, they were likewise
the terror ; and well might they have been such,
for when once fairly laid upon the foot of one of
those daring depredators, they seldom failed to hunt
up to him. But it is in the history of civil wars
of our own country that blood -hounds are placed in
the most conspicuous light, particularly as avail-
able to the operations of Wallace and Bruce ; and
the poetical historians of the two heroes allude to
their services to their masters, as well as to the

324 THE HOUND.

escapes they had from those of their various ene-
mies.

The distinguishing features of the English blood-
hound are, long, smooth, and pendulous ears, with
a wide forehead, obtuse nose, expansive nostrils,
deep flewed, with an awfully deep but highly so-
norous tongue. The prevailing colour is a reddish
tan, darkening to the upper part, often with a mix-
ture of black upon the back. In short, the deep-
flewed southern hare-hound, now almost extinct in
England, very nearly resembles the English blood-
hound in form and colour ; and a person may pic-
ture to himself the latter, by supposing an animal
considerably larger than the old southern hound.
In height he is from twenty-six to twenty-eight
inches, and sometimes more. The blood-hound of
the West Indies is also about the same height, but
differs much in form. He has small, erect ears,
the nose more pointed, and the hair and skin hard.
His countenance is ill-featured and ferocious ; and
although not so heavy as the English blood-hound,
he is quite as muscular, and very active.

The distinguishing property of the blood-hound
in chase, consists in his never changing from the
scent on which he is first laid ; and he will hunt by
the shed blood of a wounded or dead animal as
truly as he will by the foot, which rendered him so
useful in pursuit of the deer or sheep-stealer.

The English stag-hound, now nearly gone, is
little more than a mongrel blood-hound ; at least it
is reasonable to conclude, that the cross which pro-
duced him was directly from the English blood-

THE ENGLISH STAG-HOUND. 325

hound with some lighter animal of a similar species
(perhaps a greyhound or lurcher,) approximating
his form, to which conjecture his figure and dispo-
sition, as well as his comparative inferiority of scent,
appear to add strength. It is asserted in the Sports-
man's Cabinet, that the stag-hound " was originally
an improved cross between the old English deep-
tongued southern hound and the fleeter fox-hound,
grafted upon the basis of what was formerly called,
and better known by the appellation of, blood-
hound." But this assertion must have been made
without proper reflection ; for, in the first place, a
cross between the deep-tongued southern and the
fox-hound will not produce an animal nearly so
large or so strong as the stag-hound ; and, second-
ly, the stag-hound was known in England long
before the fox-hound was made use of, or, indeed,
before there was an animal at all resembling the
one which is now known by that term.

We confess we regret the prospect of the total
extinction of the English stag-hound, who, although
his form possessed little of that symmetry we now
see in the English fox-hound, was a majestic ani-
mal of his kind, and possessed the property peculiar
alone to the blood-hound and himself, of unerringly
tracing the scent he was laid upon, amongst a
hundred others ; which evinces a superiority, at all
events a peculiarity, of nose entirely unknown to
our lighter hounds of any breed. The want of
being able to distinguish the hunted fox from a
fresh-found one is the bane of English fox-hunting ;
and there are not wanting those who think, that

326 THE HOLXD.

in the breeding of the modern fox-hound, the minor
points of high form and blood are more frequently
considered than they should be, in preference of a
regard to nose.

The Fox-Hound. — The English fox-hound of
the present day is a perfect living model ; but how
he has become such, it is in no one's power to de-
termine. Although we do not like to apply the
term of mongrel to an animal we so highly respect,
yet there can be no doubt of his being one of a
spurious race, engrafted with care on the parent
stock, namely, the old English blood-hound. There
is, we belieye also, no doubt that a century and a
half ago there was no animal in the world resem-
bling the present breed of fox-hound ; and- that the
fox, when hunted at all in Great Britain, was
hunted by a dog much resembling what is now-
known as the Welch harrier, rough-haired and
strong, but of very far from sightly appearance.
As all animals, however, improve under the care
and guidance of man, until at length they assume
the character of a distinct breed, such has evidently
been the case w^ith hounds, the breeders of which
have, by going from better to better in their choice
of the animals from which they have bred, progres-
sively arrived at the perfection we see in them.
And such has been the case with all our domestic
animals, the breeders of which have alone attained
their ends by the choice of individuals of the
highest excellence in their kind, and by a judicious
selection of size, form, and qualities likely to pro-

THE FOX-HOUND. 327

(luce the result. There can be no doubt, then, but
that by pursuing this course throughout a number
of generations with the hound, an animal has been
produced of what may be called quite a new variety
in the canine race, answering the description and
purposes of our present fox-hound. But the ques-
tions may be asked. Whence the necessity for th is
change, and forcing, as it were, nature from her
usual course I Why not be content with the lo w-
scenting, plodding hounds of our forefathers, which,
from the superiority of their nose, not only dis-
played hunting^ in the strict acceptation of that
term, to the highest advantage, but very rarely
missed the game they pursued? These questions
are satisfactorily answered in a few words ; first,
as the fox is not now found by the drag, and the
number of those animals is so greatly increased,
the necessity for this extreme tenderness of nose
does not exist ; and, secondly, by reason of the
blood of the race-horse having gradually mixed with
that of our hunters, the sort of hound we have
been alluding to was not found to be adapted to
their increased speed ; and particularly as, in pro-
portion as nature lavished this fine sense of smelling
on the old-fashioned hound, was he given to " hang'"'
or dwell upon the scent, thereby rendering the
length of a chase (which, to please the present
taste, should, like Chatham's battle, be " sharp,
short, and decisive") beyond the endurance of a
modern sportsman. It is true, Mr. Beckford, in
his Thoughts upon Hunting^ gives an instance of a
pack of old-fashioned hounds, which ran in a string.

328 THE HOUND.

as it were, one following the other, and yet killing
twenty-nine foxes in twenty-nine successive runs,
each fault being hit off by an old southern hound.
But what would our hard-riding, modern sportsmen
think of this as pastime? Nevertheless, all who
witnessed, as the writer of this article has done,
the style of hunting of the Devonshire stag-hounds,
will remember that there was a close similarity
between them in chase, and the pack Mr. Beck-
ford speaks of. But, as the same eminent author
afterwards observes, it is the dash of the fox-hound
of the present day that distinguishes him from all
others of his genus, and hounds must now-" carry
a-head."

Breeding of Hounds.^ — The breeding a pack of
fox-hounds to a pitch bordering on perfection is a
task of no ordinary difficulty ; the best proof of
which is to be found in the few sportsmen who have
succeeded in it. Not only is every good quality to be
regarded, and if possible obtained, but every fault or
imperfection to be avoided ; and although the good
qualities of hounds are very soon reckoned, their
faults in shape and performance present a longer
catalogue. Independently of shape, which com-
bines strength with beauty, the highest virtue in
a fox-hound is not in the exquisiteness of his nose,
but in his being true to the line his game has gone,
and a stout runner to the end of a chase. But he
must not only thus signalize himself in chase ; he
must also be a patient hunter, with a cold scent, or
with the pack at fault. In short, to be a hard

RREEDIXG OF FOX-HOUNDS. 32,9

runner and a good hunter, and steady on tlie line
which " a good hunter" implies, constitutes a per-
fect hound, when combined with good form.

The faults of hounds, too often innate, can only
be cured by education. The greatest of all are,
skirting, or not being true on the line ; throwing
the tongue without a scent, which is known by the
term babbling ; not throwing it at all, or running-
mute ; and, lastly, on a wrong scent, which is called
" running riot." The last, however, is the least
vice, because generally curable by the lash ; but
the fault of skirting is too often innate ; at all
events, too often incurable. Thus has the breeder
of the hound to guard against propensities as well
as faults ; and a late accredited writer on the sub-
ject says, " In modern times, the system of hunt-
ing is so much improved, so much more attention
is paid to the condition of hounds and their style
of work, that in this enlightened age a master of
hounds thinks it a reflection on his judgment if one
hound in his pack is detected in a fault."*

Symmetry. — The selection of dog and bitch to
breed from, is a nice point for a master of hounds,
or his huntsman, to decide upon ; but, if he aim at
excellence, he must keep his eye on perfection. In
no animal is perfect symmetry so desirable as in a
fox-hound, for without it there is no dependence on
his services, however good may be his nature. We
will first describe him in the words of a very old

* Colonel Cook's Observations on Fox-Hunting^ &e.

2e

330 THE HOUND.

writer, and afterwards in those of Mr. Beckford,
when it will appear that there is a strong resem-
blance in the portraits drawn bj each. " His head,""
says the former, " ought to be of middle propor-
tion, rathor long than round ; his nostrils wide ;
his ears large ; his back bowed ; the fillets great ;
the haunches large ; the thighs well trussed ; the
ham straight ; the tail big near the reins, and the
rest slender to the end ; the leg big ; the sole of
the foot dry, and formed like a fox's, with the claws
great." The latter says, " There are necessary
points in the shape of a hound which ought always
to be attended to ; for if he be not a perfect sym-
metry, he will neither run fast nor bear much
work ; he has much to undergo, and should have
strength proportioned to it. Let his legs be straight
as arrows ; his feet round, and not too large ; his
shoulders back ; his breast rather wide than nar-
row ; his chest deep ; his back broad ; his head
small ; his neck thin ; his tail thick and brushy ;
if he carry it well so much the better." Now the
hound that would answer to either of these descrip-
tions would disgrace no man's kennel, and one re-
sembling the latter would be an ornament to it ;
but with regard to the former, it must be borne in
mind, that it is from the pen of a sportsman who
wrote a century and half ago, wlien, as has been
before observed, there is reason to believe no animal
in the perfect form of the modern fox-hound was to
be found in this or in any other country. Judges
of the animal, however, will be disposed to think

SYMMETRY OF THE FOX-HOUND. 331

with US, that there is much of the real character of
the hound in the sentence we have quoted from this
old writer; such as the long rather than round
head ; the wide nostrils (Pliny says they should
be flat, solid, and blunt ;) and the dry, fox's foot.
But the " bowed back"' appears to spoil all, unless
by it is meant that gentle rise in the loins which
the judge of hounds admires, and without which,
the late Mr. Chute of the Vine, in Hampshire, who
hunted that country for more than thirty years, gave
it as his opinion, no hound was able to maintain
his speed for an hour over hilly and ploughed coun-
tries when '-'- it carries ;" — a technical term for the
earth clino^inir to the foot, which it will do after a
slight frost on the preceding night ; necessarily
adding much to the natural weight of the hound.
Beckford gives us the modern fox-hound, and per-
fect, with the exception of the mention of one or
two material points. " His chest should be deep,''
says he, " and his back broad ;" but he has omitted
a point much thought of by the modern sportsman,
namely, the hack ribs, which should also be deep, as
in a strong-bodied horse, of which we say, when so
formed, that he has a good " spur-place," a point
highly esteemed in him. Nor is either of these
writers sufficiently descriptive of the hinder-legs of
the hound ; for although the " large haunch and
well-trussed thigh" of the former denote power and
muscle, nevertheless there is a length of thigh dis-
cernible in first-rate hounds, which, like the " well
let-down hock" of the horse, gives them much su-

332 THE HOUND.

periority of speed, and is also a great security
against laming themselves in leaping fences, which
they are more apt to do when they become blown,
and consequently weak. The fore-legs " straight as
arrows'' is an admirable illustration of perfection in
those parts, by Beckford ; for, as in a bow, or
bandy-legged man, nothing is so disfiguring to a
hound as his having his elbows out, which is like-
wise a great check to speed. In some countries the
round, cat-like foot is indispensable, and agreeable
to the eye in all ; but we would not reject a well-
shapen puppy in other respects for somewhat of an
open foot, provided his ancles or fetlocks were good,
a point we consider of the greatest consequence to all
quadruped animals. The shoulders of the fox-
hound should resemble those of the horse — oblique,
but at the same time strong ; for a narrow chested
hound is almost certain to get shaken by hard
work, and consequently unlikely to endure beyond'
his third season.

As Beckford recommends the small head, we may
presume the form and fashion of this point began
to be changed in his time, and has, we think, been
carried to too great an excess in the fox-hound of
the present day, particularly in one or two kennels
(the Bel voir, for example,) where very short, as
well as small heads, have been a leading charac-
teristic. For ourselves, we like some length of
head in the fox-hound, not being able to divest
ourselves of the idea of a cross with the pointer
when we see him with a short head and a snubbed

SYMMETRY OF THE FOX-HOUND. SSo

nose. Beckford also says the neck should be thin.
We would add, moderateltf thin. We dislike a thin
neck in any animal but the cow or the stag ; at
the same time we dislike a short, thick neck in a
hound. His neck should be moderately long and
moderately thick, with the muscles clearly devel-
oped ; it should rise gracefully out of his shoulders,
with a slight curve or crest, and, to completely
satisfy the eye, should be quite free from exuber-
ances of flesh and hair on the lower side of it, called
by huntsmen " chitterlings,*'^ or '' ruffles,'^ the hound
having them being termed "throaty;" although
there are numerous exceptions to this rule, as some
of the best hounds England ever saw have been
throaty ; and although we are aware that one in-
dividual instance will prove neither the rule nor its
exception, we can go as far back as to Mr. Mey-
nelFs famous stallion hound Gusman, for as throaty,
and yet as good a fox-hound as we ever remember
to have seen. We agree with Beckford, that the
" tail,""* now called stern, of a hound, should be
" thick," and moderately " brushy;" and if well
carried, it is a great ornament to a fox-hound.
But there is one part of it which the master of a
pack likes to see nearly deprived of its covering,
and that is its tip, which, when in that state, is an
infallible proof of a hound being a good, and not a
slack, drawer of covers. As a perfect model we re-
fer to the portrait of Nosegay, a hound belonging
to the Earl of Kintore. A comparison of this hand-
some animal, with that which we subjoin in a wood-

;3.34

THE HOUND.

cut, will enable the reader to distinguish between
a perfect and a faulty hound.

\ \

A FAULTY HOUND.

But to return to breeding the fox-hound. In
the breeding of some animals, beauty of shape is
often dependent on the caprice of fashion, or the
taste of the breeder ; but in the breeding of hounds
no such latitude can be given, for here beauty, or
symmetry of shape, is alone in reference to utility,
and adaptation of parts to the purposes to which
they are to be applied. Yet the breeder of fox-
hounds has one point further to go ; he must, as we
before remarked, guard against propensities^ which
run in the blood of these animals perhaps stronger
than their good qualities, and will sooner or later
break out in their work. In the election then of a

SYMMETRY OF THE FOX-HOUND. 385

dog for a bitch, or a bitch for a dog, these matters
must be attentively considered ; and no man should
breed from hounds of either sex that come under
any of the following denominations, viz. not of a
docile sort, but very difficult to enter to their
game ; given to run mute ; to hang on a scent ; or to
be skirters ; not only not true to the line, but given
to run riot either in cover or in chase ; and, above
all things, if found evidently deficient in nose, and
not able to run at head. Good constitution should
likewise be looked to ; but we would not reject a
stallion hound, or a brood bitch, merely for being
slack drawers, or for not being always at the head
in chase, provided they were well bred, of good
form, and true to the line, in cover, and out.

As to the proper combination of form, that must
be self-evident to the breeder of hounds. If a bitch
is a little high on her leg, or light, she should be
put to a short-legged, strong dog, and of course
vice vet'sd ; if rather light in her tongue, that de-
fect may be remedied by an opposite property in a
dog. The defects in legs and feet can only be re-
medied by such means ; and fortunate is it for the
owner of an otherwise perfect and excellent bitch,
that such remedies are at hand. Length and short-
ness of frame, as well as coarse points, are all to be
obviated and altered in the same way, making al-
lowance for the fact, that the laws of nature are
not always certain. Constitution can likewise be
mended by having recourse to that which is good
(and none so easily detected as the dog's) ; and
colour changed if required. In fact, as Beckford

336 THE HOUND.

says, " It is the judicious cross that makes the
complete pack ; " and it was the remark of this
practical writer, and therefore high authority
amongst sportsmen, that " he saw no reason why
the breeding of hounds may not improve till im-
provement can go no further." The question may
be asked, is not his prediction verified ?

But the act of crossing hounds, as indeed all
other animals, although never thoroughly divested
of chance, is one of more difficulty than most people
would imagine, and one indeed which, bv its re-
suits, would often bafile, if not puzzle, the pro-
foundest of our modern physiologists. Our space
will not admit of our going at length into this in-
tricate subject, but great mistakes, we conceive,
have been made by masters of fox-hounds, in breed-
ing too much in-and-in, from nearest affinities, in-
stead of ha vino; recourse to an alien cross. This
was peculiarly apparent in the packs of two very
celebrated masters of fox-hounds, the late Sir
Thomas Mostyn, Bart., and the late John Corbet,
Esq. of Sundorne Castle, Shropshire (the former of
whom hunted Oxfordshire, and the latter War-
wickshire, each for upwards of thirty years,) who
bred in-and-in. Sir Thomas from a bitch called
Lady^ and her produce ; and Mr. Corbet from a
hound called Trojan^ and his produce, to the great
injury of their respective packs. We are aware it
is asserted that a pack of fox-hounds should have
the appearance and character of being of one family;
but this expression is not to be taken in its literal
construction. It is in the conformitv of their cha-

BllEEDING THE FOX-HOUND. 337

racter and appearance that they should bear a close
resemblance to each other, and not in their close
consanguinity. It is true, the celebrated pack of
Mr. Warde, the present Father of the Field, and a
master of fox-hounds for the unparalleled period of
fifty-seven years, which sold for two thousand
guineas, only contained, in 1825, three couples of
hounds not of his own blood, and those the produce
of one stallion hound, Mr. Assheton Smith's Reu-
bens. But we have no proof of Mr. Wardens hounds
being better for adhering so closely to his own sort ;
on the contrary, it is the opinion, we believe, of the
sporting world, reluctantly admitted, in considera-
tion of the well-merited celebrity of their owner,
that, latterly, the slackness of this renowned pack,
unrivalled in fine form, was to be attributed to that
circumstance. On the other hand, the rare but
valuable combination of dash and nose, a match for
the cold and ungenial Oxfordshire hills, for which
the Duke of Beaufort's pack has been so long con-
spicuous, has been traced to his Grace's late hunts-
man, Philip Payne (said by Colonel Cook, in his
Observations on Fox -Hunting^ to be " the best judge
of breeding hounds in the kingdom,") going from
home for his blood, and sending his bitches to the
celebrated stallion hounds of the best kennels within
his reach. This, however, it must be remembered,
is not within the command of every man's purse,
the expenses attending sending bitches to a dis-
tance, under any circumstances, being heavy ; as
not only must they be placed under the care of a
trusty servant on their journey, but there are other
2f

3o8 THE HOUND.

occult expenses attending them, which none but
masters of hounds are aware of. It is, however, a
notorious fact, that the produce of some stallion
hounds, if they have a fair chance by the bitch,
seldom fail in turning out well ; and perhaps the
most signal instance of '' like begetting like"' in
this species of animal, is that of Mr. Osbaldeston's
Furrier having been the sire of an entire pack in
that gentleman's kennel when he hunted the Quorn-
don country in Leicestershire, which he would oc-
casionally take to the field, amounting to more
than thirty-five couples, although, as may be sup-
posed, they were generally mingled with the rest
of his kennel, which at that period contained a
hundred couples of hounds. These Furrier hounds
gave little trouble in the entering of them, and
proved very true line-hunters, and every thing that
fox-hounds should be. The annals of fox-hunting
likewise record similar instances of the peculiar
properties of stallion hounds transmitting their vir-
tues to many succeeding generations, especially in
tLs instances of the Pychley Abelard, the Beau-
fort, and the JSew Forest Justice, Mr. Ward's
Senator, Mr. MeynelFs Gusman, Mr. Musters's
Collier, Mr. Corbet's Trojan, Lord Yarborough's
Ranter, with many others of more recent days, but
too numerous to mention here.

Standard of Height. — The size, or, we should
rather say, the height, of a fox-hound, is a point
upon which there has been much difference of opi-
nion. The long-established pack of the late Mr.

PROPER HEIGHT OF FOX-HOUNDS. 389

Chute were at least three inches below the standard
of his neighbour Mr. Villebois's large pack ; also
as much below that of his Grace the Duke of Cleve-
land, who also had for ma^ny years a large and a
small pack ; and at least four inches lower than
Mr. Wardens, in whose kennel were hounds full
twenty-six inches high. Various arguments are
made use of by the advocates of large and small
hounds. Those of the former assert that they get
better across a deep and strongly-fenced country
than smaller ones ; whilst the admirers of the lat-
ter insist upon their being better climbers of hills,
more active in cover, and quicker out of it when
their fox is gone ; and are oftener found to be per-
fect in form and shape. As to uniformity in size,
how pleasing soever it may be to the eye, it is by
no means essential to the well-doing of hounds in
the field, and has been disregarded by some of our
first sportsmen, the great Mr. Meynell for one,
who never drafted a good hound for being over or
under size ; neither did Mr. Assheton Smith, when
he succeeded to his, Mr. MeynelPs, country. The
great object of both was to breed them with mus-
cular power and bone, combined with as much sym-
metry as could be obtained ; and to be equal in
speed and good qualities, rather than equal in
height.

We consider the proper standard of height in
fox -hounds to be from twenty-one to twenty- two
inches for bitches, and from twenty-three to twenty-
four for dog hounds. The minimum and maximum
size of the last fifty years would have been found

o40 THE HOUND.

in the kennels of Mr. Chute and Mr. Warde ; the
Duke of Cleveland and Mr. Villebois coming next
to Mr. Warde in what may be called the maximum
class. Mr. Chute's motto over his kennel door
was, " multum in parvo," which was his great aim;
and although very full of power, and particularly
neat in appearance, his hounds did not more than
average twenty-one inches. On the other hand,
many of Mr. Wardens bitches, the most splendid
animals of their kind and sex the world has ever
yet seen, were better than twenty-three, and a few
of his dog hounds twenty-six inches high, which
was about the standard of the original Devonshire
stag-hounds. It may be said of hounds, however,
as has been said of horses, that their height has
little to do with their size, as far at least as their
powers of action are concerned ; and doubtless in
all animals that labour, a medium height is the
best. It may likewise be said, that inasmuch as a
good big horse is more valuable than a good little
one, so are we inclined to be in favour of hounds of
what is called a good size or height, as suited to
all countries, whereas small ones are not.

The amount of hounds bred annually will depend
on the strength of the kennel, and the number of
days'* hunting in the week which the country they
are intended for requires. From sixty to eighty
couples are about the complement for a four-days-
a-week country, which will require the breeding of
a hundred couples of puppies every year, allowing
the usual diminution of the entry by mal-confor-
mation, under size, and that bane to the kennel,

DISTEMPER. .341

the distemper, which often takes off a moiety of
them. As the period of gestation in the female
dog is somewhat over two calendar months, the
fox-hound bitch should, if she can be spared, be
put to dog in January, as then she will litter in
the spring, when the weather is comparatively mild
(cold being destructive of young animals of this
sort,) and the puppies will come early into kennel,
generally be of good size, and powerful; and be
entered without loss of time. The tips of their
sterns being pinched off, and their dew-claws cut,
whelps should be taken to their walks at about two
months old ; and if to those where there is plenty
of milk or whey, they will be the better for it.
Whelps walked at butchers' houses grow to a great
size, but they are apt to be heavy-shouldered and
throaty, and otherv/ise out of shape. If possible to
avoid it, puppies should never be tied up, as per-
petually drawing at the collar-chain throws their
elbows out, and otherwise damages their legs, par-
ticularly by spreading their feet, and altering the
form of their ancles, although it is sometimes al-
most impossible to avoid it, from their proneness
to do mischief. If old bitches are bred from, they
should be put to young dogs, and of course tice
mrsd ; and a bitch should not be worked for at
least the last month of her time and immediately
on her whelps being taken from her, a dose of
physic should be given her.

Distemper. — It is said that the dog in a state of
nature is subject to few diseases, and for these he

342 THE HOUND.

finds his cure by an instinctive faculty ; in a do-
mesticated state, however, he is subject to many,
and some of an awful nature, which may be classed
among the opprohria medicorum^ no certain remedy
being discovered for them. Amongst these is one
called the distemper, not known by our forefathers,
but at present become a sort of periodical disorder
in kennels, to the destruction of thousands of young
hounds annually. The first symptoms of this dis-
ease are, generally, a dry husky cough ; want of
appetite, and consequent loss of flesh ; extreme dul-
ness, and a running from the nose and eyes. As
the disease advances, it is attended with twitchings
of the head, while the animal becomes excessively
weak in the loins and hinder extremities ; is greatly
emaciated ; runs at the eyes and nose, and smells
very ofiensively. At length the twitchings assume
the appearance of convulsive fits, accompanied with
giddiness, which cause the dog to turn round ; he
has a constant inclination to dung, with obstinate
costiveness at one time, or incessant purging at
another. Finally, the stomach becomes extremely
irritable ; every thing swallowed is instantly thrown
up ; and the dog generally dies in a spasmodic fit.

For the cure of this disorder many remedies
have been prescribed ; but as none of them can be
relied upon as specific, we decline giving them,*

* Colonel Cook says he has " sometimes" found the following effi-
cacious : — Calomel three grains, cathartic ext. seven ditto, soap seven
ditto, emetic tartar one half grain. Make three pills, and give one
every other day. Vaccination was tried in some kennels as a pre-
ventive, but it failed, and was abandoned.

DISTEMPER. 343

and prefer transcribing the following observations
of an intelligent and experienced huntsman in the
service of a noble duke, accompanied by a comment
upon it by a noble lord, also a practical sportsman,
hunting his own fox-hounds.

" As soon," says the former, " as the young
hounds come in from quarters, a sharp look-out is
kept for the distemper ; and as soon as any of its
symptoms appear, a dose of cold-drawn castor-oil is
given, and the following morning a dose of calomel
and jalap. About seven grains of the former and
twenty of the latter made into a bolus, and put
over their throats before they have tasted any
thing, and their heads coupled up above the level
of their bodies for two hours, so as to prevent them
from vomiting up the medicine, which they are
certain to do if this is not carefully attended to.
They are then to have their broth and their meat.
The oil and bolus to be repeated in a day or two as
symptoms require ; that is to say, if the fever runs
high, repeat the bolus, and, if only to keep the
bowels open, the oil in small quantities. Indeed,
the great thing is attending to circumstances, and
acting accordingly; as, for instance, nothing can
be more different than when flux attends the dis-
temper, and when fits and obstinate costiveness is
the case. I believe, however, that at first a good
scouring in both cases is of service. In flux, of
course, don't repeat the calomel, but take moderate
means to stop it, as flux in a minor degree tends
to keep oft* both fever and fits. To allay the flux,
arrow-root, or boiled milk and flour porridge. There

.344 THE HOUXD.

is no doubt that laudanum is the surest method to
stop it, but then it is sure to end with fits. Fits
at the beginning are no bad sign, and at the end
nothing can be worse. I never either approved of
bleeding or vomiting in the distemper; the first
weakening too much, the latter creating and adding
to the irritableness of their stomachs."

" With the foregoino^ plain, sensible, and simple
treatment,'' says the noble lord in his comment on
the foregoing observations, " my' junior experience

perfectly agrees with the opinion of ;

but I revert to what he justly adds about ' circum-
stances,' and differ with him about the bleeding, as
I think a good scouring out, and bleeding, before
any thing symptomatic of the disease has fairly
begun, highly commendable. But, mce tersa^ for
instance, if you bleed after the disease has fairly
taken root, the lungs, nine cases in ten, being
afi'ected, it is ten to one you kill the dog ; but if
done early in the day, I cannot but think it is of
much service, prevents fever, and in many cases
makes the disease less violent. I think perhaps the
treatment of whelps, after they come in from their
healthy walks to the close confinement of sometimes
an ill-kept kennel, is the cause of the distemper
taking more violent hold of them than it otherwise
would do ; and amongst the hundred pretended
receipts of many huntsmen, the remark is a justly
correct one, of what ^nay cure one dog will kill
another. But here and his ' cir-
cumstances' put you right. What might be
advisable would be this : As soon as your puppies

KENNEL MANAGEMENT. 345

come in, look them attentively over ; divide the
well-walked whelps from those that have been ill-
walked ; bleed and scour well out the fat lot, pav-
ing of course attention to their diet, cleanliness,
and exercise ; and cherish the poor lot by the best
food, giving them the castor oil without the calo-
mel or the lancet. But a lot of well-bred fox-hound
whelps are not to be left to the care of a whipper-in
or a boiler, unless he is a perfectly sober, attentive,
experienced man ; for in this disease in the animal,
as in the human species, the patient must be most
attentively and closely watched."

Kennel Management. — The management of
hounds in kennel has undergone great changes for
the better since Mr. Beckford's day ; and, divest-
ing the mind of the inferiority of horse-flesh over
cow or bullock-flesh, the food of hounds, both in its
nature and the cooking of it, is such as man might
not only not reject, if necessity compelled him to
have recourse to it, but such as he would thrive
and do well upon. It is a common expression,
that " any thing will do for dogs," and experience
informs us they will exist upon very miserable
fare ; but hounds, to he in condition^ must have
every thing good of its kind, and also well cooked.
Were a master of hounds, or huntsman, of the
present day, to follow Beckford's advice, of putting
his hounds to a horse fresh killed, after a hard
day, his brother sportsmen would think him mad ;
nor is there scarcely any thing now used in our
first-rate kennels but the best oat-meal (Scotch or

346 THE HOUND.

Irish is the best) one year old, and well-boiled
horse-flesh, quite free from taint. The meal is put
into the copper when the water boils, and should
be boiled up a second time, and, in all, for at least
two hours ; for nothing is worse for the wind of
hounds than meal not thoroughly boiled. When
taken out of the boiler, it forms a substance resemb-
ling coarse rice pudding ; and when the fresh flesh,
which is shredded, and the broth in which it is
boiled, are added to it in the trough, and very well
mixed, it forms the best and highest food that can
be given to hounds. In some kennels, after the
example of that famous huntsman the late Thomas
Oldacre, the meal and flesh are boiled up together,
with the idea that more of the virtue of the flesh
is then imparted to the meal than when it is merely
mixed with the broth ; but the practice is not
general. But such is the diff'erence of constitution
in hounds, and the aptitude of some over others
to gain flesh, or become foul, persons who are parti-
cular as to the condition of their pack have troughs
filled accordingly ; that is, one with thinner food
than another, for hounds of the former description.
No animal in the world is so soon up and down in
his condition as the dog ; and, strange as it may
appear, the efl'ect of two or three extra mouthfuls
of thick meat will be visible on some hounds on the
second day after they have eaten them. Never-
theless, the dog being strictly a carnivorous animal,
cannot stand hard work without flesh, which he
should have a fair allowance of once a day, accord-
ing as his constitution may require it. Some mas-

KENNEL MANAGEMENT. 347

ters of hounds, however, (the justly celebrated Mr.
Ralph Lambton one of them,) do not feed with
flesh on the day before hunting, giving only meal
and broth ; and this on the supposition that the
faculty of scent is more delicately susceptible with-
out it. Young hounds lately come from walks
should be fed twice in the day, as they do not
always, at first, take to kennel food.

Colonel Cook is thus explicit and correct on the
subject of feeding hounds, and their condition, the
result of many years experience, and great atten-
tion to the kennel. " It is quite certain,"" says he,
" a hound too high in condition cannot run a burst,
neither can a poor half-starved one kill an afternoon
fox ; a hound, therefore, cannot be considered as fit
to be brought out, if he is either too high or too
low. I like to see their ribs, but their loins should
be well filled up, and they should be hollow in their
flanks : he that is full in the flanks is sure to be
fat in the inside, and consequently not fit for work.
The feeding of hounds, and the bringing them to
cover, able to run a burst, or kill an afternoon fox,
is not altogether a thing so easy as some people
imagine ; in fact, it requires nearly as much trouble
to get a hound into condition as it does a horse ;
and if the greatest attention is not paid to this
particular, you cannot expect to catch many foxes.
It is the condition of a hound which gives him the
advantage over the animal he hunts. Nevertheless,
their constitutions diff'er as much as those of the
human species ; some require thick food, others
thin ; the same quantity which may be requisite

348 THE HOUND.

for Ranter, if given to Rallywood, would render
him unable to run a yard. Sometime before hunt-
ing, (say about three weeks,) they should have
plenty of walking exercise, and salts given them
once a week. If a hound is at any time very foul,
the following receipt is very efficacious : — Three
grains of ^thiops mineral, five grains of calomel,
made into a ball : the hound must of course be
carefully kept from cold water."'

In the summer time, when hounds are out of
work, they do not require flesh more than twice a
week, and succulent vegetables in their food are at
this time useful. They are also physicked and
bled at the close of one season, and before the com-
mencement of the next ; and, if necessary, dressed
over with a sulphureous mixture during the idle
months. But some owners of hounds and hunts-
men object to dressing them, conceiving that it
opens their pores too much, and subjects them to
rheumatic affections.

One recent and great improvement in kennel
discipline is, a small reservoir of water within the
walls, of sufficient depth to cleanse the legs of
hounds, but not to wet their bodies, which they
are made to walk through immediately on their
coming home. Upon being turned into their lodg-
ing-room, they commence licking themselves dry,
which, as a dog's tongue is proverbially called his
" doctor," is most beneficial to their feet, by clear-
ing them of sand or gravel, as well as healing any
trifling wounds which they may have received. In
the Duke of Cleveland's kennel, this reservoir was

COLOUR OF FOX-HOUNDS. 349

filled with broth, which, in addition to its healing-
properties, induces hounds to lick their feet still
more than water does. In flinty countries, the
feet of hounds are very frequently wounded, which
is a great disadvantage to those a little inclined to
do wrong, as they are compelled to miss their turn,
and so get above themselves. It also obliges a
gentleman to keep a larger number of hounds than
this country would otherwise require.

Hounds are fed on the day before hunting about
eleven o'clock a.m., but some delicate feeders re-
quire to be let into the troughs a second time.
After hunting, they are fed as soon as they have
licked themselves dry, which, by the warmth that
arises from their bodies when shut up, is very soon
effected ; and in the summer time it is reckoned
safer to feed them in the evening, as they then rest
quieter throughout the night, and are less disposed
to quarrel.

Colour. — Independently of the justness and ele-
gance of figure in animals, which adapt them to the
uses or ends of their creation, nature has been pro-
fuse in the adornment of the surface of their bodies
by various beautiful colours. But in proof that
the Creator never errs from his design in any of
the qualities he has communicated to his creatures,
and that he adorns not merely for the sake of orna-
ment alone, these beauties conferred upon them are
found greatly to contribute to their well-being ;
for with them they have received the consciousness
of possessing, and a desire to preserve them. In

.350 THE HOUND.

fact, it is this which attaches them so closely to
their being, and renders them so attentive to
cleanse, ornament, and take care of themselves, as
we every day see they do ; and to preserve, in all
its lustre, the enamel which nature has given them.
And we may go even one step farther than this.
An accurate observer of animals will perceive, that
they are not only conscious of their own beauty,
but are capable of beholding and admiring it in
others. This is undoubtedly the case with regard
to both sexes of the same species : never are they
so attentive to display the graces which nature has
bestowed upon them, never are they so ostenta-
tious, as when they are together, which is evident
from their gambols and frolics ; and, if we may
judge of them from our own feelings, how greatly
must this disposition contribute to their mutual
felicity.

In no animal is variety of colours more conspi-
cuous than in hounds ; and it adds greatly to their
appearance when we see them in a body in the
kennel, but still more so in the field. Those of
the fox-hound are, — tan (not common) ; black
(not common) ; black and white and tan (the most
common) ; milk-white (not common) ; red (very
rare) ; blue (the same.) Next come the blended,
or mixed colours, known in the kennel as " pies.''
There is the red pie ; the blue pie ; the yellow pie ;
the grey pie ; the lemon pie (very handsome) ; the
hare pie ; and the badger pie, which last is very
characteristic of the fox-hound. The fox-hound is
sometimes ticked — that is, his coat is dotted with

THE TONGUE OF HOUNDS. 351

small white specks on a dark ground, but he is
rarely what is called " mottled"' (motley) ; and, we
believe, what is known by " a blue mottled hound"
is not to be found among fox-hounds of the present
day, that variety of colour being peculiar to harriers
and beagles. There was for many years a pack of
''blue mottled"' harriers kept near Croydon, in
Surrey.

It is asserted, that the original colour of the
English fox-hound was fallow, or pale yellow
(Shakspeare speaks of a fallow greyhound?) ; and we
are inclined to this opinion from its being spoken
of in several old works upon hunting, as the '' best
colour for hounds that hunt the hart or roe ; "" and
there can be no doubt of our fox-hounds being: ori-
ginally descended from that breed of dog, be it
what it may. As we know that a recurrence to
original colour frequently takes place in animals
and birds, after its disappearance throughout seve-
ral generations, this may probably account for the
various pied hounds we see in kennels, the produce
of hounds of distinct colours, perhaps merely black
and white, and often of those nearly black. More-
over, at Ashdown Park, in Berkshire, an old seat
of the Craven family, there is a picture of a pack
of fox-hounds, above a hundred years old, in which
every hound is either fallow coloured or red.

The Tongue, or Cry of Hounds. — During the
early stages of mental progress, the ear is of more
importance to man than the eye. Indeed, at all
times sounds, by association, become the signs of

352 THE HOUND.

ideas ; and the s^reat variety in the voice of nature
must have been designed to meet the pecuHar tastes
and purposes of the countless multitudes that dwell
on the face of the earth. That the cry of hounds
is a voluntary noise, proceeding from a powerful
organic impulse, is quite apparent, as is also the
purpose for which the impulse is given ; namely,
to announce their having discovered the scent of
an animal, either obnoxious to their notice, or de-
sirable as food, and by calling their straggling
companions together, and uniting their forces, the
better to enable them to secure their prey. On
the other hand, here is mercy shown to the prey
they are in pursuit of. The tongue of the hound
gives notice of his approach ; and he does not
pounce upon his victim as the silent greyhound
does, which Gratius, in his poem on coursing,
alludes to in the following verse : —

" Sic canis ilia suos taciturna supervenit hostes."

But the cry of hounds, melodious and heart-
cheering as it even now is, has lost much of its
poetical interest, from the change man has made
in the natural organisation of the animal from
which it proceeds ; and we shall never again hear
of a master of a pack, after the manner of Addi-
son's knight, returning a hound that had been
given to him as an " excellent bass," whereas the
note he wanted was a " counter-tenor." The great
Beckford, however, was something of the worthy
knight's opinion ; for he says, in his Thoughts upon
Hunting^ " If we attended more to the variety of

AGE. 353

the notes frequently to be met with in the tongues
of hounds, it might greatly add to the harmony of
the pack." This is well in theory. The natural
organisation of the dog is musical ; he is, in fact, a
victim to musical sensibility ; and we may reason-
ably suppose that the notes of his companions in
the chase may be as pleasing to himself as to his
huntsman ; but we more than doubt whether a
huntsman of this day would draft a highly -bred
and beautiful young bitch, as good too as she looks
to be, merely because her light, fox-hunting tongue
might be somewhat drowned, and now and then
lost, in the general chorus of the pack. He would
rather say, " Let every tongue he a fox^^ and I'll
leave the rest to chance." But, on a good day for
hearins: it, what natural sound is more delisrhtful
and animating than that of hounds in full cry, in
the deep recesses of an echo-giving wood I Neither
would those writers who have availed themselves of
the beauty and sublimity which allusions to sounds
in nature stamp on their various compositions, have
at all descended from their eminence if they had,
like Shakspeare, delighted as much in bringins: the
soul in contact with such a sound as this, as with
the rolling of the thunder, or the howling of the
storm.

Age of Hounds. — The dog exhibits no exact
criteria of age after the first two years, during

* " Ever\' tongue a fox," is a well kno^n sporting phrase, imply-
ing, that a hound should not throw his tongue, unless on the scent
of a fox, either on the drag or in chase.

2g

354 THE HOUND.

which time the whiteness and evenness of his teeth
are a pretty certain test of his not exceeding that
period. An old hound, however, cannot be mis-
taken if only looked in the face, where he shows
old age nearly as distinctly as man. As to the
length of services of hounds, that depends upon
circumstances. Few are found in a kennel after
their eighth year, and tery few after their ninth ;
and not many hard-working hounds can " run up,''
or keep pace with the rest, after their fifth season
at most. Hounds are in their prime in the third
and fourth }■ ears ; and although there are a few
instances, such as Sir Richard Sutton's Lucifer,
the Beaufort Nector, and the Cheshire Villager, of
their hunting in their twelfth, eleventh, and tenth
year, the average of their work cannot, we fear, be
placed beyond four seasons. Old hounds are use-
ful in the field, but when they cannot run up with
the pack, they should be drafted. The perfection
of a pack consists in the great body of it being com-
posed of hounds quite in their prime.

Separation of the Sexes. — The separation of
the sexes in the kennel and in the field is one of the
late innovations in the hunting world, and gene-
rally considered as a good one. In the first place,
it pleases the eye to see a pack of hounds nearly
all of a size, which cannot be the case when it is
composed of dogs and bitches mixed ; and the cha-
racter of the animal is likewise more unii\n'mly dis-
played when confined to one individual sex. Se-
condly, by the total separation of dogs and bitches

SEPARATION OP THE SEXES. So5

in the kennel and in the field, the former are less
inclined to quarrel, and the latter are more at their
ease, than when subject to the constant, and, at
times, importunate solicitations, of the male sex.
Of their performances in the field, however, when
taken into it separately, some difference of opinion
exists ; and each sex has its advocates. With a
good fox before them, and a warm scent, bitches
are decidedly quicker, and more off-hand in their
work, than dog hounds ; but with a colder scent,
or at fault, the general opinion is, that they are not
so patient, and more given to over-run it. That
they are superior in " dash,'''' which, Beckford says,
is the distinctive characteristic of a fox-hound, we
believe is universally acknowledged ; and a cele-
brated master of hounds,* who hunted them him-
self in Leicestershire and other countries, has been
heard frequently to say, that if his kennel would
have afforded it, he would never have taken a dog
hound into the field. That, in the canine race, the
female has more of elegance and symmetry of form,
consequently more of speed, than the male, is evi-
dent to a common observer ; but there is nothing
to lead us to the conclusion, that, in the natural
endowment of the senses, any superiority exists.
It is, however, remarkable, that the Latins, when
speaking of hunting, or '' sporting dogs,'" as we
call them, generally use the feminine gender, one
instance of which is to be found in the second ode
of the fifth book of Horace {multa cane,) which ode

'■' Sir Bellinghaui Graham, Bart, of Norton Conyers, Yorkshire.

oo6 THE HOUND.

every sportsman ought to read, as it gives so pleas-
ing a picture of a country life.

Names. — The naming of hounds and horses has
nearly exhausted human invention, as well as clas-
sical research. Beckford furnishes a list of more
than eight hundred names for hounds, alphabeti-
cally arranged. But the naming of hounds is some-
what under metrical control ; for it is not only
confined to words of two and three syllables, but
their quantity, or rather their time, must be con-
sulted. For example, a dactyl, as Lucifer^ answers
well for the latter ; but who could holloa to Aurora .^
a trochee, or an iambus, is necessary for the for-
mer, the spondee dwelling too long on the tongue
to be applied smartly to a hound. But there ought
to be a nomenclator, as of old, at every kennel
door ; for it is but few persons unconnected with a
pack that can recollect their names until after a
rather long acquaintance with them, from the great
similarity of form, character, as well as sometimes
of colour, in old-established kennels. " How is it
possible," said a young master of fox-hounds a few
years ago, " that I should distinguish every hound
in my kennel by his name, when I find three spots
on one side of their body, and five perhaps on the
other r** There have been, however, and still are,
persons who can see a large kennel of hounds once
drawn to their feeding troughs, and call them all
by their names afterwards, the result alone of a
keen and practised eye.

The price of hounds is strangely altered within

PRICE OF HOUNDS. 857

the space of half a century, or less ; and on this
subject we cannot do better than quote Colonel
Cook. " Hounds,'' says he, " have always been
much undervalued ; we sometimes hear of eight
hundred or even a thousand guineas as the price of
a hunter, and the sum of three or four hundred is
often considered as a mere trifle ; whereas a pack of
hounds, on which every thing depends, was only con-
sidered worth a few hundreds. Yet Shakspeare
himself appears to have known the value of a
hound ; for in his ' Induction' to the Taming of
the Shrew, a nobleman returned from hunting thus
speaks of his hounds with delight to his huntsman :

* Nobleman. Huntsman, I charge thee, tender well my hounds ;
Brach Merriman, — the poor cur is emboss'd,
And couple Clowder with the deep-mouth'd brach.
Saw'st thou not, boy, how Silver made it good, ,
At the hedge-corner, in the coldest fault ?
I would not lose the dog for twenty pounds.

' Huntsman. "Why, Belman is as good as he, my lord ;
He cried upon it at the meerest loss,
And twice to-day pick'd out the dullest scent ;
Trust me, I take him for the better dog.'

" The sum of twenty pounds for a single hound
in Shakspeare's time," continues the colonel, " and
that not the best in the pack either, was no incon-
siderable price. I am not alluding to ' a lot of
curs ; ' but surely a well-bred, established pack of
fox-hounds, including brood bitches, and puppies at
walk, must be cheap at a thousand or twelve
hundred pounds."

Now the value of any thing is what it will fetch ;
and how far an established pack of fox-hounds is

358 THE HOUND.

cheap at a thousand or twelve hundred pounds^ is
a matter of consideration with reference to con-
comitant circumstances ; but that they will have
cost the seller a great deal more there can be
no doubt. We should put the average price at
something less than either of the above sums, al-
though, within the last dozen years, several packs
have been sold for the former sum ; and the justly
renowned one of Mr. Warde, the present Father
of the Field, fetched two thousand guineas ; and
the late Lord Middleton gave Mr. Osbaldeston the
same sum for ten couples of hounds out of his ken-
nel. Since that period, the maximum price has
been obtained by Mr. Ralph Lambton, for whoae
pack Lord Suffield gave four thousand guineas.

The Harrier. — The modern harrier bears no
greater resemblance to the one in use fifty years
back, than the hunter of the present day to that
ridden by our grandfathers. In fact, he is now
nothing: less than the fox-hound in miniature,
which it is the endeavour of all breeders to have
him. Their qualities also are as opposite as their
form, the one delighting to dwell upon the scent,
the other a little inclined, perhaps, to the other
extreme. But the taste of the day for all sports
of the field would not endure the tedious exactness
of tlie old psalm-singing harrier ; and not only in
point of diversion, but on the score of the pot^ the
balance is greatly in favour of the improved variety.
Before the old-fashioned harrier, the hare had time
to play all sorts of tricks, to double on her foil, and

THE IIARRIEK. 359

SO stain the ground that she often escaped by such
means ; whereas the modern hound, if the scent be
tolerably good, forces her from her foil to fly the
country, and very often beyond her knowledge,
when a good straightforward run is the almost
invariable result. The observation of Mr. Beck-
ford holds good here. He could not, he said, ima-
gine a hound too well bred to show sport, and kill
his game ; but he could readily conceive the reverse,
when the game ran stout and well.

To Sir John Dashwood King, Bart, of West
Wycombe Park, Bucks, is the credit due for what
may be termed the living model of the present im-
proved harrier ; and so characteristically stamped
are his sort of hound, now widely spread, that they
are recognised by a sportsman at the first glance.
Their standard hei^-ht did not exceed ei^-hteen
inches, and, therefore, in that respect, they were
not an overmatch for their game ; but from the
great equality of their size and speed, combined
with rare hunting qualities, they killed more hares,
with good runs, than any other pack in the king-
dom, and for many, many years in succession cer-
tainly '' bore the bell."' Sir John kept them more
than thirty years, at Bourton-on-the-Hill, Glou-
cestershire, near the four-shire stone on the Oxford
and Worcester road, where his father kept them
before him ; hunting partly in the vales of War-
wickshire and Worcestershire, and partly over the
Cotsvvold Hills, which latter country is famous for
the stoutness of its hares, frequently standing an
huur before this celebrated pack, after having been

360 THE HOUND.

driven bejond their knowledge by their pressing
method of hunting up to them, a method quite
unpractised by the old long-eared harrier. The
parent stock of this pack was a small fox-hound
from the Duke of Grrafton's kennel, called Tyrant,
whose blood, form, and character were strikingly
apparent throughout ; and so great was its cele-
brity, that it fetched the highest price ever known
to be given for harriers — namely, seven hundred
guineas, by Lord Sondes of Rockingham Castle,
Northamptonshire. Sir John, however, deserved
success. He bred upwards of seventy couples of
hounds every year, and had an establishment of
horses, &c., nearly equal to fox-hounds. The hare-
hounds bred for many years by Mr. Yeatman of
Stock House, Dorsetshire, (who lately resigned
the Blackmore vale country, in which he hunted
foxes,) came next to Sir John's in the true form
and character of the modern harrier.

The Stag-Hound. — The English stag-hound is
now known only by name, as there are none of the
breed kept for the purpose of hunting the wdld-
stag ; and such deer as are turned out before his
Majesty's, and the few other packs that follow this
game are hunted by fox-hounds of the highest
blood that can be procured. And the change is a
good one ; for although the English stag-hound
was a noble animal of his kind, he w^as not suffi-
ciently speedy, nor perfect in his work, to satisfy
the present taste, and he was likewise too much
given to dwell on the scent in chase, as well a? of

THE BEAGLE. 361

very delicate constitution in kennel. He is origi-
nally supposed to be the produce of the old Eng-
lish blood-hound, by a cross of some kind of grey-
hound, such as the Highland deer-greyhound,
approximating his own form. At all events, it is
certain that the former, the blood-hound, was the
dog: fii'st made use of in huntino: deer in Eno:land :
and it is probable that, as the taste for following
hounds on horseback increased, a turn of speed was
given to the original breed by a cross with a speedier
sort. We may add, the old paintings of English
stag-hunting favour this hypothesis.

The ] Beagle. — This variety of the dog is now
nearly extinct, and for the same cause as the stag-
hound. Time is at present considered as too pre-
cious to afford an hour at least, and perhaps two,
to the hunting down one hare, which is now accom-
plished in a more off-hand manner, in twenty mi-
nutes. To an admirer of nature, however, and of
the endowments given to inferior animals, the busy,
intelligent, and highly-gifted beagle certainly affords
a treat. His form, also, when not out at his elbows,
is handsome in the extreme, and his perseverance
in chase is exceeded by none. But he has one of
the greatest faults that hounds can possess ; he is
noisy, and dwells upon the scent, whilst his game
is flying the country before him. In fact, his only
use or value now is (independently of being looked
at and admired, for he is a perfect animal of his
kind,) to accompany a brace of greyhounds when a
hare is wanted, and not ready at liand. There is,
2h

362 THE HOUND.

however, one pack of beagles kept in Dorsetshire,
known as the Mountain Harriers, whose perform-
ances are much spoken of in the sporting world ;
and His Royal Highness Prince Albert, has a pack
of small beagles, for his amusement, in Windsor
Park.

The Greyhound. — The greyhound has now lost
his place in the catalogue of the dogs used in chase,
neither can be classed as such, since man has de-
prived him of the necessary faculty of smell ; but
he was held in such high estimation in the middle
ages, as to be considered the peculiar companion of
a gentleman. He never went abroad without these
dogs ; the hawk which he bore upon his fist, and
the greyhounds which ran before him, were certain
testimonies of his rank ; and in the ancient pipe
rolls, payments appear to have been often made in
these valuable animals. But at no previous period
of his existence was the greyhound the symmetri-
cally elegant animal w^e now see him, nor possessed
of nearly so much speed ; neither was the diversion
of the leash at any time carried on with so much
spirit as within the space of the last thirty years,
in various parts of Great Britain. But the neces-
sity for, or rather the cause of, the change in the
form of the greyhound, may be traced to his being
no longer, as formerly, made use of to course and
pull down deer, but chiefly to exhibit his speed at
our different spirited coursing meetings, for the
various prizes contended for, as also in private
matches.

THE GREYHOUND. 363

The Courser's Manual or Stud BooJc^ by Thomas
Goodlake, Esq. (1828,) has the following interest-
ing passages on the alteration effected in this species
of dog. " In the days of Elizabeth," says the
author, " the greyhound seems to have been a fine
and effective animal, but approaching more to the
bony, wire-haired make of the Highland greyhound
represented in the pictures of Edwin Landseer, and
deficient in the symmetry and fine glossy coat
which mark a high-bred kennel of modern times.
It is probable, that during the early part of the
seventeenth century, judicious crosses were made,
partly from the beautiful Italian greyhounds, which
we often see in family pictures, accompanying our
fair ancestresses in their parks and plaisances, and
partly from the stouter breed of dogs represented
in Flemish hunting-pieces ; and that even Persia
and Arabia, whose greyhounds are not to be despised
in point of form and speed, contributed their quota
of blood ; as it is shown by the history of Crom-
well's Coffin Nail, that the wealtliier gentry of that
period spared no expense or pains in improving the
more highly-prized breeds of sporting animals. If
we mistake not, some of the pictures of Charles the
First contain portraits of greyhounds approaching
nearly in point of coat and shape to the present
breed."

Speaking of the late Lord Orford, who, with re-
spect to modern coursing, laid the foundation-stone
of the celebrity to which it has arrived, and who,
besides being celebrated for his greyhounds, esta-
blished the first coursing club that we read of, at

364 THE HOUND.

Swaffham in Norfolk, in the year 1776, the same
writer says, — " A few anecdotes of this noble pa-
tron of coursing may not be uninteresting. He was
passionately fond of the sport ; and as he was a
man who never would do things by halves, but was
zealous beyond measure in succeeding in whatever
he undertook, he may be said to have made as
much progress as possible in perfecting the breed
of the greyhound, and encouraging an emulative
spirit in coursing amongst his opulent neighbours,
from the time he took it up till his death. Indeed,
his extensive property, and his influence as lord-
lieutenant of Norfolk, gave him the greatest means
of accomplishing his favourite object. He could
command such an immensity of private quarters,
or walks, as they are generally called, for grey-
hounds, that he bred largely, and few possessed
the same advantages of selection. He is recorded
as having at one time fifty brace of greyhounds ;
and it was his fixed rule never to part with a single
whelp till he had had a fair trial of his speed ; con-
sequently he had chances beyond almost any other
individual, of having a collection of very superior
dogs. Intent on obtaining as much perfection in
the breed as possible, he introduced every experi-
mental cross, from the English lurcher to the Ita-
lian greyhound. He it was that first thought of
the cross with the English bull-dog, in which he
persevered in opposition to every opinion, until,
after breeding on for seven removes, he found him-
self in possession of the best greyhounds at the
time ever known ; and he considered that this cross

THE TERRIER. 365

produced the small ear, the rat-tail, the fine, thin,
silky coat, together with that quiet, innate courage
which the high-bred greyhound should possess, pre-
ferring death to relinquishing the chase." There
is something curiously analogous in the sense con-
veyed by the concluding words of this extract.
His lordship fell dead from his horse immediately
after witnessing the triumph of his famous bitch
Czarina, in a match at Swafi'ham, having been in
vain admonished on the impropriety of taking the
field in his then indifferent state of health ; and his
memory is introduced as a toast at most coursing
meetings, as father and patron of the sport.

The Terrier. — The terrier is no longer the
accompaniment to a pack of fox-hounds, and for the
best of all reasons. Foxes are not nearly so often
digged for as formerly ; and his only use was, by
his bay, to inform the diggers whereabouts the fox
lay ; and we suppose he took his name from his
being so eager to get under ground. There is also
a second reason why he is better left at home. He
was seldom steady from wing^ if he was from foot,
and thus often the cause of riot. It was, however,
a matter of astonishment to behold those which
were very higldy bred making their way, as they
did, to the end of the longest chases, over strong
and wet countries, as well as through the thickest
covers, and so often making their appearance at
the end of them. At all events, if left behind,
they were sure to find their way home in the course
of the night, whatever the distance might be. One

o66 THE HOUXD.

peculiarity of form was essential to their being sure
of getting up to their fox, viz., not too full in the
shoulder; and those whose colour was pure white,
and who were broken-haired, were generally most
esteemed by huntsmen. It has often been their
lot to lose their lives by scratching up the earth
behind them, and cutting off their means of retreat ;
and they were now and then killed by a fox, the
latter a rare occurrence. They were commonly
entered to a badger, whose bite is more dangerous
than that of a fox.

Scotland is celebrated for its breed of terriers,
designable, in fact, as such ; and none were better
than those possessed by the immortal bard of that
country — who need not here be named — known as
the " pepper and mustard sort."

ii "^^^^5"-

367

HUNTING.

PRE-EMINENCE OP HUNTING AMONG MANLY SPORTS ITS

EARLY ORIGIN HUNTING A FAVOURITE THEME OF

THE ABLEST WRITERS DEFENDED FROM THE CHARGE

OF CRUELTY MR. MEYNELL*S OPINIONS ON FOX-
HUNTING GORSE COVERS EARTH-STOPPING EX-
PENSES OF A PACK OF FOX-HOUNDS — STAG-HUNTING —
SPORTING TECHNOLOGY THE ROYAL HUNT OTTER-
HUNTING HARE-HUNTING THE FOX NECESSARY

QUALIFICATIONS OF A HUNTSMAN DOG LANGUAGE

CONCLUDING PRECEPTS.

Nature has prepared many advantages and plea-
sures for the use of mankind, and given them the
taste to enjoy them, and the sagacity to improve
them ; but of all the out-of-door amusements that
have occupied the modern world, at least the male

S68 HUNTING.

part of it, nothing has better stood the test of time
than the noble diversion of hunting.

" Of all our fond diversions,
A hunter's is the best ;
In spite of wars and petty jars,
That sport has stood the test"

And why has it stood the test ? Not merely be-
cause the passion for the chase is interwoven closely
with our nature ; not because it originated in neces-
sity, therefore originated in nature ; but because it
has been encouraged and approved of by the very
best authorities, and practised by the greatest men.
It cannot now, then, be supposed to dread criti-
cism, or require support ; neither can any solid
objections be raised against a reasonable enjoyment
of the sports of the field in general, provided what
ought to be the pleasing relaxation of a man"*s lei-
sure hours be not converted into the whole business
of his life. But hunting, above all others, is a
taste characteristically manly and appropriate to
the gentlemen of Great Britain ; and it has likewise
another advantage over all other sports of the field,
which adds much to its value in this land of liberty,
and especially in the present age : it is a kind of
Saturnalian amusement, in which the privileges of
rank and fortune are laid aside ; the best man in
the chase is he who rides the best horse, and who
is best skilled in the use he should make of his
superiority.

But let us look a little into the origin of hunting,
the encomiums passed upon it, and the advantages
derived from it.

ORIGIN OF HUNTING. S69

We shall commence with the sacred history
itself, which describes the first warriors under the
denomination of hunters ; and not only did the
passion for the chase form a kind of society between
the dog, the horse, the falcon, and man, but Pliny
is quite correct in saying that hunting was not only
one of the first exercises of man, but that it gave
rise to monarchical states. For example, Nimrod,
the first Mng^ who reigned at Babylon, devoted him-
self to hunting, and delivered his subjects from the
savage beasts that desolated the country ; and in
the sequel, by making soldiers of his companions in
the chase, employed them in extending his empire,
and establishing his conquests. In fact, nothing in
those da,ys procured a man so much esteem as being
an expert sportsman or hunter; and had not Nimrod
been a sportsman, he would not have been a king.
People submit themselves to government by force,
as wild animals do, and not by choice ; and he
erected himself into a monarch by finding himself
stronger than his neighbours. He taught the
people to make up companies for the chase ; and,
after exercising them for this purpose in the first
instance, he led them on by degrees to a social de-
fence of one another, and thus laid the foundation
of his authority and his kingdom. It is no wonder,
then, that so many of the first kings or heroes, of
whom antiquity makes mention, should be charac-
terised as celebrated hunters, and destroyers of
noxious animals ; an employment prescribed in the
Book of Moses, and deified in the theology of the
Pagans. Bacchus is drawn by tigers, because he

370 HUNTING.

subdued them ; Apollo obtained the laurels that
encircle his brow, by killing the serpent Python ;
and Hercules got his lion's skin by his exploits in
the forest of Nemsea. Diana was worshipped in
her temple, the finest the world ever saw, in honour
of her skill in destroying noxious animals ; even
Venus herself took the field, and Adonis was killed
in the chase. The Egyptians, also, in their most
splendid ages, were much addicted to hunting ; and
it was the common exercise of the children educated
in the court of Sesostris.

But there would be no end to these examples of
the acknowledged benefits of the chase, on the
manners and characters of nations. The ancient
Persians considered hunting not only as a serious
employment, but an excellent preparation for war,
in which the same w^eapons were used as in the
chase ; and their renowned monarch, Cyrus, was the
first sportsman of his day. With the Athenians
the passion for the sports of the field was so strong,
that Solon was obliged to restrain the ardour for
hunting, to prevent the people neglecting the
mechanic arts, which it was his wish they should
cultivate ; and the Lacedemonians, who were war-
riors by profession, cultivated hunting with inces-
sant care. It was not only their ruling passion,
but there is reason to believe they exercised in it
the greatest skill ; and, as we learn from Virgil, in
his third Georgic, they were celebrated for their
breed of speedy dogs. But there is not a nation
in which it has not been found necessa^ry to restrain
by laws the excessive love for the chase ; so natural

A THEME OF THE ABLEST WRITERS. 371

is it to man, and so apt to degenerate into a passion
injurious both to health and to society.

One of the greatest compliments paid to the chase
is, its having been considered as a theme worthy the
pens of the ablest writers of the most refined periods
of the world. Whilst Greece was the nursery and
residence of every branch of polite literature, and
of all the arts and sciences then known to man-
kind ; whilst every study that depends on the
powers of the imagination, or the faculties of the
understanding, was there carried to the very sum-
mit of perfection ; we find Xenophon composing
his Kvvyiyariyiog^ treating of every description of field-
sports. He, according with the custom of the
times, opens the subject with fable, and tells us
that hunting, which he calls the gift of the gods,
and the use of dogs, originated with Apollo and
Diana, and that the invention was made a present
of to Chiron, who took pupils in the art, each of
whom was, in his turn, honoured by the gods
(aTo ^£wv eri/Mrj&r}.) His real object, however, was to
encourage, in the youth of his country, a taste for
the pleasures of the chase, and other manly pas-
times, as the best preparation for war, the senate,
and the world. Whilst he condemns the efiemi-
riate man as shamefully useless to his country, he
represents the well-trained sportsman as not only
mighty in war, but ready to sacrifice his person
and his wealth to the public good. As a preparation
for war, and particularly the higher branches of the
soldier's profession, we need not the testimony of
Xenophon ; for our own experience has shown us,

372 HUNTING.

that, speaking generally, no man takes a view of a
country, at first sight, with equal facility to a
sportsman, particularly a sportsman who has been
accustomed to follow hounds. Indeed, unless he
have what is called in the field " a good eye to a
country," he cannot ride with judgment after
hounds in our enclosed or woodland districts ; and
when the chase is concluded, it is surprising to
witness the rapidity with which an experienced
fox-hunter sees the points of a country in wdiich
he is a stranger, that must lead him towards his
wished-for home. With respect to the other ad-
vantages alluded to by Xenophon, he had very
good authority for what he asserted of them. The
Olympic games were established by the Greeks for
tw^o distinct purposes : first, to inspire their youth
with a love of glory, as well as a taste for manly
and invigorating exercises, conducive to contempt
of danger, and -coolness wdien exposed to it ; and,
secondly, with a view of drawing together the lead-
ins: nien of the different states of Greece, which
gave them an opportunity of deliberating upon
matters of general concern. As regarded the other
various occupations of life which a gentleman is
called upon to fulfil and do honour to, we may
remark that an irreproachable moral character was
a necessary qualification for a competitor at those
games or sports. Drawing something like a paral-
lel, here, then, we may add, that neither is a sports-
man in our own country esteemed, how skilful so-
ever he may be, if his character be tainted with
fraud ; and we are not unmindful of the advantages

A THEME OF THE ABLEST WRITERS. 873

derived from the mixture of society in the hunting-
field, or of the many valuable and lasting friend-
ships that may be dated from accidental meetings
by the cover's side. But Xenophon wrote in praise
of hunting rather perhaps as a soldier than a philo-
sopher, giving it as his opinion, that the exercise
of the chase formed the best soldiers in the world ;
that it habituated men to cold, to heat, and to fa-
tigue ; that it kindled courage, elevated the soul, and
invigorated the body ; that it retarded the eftects
of age, and rendered the senses more acute ; and,
finalty, that the pleasure it afforded was a sovereign
remedy against all mental uneasiness ; in which
latter sentiment he is seconded by a modern author
of celebrity, who says that " the chase fortifies the
heart as well as the body." Nor is Xenophon
the only eminent soldier or philosopher of his re-
nowned country who has written in commendation
of hunting. Aristotle wrote a treatise on field-
sports, by order of Alexander the Great ; and Poly-
bius, one of the greatest soldiers of any age, relates
that Maxim us restored discipline in the Roman
legions, by often exercising them in hunting ; and
he even goes so far as to celebrate one individual
sportsman, Ptolemy Epiphanes, for his dexterity
in killing a wild bull. Amongst the poets of
Greece, Oppian distinguished himself highly by
his poems on hunting. So excellent, indeed, were
they considered by his emperor, that he is said to
have presented him with a piece of gold for every
verse they contained, and thus they acquired the
honourable appellation of "the golden verses of

374 HUNTING.

Oppian." Several of the most splendid similes of
Homer are taken from hounds in chase ; and it is
in the manly character of Achilles that we chiefly
recognise him as his hero.

The Romans at one time discouraged hunting
amongst the upper orders of society, from the fear
of its becoming a passion which might divert them
from their essential duties. But here they com-
mitted an error ; for, aware of its beneficial effects
in forming their people for war, they substituted
public exhibitions of animals destroying each other
in an amphitheatre, which could only have harden-
ed the heart, without advantage to either body or
mind. Yet we find many of their emperors en-
couraging hunting, and many of their best writers
extolling it. The learned and polished Hadrian was
so passionately addicted to hunting, and also to
horses and dogs, that he erected monuments to the
memory of the latter, and built a city on the spot
on which he had killed a w41d boar, after a desperate
encounter with him, and which he called by a word
which, being interpreted, signifies " Hadrian's
chase."*"* Amono^st the celebrated writers of the
Augustan age, we may mention two, who, not
being themselves sportsmen, could only have made
sporting a subject for their pens, from a sense of
the benefits arising from it. Virgil makes his
young Ascanius a sportsman as soon as he is able
to sit his horse ; and he also makes him, at a very
early age, the first in the fight {primum bello,) as
he had been the first in the field. In the speech
addressed to him by the bold Numanus, which cost

A THEME OF THE ABLEST WRITERS. 875

that hero his life, we have the finest contrast of the
evils of effeminate habits with the benefits of manly
pursuits, that the pen of a satirist could produce.
The words, 0 verw Phrygioe^ neque enim Phryges !
" Oh, worse than women in the shape of men,^'
convey the severest rebuke a nation could receive
for having made themselves contemptible to their
enemies, by the effects of an effeminate life, and
pursuits unworthy of men ; whereas the advantages
of the manly exercises of youth are finely set forth
in the vaunting exclamation of this hardy Rutulian.
Neither is Horace behind his contemporary poet in
his disgust of an effeminate youth. In the twenty-
fourth ode of his third book, he beautifully con-
trasts those softening pleasures which emasculate
the mind and enervate the body, with the opposite
effects of manly sports and exercises ; and, in his
justly celebrated Epistle to Lollius, he recommends
the chase, not only as a noble exercise, but as con-
tributing to health and peace of mind. His (7«r-
me?i Swculare was also written in honour of manly
exercises ; and in another of his odes we find him
upbraiding a young Roman for giving up the manly
exercise of riding ; and glancing at the destruction
of Troy, and the feminine education of Achilles,
seeming to insinuate, that effeminacy was likely to
destroy the energies of his own countrymen, as it
had those of others. That his apprehensions were
not unfounded, a few centuries proved ; for the
Romans, after the conquest of Persia and other
distant kingdoms, participating in their luxurious
habits, became as easy a prey to the Goths and

376 HUNTING.

Vandals, as the Grecians and other nations had
before been to themselves ; and, in the decline of
the Republic, the few victories which they gained
were achieved but by the terror of their name.
Minor poets have also made sporting their theme.
Gratius wrote a poem on coursing. He was con-
temporary with Ovid, and a sportsman, as the
knowledge of his subject denotes. Nemesianus also,
three centuries afterwards, wrote some poems on
hunting, though they have not been so highly es-
teemed. But the sports of the field are alluded to
by innumerable classic writers, and made the ground-
work of their most beautiful allegories and fables,
both in verse and prose ; and perhaps, after all, the
greatest compliment that can be paid to them, as
well as the best answer to the assertion that any
man can make a sportsman, is to be found in the
last-named department of literature. We allude
to the letters of that accomplished country gentle-
man and scholar, Pliny the consul, in which he
speaks of his prowess in the chase. In one ad-
dressed to Tacitus the historian, boasting of a fa-
mous day's sport he had been enjoying, he also
boasts of the good effect it had had on his mind,
telling him that Minerva accompanied Diana on
the hills ; and in the eighteenth letter of the fifth
book he goes a point beyond this : — " As for my-
self,'' says he to his friend Macer, " I am employed
at my Tuscan villa in hunting and studying, some-
times alternately, and sometimes both together ;
hut I am not yet able to determine in which of those
pursuits it is most difficult to succeed.''''

A THEME OF THE ABLEST WRITERS. 377

It is not surprising that hunting should have
been the theme of poets, as poetry then ceases to
be the language of fiction ; neither can the subject
itself be deemed unpoetical, as it affords an oppor-
tunity to expatiate, not merely on the beauties,
but also on the endowments of nature. That the
feelings of nature have more of rapture in them
than those which are excited through the medium
of science, is a fact which cannot, we think, be de-
nied ; and thus do we account for the exhilarating
passion of the chase. To describe a chase, however,
is a task of no small dijfficulty, and perhaps more
so in prose than in verse, as the imagination must
be powerfully excited by the transporting scenes on
which it has dwelt, and cannot well be restrained
in a mere recital of facts. When the noise of the
battle is over, powerful must be the pen that could
revive the clang of arms. " The chase is done,''
sings Ossian ; '' and nothing is heard on Ardven
but the torrent's roar."

Somerville's poem of The Chase will live to the
end of time ; for although it was not faultless in
the eyes of the perhaps too rigid Johnson, it is
written with the spirit and fire his subject de-
manded ; and many of the instructions it conveys,
when stripped of their poetical dress, are highly
esteemed by sportsmen of the present day. " Man-
ners," says Lord Kames, " are never painted to the
life by any one to vv^hom they are not familiar ;"
neither could a man have written the poem we speak
of unless he had been himself a sportsman. In-
deed his descriptions of hunting the hare, the stag,
2i

378 HUNTING.

and the fox, place the objects clearly and beaiiti-
fully before our eyes, and show that the poet had
often witnessed with rapture the scenes to which
he devoted his muse. The following passage, de-
scriptive of the feelings of a master of hounds on a
hunting morning, is not merely truly natural, but
at the same time highly poetical : —

" Hail, gentle dawn ! mild, blushing goddess, hail !
Rejoiced I see thy purple mantle spread
O'er half the skies ; gems pave thy radiant way,
And orient pearls from every shrub depend.
Farewell, Cleora ! here, deep sunk in down,
Slumber secure, with happy dreams amused.

Me other joys in\'ite ;

The horn sonorous calls, the pack awaked

Their matins chant, nor brook my long delay :

My courser hears their voice : — See there ! with ears

And tail erect, neighing, he paws the ground :

Fierce rapture kindles in his redd'ning eyes,

And boils in every vein."

Although hunting songs are a species of ancient
lyrics, of which the specimens are rare, and in our
own country " the songs of the chase"" do not appear
to include any earlier than the middle of the seven-
teenth century, we hav^e some of a more modern
date that have been highly popular with the public,
and no doubt have given the original impulse to
many a good sportsman. The power and force of
national songs have never been disputed in any
age ; and he who said, that if he were allowed to
compose the ballads of a nation, he would soon alter
its form of government, uttered a boast not alto-
gether unfounded in the principles of human nature.
Compositions of this kind, then, that tend to en-
courage a love of manly pursuits and pastimes, and

THE ENGLISH COUXTRY GENTLEMAN. 879

give a relish to a country life, should by no means
be thought lightly of by a people who, like our-
selves, have ever been conspicuous for our excel-
lence in the one, and our fondness for the other ;
but which, in the opinion of some, appear to be on
the wane, as the natural consequence of our pre-
sent state of almost excessive refinement. This
would be a real cause for regret. The fondness for
rural life amongst the higher order of the English
has hitherto had a great and salutary efiect upon
the natural character of their country ; and there
cannot be found a finer race of men than the coun-
try gentlemen of Great Britain. Instead of the
softness and effeminacy which characterise the men
of rank of most other nations, they exhibit a union
of natural elegance and strength, a robustness of
frame and freshness of complexion, which are to be
attributed to their living so much in the open air,
and pursuing so eagerly the invigorating recrea-
tions of a country life. Their hard exercise pro-
duces a healthy tone of mind and spirits, as well as
of body, accompanied with a manliness and sim-
plicity of manners, which even the follies of a town
cannot easily pervert, and can never entirely de-
stroy. Let us, however, hope that the fears on this
head are groundless ; let us hope that what Horace
sighed for, what Cato, Plato, and Cicero recom-
mended, what Bion eulogised, what all the best
poets of antiquity sang the praises of (according to
the poets, the golden age was spent in the country,)
and for which kings and emperors quitted their
thrones, will never be ill suited to, or considered as

380 HUNTING.

beneath the taste of a British country gentleman,
in what circle soever he may move. That the sports
of the field are classical, the authority of all ages
will vouch for ; neither is the man of fashion, or
haut ton^ by any means incompatible with the
country gentleman and sportsman. On the con-
trary, how has the character of Paris been handed
down to us by the poets ? Was he not the finest
gentleman, the greatest favourite of the female sex,
the greatest beau of his day \ Such he is repre-
sented to have been ; but although a prince, he had
been bred a shepherd ; and from the robust habits
he had acquired in his youth, he was the only man
who could stand up against the powerful arm of
Dares, the great champion of his day. What was
the all-accomplished Pliny, or Lollius whose edu-
cation Horace had superintended \

Again ; on the score of health, the chief felicity
of man, were it not for the sports of the field, the
softness and effeminacy of modern manners, in the
higher walks of life, would soon exhibit their per-
nicious effects on forthcoming generations, by de-
priving them of their natural defence against dis-
eases incident to our climate, by subjecting them
to that morbid debility and sensibility of the nerv-
ous system which lay the foundation of most dis-
eases, as also depriving them of the courage to sup-
port them. And who enjoys the blessing of health
equally with the country gentleman and sports-
man ? Somerville says,

" In vain malignant steams and winter fogs
Load the dull air, and hover round cur coasts :

BENEFICIAL INFLUENCE ON HEALTH. HSl

The huntsman, ever gay, robust, and bold.

Defies tlie noocious vapour, and confides

In this delightful exercise to raise

His drooping head, and cheer his heart with joy."

Certain is it, the rough sports of the country have
been known not only to cure diseases of long stand-
ing in the human frame ; but the exercise of hunt-
ing, with the temperance it enjoins^ absolutely steels
the constitution, as the poet expresses himself,
against the attacks of the most common of the dis-
eases peculiar to this variable climate. Its effect on
the mind, which he also alludes to, is of no less
value ; for, from the very exhilarating nature of
the amusement, it relieves it from dwelling upon
its anxieties, from which few persons are free ; and
it is one of the best cures for the heartache, or any
of those shocks which our flesh is heir to : —

" Dona cano di\-um, l(Btas venantihus aiies,
Aiaspicio, Diana, tuo,"

sang the poet Gratius ; and Horace's description of
a sportsman's return to his family, after the toils
and perils of the day, is a true picture of a country
life, replete with every possible enjoyment.

Objections have been made to encouraging youth
in a love of our national lield-sports, on the score
of their engrossing too much of their time and at-
tention, to the neglect of more necessary attain-
ments. '' It is true," says a Roman historian,
" the masters in every branch of learning, whom
the accomplished father of Commodus provided for
his son, were heard with inattention and disgust ;
whilst the lessons of the Parthian, or the Moor, in

382 HUNTING.

the arts of the javelin and the bow, could not be
too often repeated.'' But where is the pursuit that
may not be carried to excess I and yet without zeal
no person ever succeeded in field-sports of any kind,
much less in hunting. '' Whatever thy hand find-
eth to do, do it with all thy might," said Solomon ;
and had not Providence implanted this zeal in
man's nature, man never would have been what he
now is, but, comparatively, a useless being. Objec-
tions are again made, that the sports of the field,
hunting animals with dogs especially, are cruel ;
but the charge, if proved, does not altogether lie
against man. The beasts and birds of the field
have been given to him, as well as the way to pro-
cure them pointed out to him ; or wherefore the
almost unsearchable faculties of the dog? Some
persons, however, have thought otherwise : — " Is it
a labour worthy of man," says a very celebrated
English writer, " to watch from day to day, from
night to night, the haunts of our fellow animals,
that we may destroy them ? To triumph over a
poor mangled hare or hind, after we have harassed
them up and down the country for many hours to-
ijether with an armv of doo;s and men 2 Is it an
exercise becoming the majesty of a rational spirit
to run yawling with a parcel of hounds, perhaps a
whole day together, after some timorous animal V
In answer to this it may be urged, that we knew
no other method of availing ourselves of them when
first they were given for our use ; and it may be
strongly urged, that the destruction of wild animals
was never so speedily, and therefore humanely

ALLEGED CRUELTY OF FIELD SPORTS. 383

accomplished, as it is at the present day. A cen-
tury or two ago, the fox lingered all night in a
trap, and then was subjected to a lingering, if not
an agonizing death. He is now killed by hounds,
ojenerally in a short time, if he cannot escape from
what may be deemed his lawful pursuers. The
buck in the forest of the king, or in the park of the
nobleman, is now no longer hunted down by the
slow but sure blood-hound, a race nearly extinct,
but the unerring eye of the rifle-shot seals his doom
on the spot. We agree with the poet, that

" Poor is the triumph o'er the timid hare ;"

but she was given for our use, and must be taken,
as Esau took the venison, by hunting her; and here
likewise is an improvement. A hundred years
back she was trailed up to her form, the operation
perhaps of an hour, with the terror-striking notes
of the hounds all that time in her ear ; and then
pursued for at least two hours more by animals with
not half her speed, but with a power of following
her by the foot, which it was nearly impossible to
evade. At the present day she is whipped out of
her form, twenty minutes generally deciding her
fate ; and, in consequence of her being now pursued
in the forenoon, instead of, as before, just on her
return from her walk, she escapes oftener than she
is killed. Animals destined to fall bv the o:un are
now nearly certain of meeting with instant death.
In addition to the increased skill of our marksmen,
the improved formation of the gun enables it to
carry destruction with a much surer hand, owing

884 HUNTING.

to the force and precision with which it carries its
shot. Thus, if the game be stricken, it is stricken
to instant death, not wounded and mangled by
weak, scattered shot. Another consideration pre-
sents itself in the discussion of this subject. Life
is said to be " sweet ;" but strip it of intellectual
enjoyment, and its sweetness is very considerably
abated. And we will go one step farther. The
natural death of wild animals must generally be
lingering, and often painful in the extreme ; they
have no relief to fly to, but perish as it were by
inches. This being admitted, perhaps the hand
that instantly deprives them of life may be deemed
the hand of a friend.

An old English writer on field-sports thus forci-
bly, though somewhat boldly, expresses himself on
the alleged cruelty of hunting the hare to death.
•' What can be a more convincing proof of God's
infinite wisdom, or even of his indulgence to the
sons of men, than the formation of this animal (the
hare,) which naturally flies from creatures she never
beheld in her life, makes use of the most refined
politics to escape their pursuits (although she can-
not foresee whether they are the efiects of love or
anger,) and yet is forced to leave behind her such
particles of matter as betray her flight I Again, of
how nice and curious a contexture must be the in-
numerable pores or pipes of the dog's nostrils, which
serve as so many sheaths, or canals, to convey the
said particles to the brains of the hounds, there to
animate and put in motion every limb, joint, and
muscle of their bodies. How excellent was the

ALLEGED CRUELTY OF FIELD SPORTS. 385

Hand that furnished these creatures with such
tuneful notes to assemble their fellows, and give
tidings to their masters, with such an amazing art
to unravel the various windings of the fugitive,
with so relentless fury to pursue her to the death."
But our sensibilities towards the sufferings of
animals are limited, not only in wisdom, but in
mercy (for, increase our sensibilities, and who could
live ?) and let us not charge a sportsman with
cruelty because he is the destroyer of that part of
the brute creation which was evidently intended
should be destroyed by some one. Sportsmen have
existed, and must for ever exist, from necessity.
They have extirpated some animals, and culled out
such as are serviceable to man, and submit to his
will and government. Those that will submit are
his friends, those that will not are his foes ; and so
it w^as intended to be since the charge was given to
Adam, and the subsequent commission to Noah.
The sports of the field, indeed, as now followed, are
generally allowed to have a tendency to improve
and promote a free and generous conduct, as well
as that manly spirit which is the very reverse of
cruelty ; and, in the harmless exercise of our ima-
gination, looking at that law of nature which en-
joins the destruction of one animal for the good of
another, so far from passing a hard sentence on the
sportsman, we think with the poet, that

" His life is pure, who wears no fouler stain !"

No great satisfaction would arise from a refer-
ence to the practices of the ancients in the field.
2k

386 HUNTING.

who, it appears from Virgil, hunted any thing,
from the wild ass to the stag ; but, we have reason
to believe, without much system, as far as their
dogs had to do with it. We conceive the ancient
Germans and Gauls to have been the best early
sportsmen upon system ; and the ancient Britons,
who came originally from Gaul, and, according to
Caesar and Tacitus, were one of the widely-extended
Celtic tribes, introduced or rather brought with
them from Gaul, that ardent passion for the chase
for which Great Britain has ever since been re-
markable. The Anglo-Norman and early English
monarchs likewise all appear to have had a passion
for the chase ; and although a code of laws relative
to hunting was formed by one of the Welsh princes
in the twelfth century, containing a list of animals,
climbing ones, for example, which does not accord
with the present idea of hunting^ we hear nothing
of fox-hounds per se, till we find them in the kennel
of Edward I., and an item in his wardrobe book of
<£21, 6s. as the annual expenses of his pack, con-
sisting of six couples. Soon after this period, at
all events in the course of the next king's reign, the
diversion of hunting in England may be said to
have been first reduced to something like a science
— treatises having been written on the subject for
the instruction of young sportsmen, as well as rules
laid down for the observation and conduct of those
who filled the various offices, in the forest, the
kennel, and the stable. One of the most curious
of these performances is a manuscript written in
the beginning of the fourteenth century, in Nor-

EARLY HUNTING IN ENGLAND. 387

man French, by William Twice, huntsman to Ed-
ward II., an ancient translation of which occurs
amongst the Cottonian manuscripts. In it are
enumerated and described the different beasts that
were then objects of the chase in England ; and, in
the manner of a dialogue, the huntsman is informed
how he should blow his horn at the different points
of a chase. But the generally rude system of
hunting in the earlier days of England had pre-
viously been in some measure improved and amend-
ed by William the Conqueror, of whom Somerville
thus writes : —

" Victorious William to more decent rules
Subdued our Saxon fathers ; taught to speak
The proper dialect ; with horn and voice
To cheer the busy hound, whose well-known cry
His Ust'ning peers approve with joint acclaim.
From him successive huntsmen learn'd to join
In bloody social leagues, the multitude
Dispersed ; to size, to sort, their warrior tribes,
To rear, feed, hunt, and discipline the pack."

Edward III. was a great stag-hunter ; and even
at the time he was engaged in war with France,
and resident in that country, he had with him, at-
tached to his army, sixty couples of stag-hounds,
and an equal number of hare-hounds. We also
learn from Froissart, that the Earl of Foix, a fo-
reign nobleman, contemporary with King Edward,
had one hundred and fifty couples of hounds in his
castle. But it does not appear that the fox was
much in esteem for the chase by any of the Anglo-
Norman sportsmen ; for in Twice's Treatise on the
Craft of Hunting, he is classed last of all the beasts

388 HUNTING.

of venery, excepting the martern and the roe ; nor
does Somerville in his poem treat him with the re-
spect that he pays to the stag or the hare. The
first public notice of him occurs in the reign of
Richard II., who gave permission, by charter, to
the Abbot of Peterborough, to hunt him. Hunt-
ing, however, in all its branches, appears to have
advanced steadily till the last century, when it
flourished greatly by the encouragement given to it
by George III. ; and as time improves every art,
it has at length, we believe, attained perfection.

Whatever pastime mankind indulge in, their
first endeavour should be to make themselves ac-
quainted with the best means of pursuing it, which
will greatly increase the pleasure derived from it.
But as the philosopher was laughed at for his ofi'er
of teaching Alexander the Great the art of war, so
the theory of no pastime is worth any thing unless
it be based on practice. And perhaps, of all sports
invented by reason for the use and amusement of
mankind, there is none to which theory would avail
so little as the noble and popular one of hunting.
Indeed, the practical part of hunting, notwithstand-
ing its popularity, is but little known, at least but
little understood, from the perplexing difficulties
that accompany it ; and there is reason to believe
it was still less understood before the appearance of
a work, in which the whole system is minutely and
accurately detailed by an eminent sportsman and
master of fox-hounds, of the early part of the last
century. It is scarcely necessary to observe, that
the work alluded to is "Beckford's Thoughts upon

BOOKS ON HUNTING. 389

Hunting, in a series of familiar Letters to a Friend;^'
of which it has been said, " they are so truly the
effusions of sound judgment, and so replete with
the useful remarks of an experienced sportsman,
that there is no room for any thing new or addi-
tional to be introduced upon the subject."*' It is
true, this has been considered, and will continue to
be considered, as a standard work amongst sports-
men ; but as systems and habits change with time,
and many of both have been materially changed
since Beckford's day, another work on fox-hunting,
also from a practical pen, made its appearance in
1826, and was well received by the sporting world,
viz., " Observations on Fox-Hunting, and the Ma-
nagement of Hounds in the Kennel and the Field,
by Colonel Cook," several years a master of fox-
hounds; hunting various English counties, but
principally the Rodings of Essex, celebrated for the
stoutness of its foxes.

It is only within a very short space of time that
sportsmen have been given to communicate their
thoughts, or the result of their experience in the
field, to the public, unless under fictitious signa-
tures. In proof, however, of the benefit derived
from such contributions to the stock of sporting
science^ if such a term will be allowed ; and like-
wise in confirmation of what has been advanced on
the subject of change of systems and habits that
occurs in the course of time, we will make a few
comments on the practices of one of the most con-
spicuous sportsmen England ever gave birth to, the
celebrated Hugo Meynell, Esq. of Quorndon Hall,

390 HUNTING.

Leicestershire, and made partially known through
the medium of a small pamphlet, entitled " The
Meynellian Science, or Fox-Hunting upon Sys-
tem," by the late John Hawkes, Esq., a personal
friend of Mr. MeynelFs. That Mr. Meynell studied
fox-hunting as a science, we believe no one will
deny ; and that his master-mind was quite equal
to the task he imposed upon himself, is also an ad-
mitted fact ; for he was a man of more than ordin-
ary acuteness, coupled with a close and accurate
observation of every thing that passed under his
eye ; and all this with the benefit of an education
perfected beyond the usual extent of that bestowed
upon, or, perhaps we may say, submitted to, by
young gentlemen of large fortune in his day, hav-
ing studied nearly three years under a private tutor
after he became of age. That he shone beyond all
others who had preceded him, in the breeding and
management of hounds, is a fact universally ad-
mitted, producing, as Mr. Hawkes says of them,
" the steadiest, best, and handsomest pack of fox-
hounds in the kingdom ;"' adding also the emphatic
remark, that his object was to combine strength
with beauty, and steadiness with high mettle. His
idea of perfect shape was, short backs, open bosoms,
straight legs, and compact feet ; and the first quali-
ties of hounds he considered to be fine noses and
stout runners — opinions which all found to hold
good.

But there were peculiarities in Mr. MeynelFs
system of hunting, to which, as detailed by Mr.
Hawkes, we scarcely know how to reconcile our-

MR. MEYNELl''s opinions AND PRACTICE. 391

selves. For example, he tells us that his young-
hounds were broken in to hare in the spring of the
year, " to find out their propensities, which, when
at all flagrant, they early discovered, and he draft-
ed them according to their defects %'' and in the
same page he adds, " after hare-hunting, they
were, the remaining part of summer, daily walked
amongst riot." Now we cannot approve of enter-
ing hounds to an animal they are not intended to
Iiunt, and are at a loss to comprehend what is here
meant by the word '' riot,'' unless it be hares (as
the term generally implies) or deer (which were
never found wild in his country,) whicli they had
been previously instructed to hunt. Their '' pro-
pensities," also, by w^hich is here generally under-
stood their steadiness or unsteadiness, must, under
such circumstances, have been rather difficult to
pronounce an opinion upon, with the exception of
their promising to be true to the line, and not given
to skirt. The goodness or badness of nose could of
course have been discernible when hunting their
own game (the fox,) to which, in our opinion, all
fox-hounds should be entered. Beckford, we re-
inember, speaks of his huntsman letting his puppies
enter to a cat ; but we cannot approve of such a
practice.

Early in the autumn, Mr. Meynell hunted his
woodlands, Charnwood Forest chiefly, with his
whole pack, and then divided them into " the okF'
and '-'• the young pack ;" but, to show the disad-
vantage of this system, Mr. Hawkes says, '' the
young hounds were hunted twice a-week, as much

392 HUNTING.

in woodlands as possible, and in the most unpopular
districts." The present plan of mixing young and
old hounds together is far preferable to this, not
only as they can then take their turn in the good
and popular " districts,'' but, by having the as-
sistance of older hounds in chase, the younger ones
are less likely to do wrong.

Mr. MeynelFs idea of perfection in hounds, in
chase, Mr. Hawkes says, " consisted of their being
true guiders in hard running, and close and patient
hunters in a cold scent, together with stoutness."
Their imperfections, " over-running the scent, and
babbling, were considered their greatest faults."
To all this every sportsman must assent.

The following passage contains perhaps rather
more of enthusiasm than of fact, although a quali-
fication is given to it in the concluding sentence.
" Mr. Meyneirs hounds," says Mr. Hawkes, " were
criticised by himself and his friends in the most
minute manner. Every hound had his peculiar
talents, and was sure to have a fair opportunity of
displaying them (!) Some had the remarkable fa-
culty of finding a fox, which they would do, almost
invariably, notwithstanding twenty or thirty couple
were out in the same covert. Some had the pro-
pensity to hunt the doubles and short turns. Some
were inclined to be hard runners. Some had a re-
markable faculty of hunting the drag of a fox, which
they would do very late in the day. And some-
times the hardest runners were the best hunters ;
and fortunate was the year when such excellences
prevailed."

.MR. MEYNELl's opinions AND PRACTICE. 393

. " Mr. Meynell," continues Mr. Hawkes, '' prided
himself on the steadiness of his hounds, and their
hunting through sheep and hares, which they did
in a very superior manner. He seldom or never
attempted to lift his hounds through sheep ; and
from habit, and the great flocks the hounds were
accustomed to, they carried the scent on most cor-
rectly and expeditiously, much sooner than any
lifting could accomplish." We are far from advo-
cates for lifting hounds when it can be avoided ; .
but knowing the so often insurmountable difficulties
occasioned by flocks of sheep and herds of cattle in
the country Mr. Meynell hunted, in addition to a
crowd of horsemen pressing upon the heels of the
pack, we consider that, if, under such circumstances,
hounds do not almost instantly recover the scent,
the assistance of the huntsman is called for. The
'' steadiness and docility" of Mr. MeynelPs pack,
we have reason to believe, were remarkable, and are
vouched for by other authority than Mr. Hawkes's.
^' A most extraordinary instance of discipline in
hounds," says Colonel Cook (p. 202,) " occurs to
me, which I ought to have mentioned when speak-
ing of that unrivalled sportsman, the late Mr. Mey-
nell. He met in the Market Harborough (Leices-
tershire) country, at a small patch of gorse on the
side of a hill, in a very large pasture field ; the
hounds feathered as they went in, and found in-
stantly. The covert being only about two acres,
and open, Mr. Meynell immediately saw that the
fox was in danger of being chopped ; he therefore
called out to Jack Raven, the liuntsman, ' Jack,

394 HUNTING.

take the hounds away ;' and, at one of his usual
rates^ ev^eiy hound stopped, and the pack were
taken to the hedge side, when Mr. Meynell called
out three steady hounds, and threw them into the
cover. The fox was so lotli to break, that the
three hounds kept hunting him for ten minutes, in
the hearing of all the pack, who lay perfectly quiet
at Raven's horse's feet, till the fox went away over
the finest part of the country ; and the moment
Mr. ^leynell gave his most energetic, thrilling
holloo (Mr. Hawkes speaks of the power of Mr.
MeynelFs cheering holloa, which, he says, ' thrilled
through the heart and nerve of every hearer,')
every hound flew to him ; the burst was the finest
that any sportsman ever beheld, and after an hour
and ten minutes they killed their fox." This is
doubtless an astonishing instance of command of
hounds with a scent before them, particularly so to
those persons w^ho are aware of the generally un-
controllable power of the impulse given to them by
nature at that particular time ; and were it not for
the high reputation of the pack alluded to, we
should, as we cannot doubt the fact, be inclined to
say, it savoured a little of slackness, or, at all
events, of a too severe discipline, bordering upon
the annihilation of the distinguishing natural pro-
perties of the fox-hound, namely, high mettle and
dash.

" Mr. Meynell," adds Mr. Hawkes, " was not
fond of casting hounds ; when once they were laid
upon the line of scent, he left it to them ; he only
encouraged them to take pains, and kept aloof, so

MR. MEYNELl's opinions AND PRACTICE. 395

that the steam of the horses could not interfere
with the scent. It is true, hounds should not be
cast, if they can do the work themselves ; and if
the authority of !Mr. Meynell could restrain a Lei-
cestershire field of horsemen to keep aloof when his
hounds were at check, more time may have been
given them to make their own cast ; but it must
be recollected that, when the hounds are at fault,
the fox is not.'"* Again, " when his hounds came
to a check, every encouragement was given to them
to recover the scent, without the huntsman getting
amongst them, or whippers-in driving them about,
which is the common practice of most packs. The
hounds were holloaed back to the place where they
brought the scent, and encouraged to try round in
their own way, which they generally did success-
fully, avoiding the time lost in the mistaken prac-
tice of castino" hounds at the heels of the huntsman.
^Vhen the hounds were cast, it was in two or three
difterent lots, by Mr. iSIeynell, his huntsman, and
whipper-in ; and not driven together in a body,
like a flock of sheep. They were allowed to spread,
and use their own sagacity, at a very gentle pace ;
and not hurried about in a blustering manner. It
was Mr. MeynelPs opinion, that a great noise, and
scolding of hounds, made them wild. Correcting
them in a quiet way was the most judicious method.
Whippers-in also should turn hounds quietly, and
not call after them in a noisy, disagreeable manner.""
In all the foregoing remarks we coincide with the
opinions of these two celebrated sportsmen. We
think a huntsman should never be nearer than from

396 HUXTIXG.

sixty to a hundred yards of his hounds wlien they
first check ; nor can a whipper-in execute his office
of turning or stopping a hound at this moment too
quietly and discreetly ; but no general line of con-
duct for either the one or the other can be laid
down. Some hounds, and especially if they have
been pressed upon by horsemen, will not turn to
either horn or holloo, without a smack of the whip,
or at all events a rate : nor will the body of the
pack, if a little blown, or excited by a previous
holloa, always try for their fox so well and quickly
as they should do, if left quite to themselves ; or,
as Mr. Hawkes expresses himself, if left to " their
own sagacity." That a great noise makes hounds
wild, no one doubts, and the system of hollooing is
every year on the decrease. As for the division of
the pack into three lots when at fault, that perhaps
oridnated with Mr. Mevnell ; indeed, we believe it
did ; but the practice is now become not uncom-
mon, of its being divided into two, namely, one lot
with the huntsman, and the other with the first
whipper-in.

'' When hounds are going to cry,"'* writes Mr.
Hawkes, " they should be encouraged in a pleasant
way ; not driven and rated, as if discord was a
necessary ingredient in the sport and music of a
fine cry of hounds. Whippers-in are too apt to
think their own importance and consequence con-

* All readers may not know the meaning of the term " going to
cry." It implies one part of the pack who may be trying for the
scent, but have not found it, in the act of joining those who have,
and who are of course giving tongue.

MR. MEYNELl's OPINIOXS AND PRACTICE. 397

sist in shouting, hollooing, and unnecessary acti-
vity. When hounds can hear the cry, they get
together sooner than any whipper-in can drive them.
If any hound is conceited, and disinclined to go to
cry, he should immediately be drafted."

On the subject of blood — that is, killing and eat-
ing foxes — we entirely assent to the following re-
marks : — " Blood was a thing Mr. Meynell was
more indifferent about than most masters of hounds.
The wildest packs of hounds were known to kill
the most foxes in cover, but very seldom showed
goods runs over a country. Hounds chopping foxes
in cover is more a vice than a proof of their being
good cover hounds. Murdering foxes is a most
absurd prodigality. Seasoned foxes are as neces-
sary to sport as experienced hounds.'' Our own
opinion of the value of blood to hounds perfectly
accords with that which, it appears, was enter-
tained by Mr. Meynell ; namely, that it is far
from a sine qua non to the well-doing of fox-hounds,
or any other hounds in chase, as is apparent at
once from the modern system of hunting the stag.
If it be possible, the pack are not permitted to
break his skin, much more to devour him ; still,
despite of the rating and flogging they get to pre-
vent their injuring the object they are pursuing,
they do pursue it to the last with all their might
and main. But let it not be supposed that we set
no value on what may be termed well-carried blood.
On the contrary, we think the flesh and blood of a
fox well found, and handsomely killed, by hounds
in the moments of high excitement, must be very

398 HUNTING.

beneficial to them. But when chopped in a cover,
(generally the effect of accident, and not, as Mr.
Hawkes supposed, of vicious propensity in any in-
dividual hound,) we consider a round of beef would
be a more acceptable present to them ; nor is the
case much altered when a fox is digged out of an
earth, after perhaps an hour's delay. The writer
recollects to have heard Mr. Osbaldeston assert,
that the best week^s sport he ever had in Leicester-
shire when he hunted it, was after his hounds had
been out nine days in succession without tasting a
fox.

" Mr. MeynelFs natural taste,"' continues Mr.
Hawkes, " led him to admire large hounds ; but
his experience convinced him that small ones were
generally the stoutest, soundest, and in every re-
spect the most executive. His hounds had more
good runs than any pack of his day. Two very
extraordinary ones happened of a very rare descrip-
tion. One was a run of one hour and twenty
minutes without a cheeky and killed their fox. The
other was two hours and fifty minutes without a
cast^ and killed ! The hounds in the first run kept
well together, and only two horses performed it ;
the rest of the field were unequal to its fleetness.
The other run alluded to was performed by the
whole of the pack ; and though all were up at the
death, two or three slackened in their pace just at
the last. One horse only went the whole of it."*"*

Mr. Hawkes thus speaks of the necessary quali-
fications of hounds to show sport — "To obtain a
good run, hounds should not only have good abili-

MR. MEYNELl's opinions AND PRACTICE. 399

ties, but they should be experienced, and well
acquainted with each other. To guide a scent well
over a country for a length of time, and through
all the difficulties usually encountered, requires the
best and most experienced abilities. A faulty
hound, or injudicious rider, by one improper step,
may defeat the most promising run." It is evident,
from the above judicious observations, that an old-
established pack of hounds must have great advan-
tages over one of an opposite character, composed
of drafts from various kennels, and, of course, of
various qualities.

We shall finish our extracts from this little
pamphlet, which was merely circulated privately
amongst the author's friends, but valued as from
the pen of so eminent a sportsman as the late Mr.
Hawkes proved himself to be, both in the field and
on the race-course — where he shone conspicuously
as one of the best gentlemen-jockies of his day —
with his judicious remark on the conduct of sports-
men who follow hounds. " Gentlemen, and every
person who makes hunting his pursuit," says he,
'' should learn to ride judiciously to hounds. It is
a contemplative amusement ; and much good diver-
sion might be promoted by a few regular precau-
tions. The principal thing to attend to is, not to
ride too near the hounds, and always as much as
possible anticipate a check. By which means the
leading men will pull their horses up in time, and
afford the hounds fair opportunity to keep the line
of scent unbroken. Sheep, cattle, teams at plough,

400 HUNTING.

and arable land, are all causes of checks. Thought-
less sportmen are apt to press too much on hounds,
particularly down a road. Every one should con-
sider that every check operates against the hounds,
and that scent is of a fleeting nature, soon lost,
never again to be recovered.'"*

The following is the concluding paragraph, afford-
ing a good specimen of the writer's enthusiastic
love of fox-hunting, as also of a cultivated mind : —
" Fox-hunting,'' he asserts, " is a manly and fine
exercise, affording health to the body, and matter
and food for a contemplative mind. In no situa-
tion are the faculties of man more displayed. For-
titude, good sense, and collectiveness of mind, have
a wide field for exercise ; and a sensible sportsman
would be a respectable character in any situation
in life. The field is a most agreeable coffee-house,
and there is more real society to be met with there
than in any other situation of life. It links all
classes together, from the peer to the peasant. It
is the Englishman's peculiar privilege. It is not
to be found in any other part of the Globe, but in
England's true land of liberty ; and may it flourish
to the end of time ! "

There is perhaps no part of the material of fox-
hunting more interesting than the management of
hounds in the kennel, which, we do not hesitate in
saying, presents one of the most curious scenes that
are anywhere displayed in the whole circle of the
transactions of mankind with the inferior animal
creation. To see sixty couples of those animals, all

KENNEL MANAGEMENT.

401

hungry as tigers, standing aloof in their yard (as is
the practice in some kennels,) and, without even
hearing, much less feeling, the whip, not daring to
move until the order is given to them to move.
And what is the order given I why, at the words,
••Come over, Bitches,''' or,'' Come over, Dops,'" every
hound of each individual sex comes forward, as the
sex it belongs to may be called for, leaving those
of the other sex in their places. Then the act of
drawing them to the feeding troughs is an exceed-
ingly interesting sight. Often, with the door wide
open, and the savoury meat in their view, the
huntsman has no use for his whip, having nothing
to do but to call each hound by his name, which
of course he readily answers to. The expression
of countenance, too, at this time, is well worthy ot
notice ; and that of earnest solicitation, of entreaty,
we might almost say of importunity, cannot be
more forcibly displayed than in the face of a hungry
hound awaiting his turn to be drawn. He appears
absolutely to watch the lips of the huntsman, anti-
cipating his own name. A view of a pack of fox-
hounds likewise in their lodging-rooms is a most
asfreeable sio:ht to those who love to see animals in
a high state of enjoyment, which no doubt hounds
are, when reposing on their well littered-down
benches after a hard day's work, and with their
bellies well filled. They absolutely appear to feel
for each other's comforts, in placing themselves
in situations that enable their fellow-creatures to
repose parts of their bodies upon their own, to
2 L

402

HUNTING.

render their position for sleep and rest more agree-
able to them.

■'.»i"v,'iH""ii i*,' ii i . f

The system of fox-hunting has been much
changed since that sport commenced. Almost all
foxes were once found by the drag, and the first
challenge was loudly cheered in days when the
game was scarce. A long drag, however, although
a great test of nose^ is by no means desirable, as, if
it happens to be down wind, the fox takes the hint,
and is off long before the hounds can hunt up to his
kennel. It was nevertheless a fine feature in the
sport, as the gradual increase of cry, the cheering
holloos of the sportsmen, and the crash when the
fox was unkennelled, contributed greatly to ennoble
the scene, and created, as it were, two climaxes in
a chase, when it ended in blood. But another dis-
advantage attended it. Hounds could not be de-

MODERN PRACTICE. 403

pended upon, taking the average of scent, to hunt
a drag that had become cold ; so they were obliged
to be out very early in the morning, which was not
only disagreeable, as encroaching upon the sports-
man's rest, but was coupled with the disadvantage,
at all events with the risk, of finding a gorged fox,
too full to run far, much less to run fast. The
modern system does not require the drag, as wood-
land covers are comparatively small to what they
used to be ; gorse covers made for the purpose of
holding foxes are easily accessible to hounds accus-
tomed to draw them ; and the game is in most coun-
tries so plentiful, that if a fox be not found in one
cover, he is almost certain to be found in another,
and that not far off. The consequence is, no more
time is now lost in drawing two or three gorse co-
vers, than the drag of one fox formerly occupied ;
neither did that always lead to a find. Moreover,
at the present hour of finding, there is but little
chance of unkennelling a heavily gorged fox.

It is asserted, that what are called woodland
foxes are stouter runners than those bred in the
artificial gorse and other covers, and there is good
reason to believe they are so. But the great objec-
tion to large woodlands is the uncertainty of getting
a run, from the difficulty of making foxes break
from them, as they naturally hang to places which
appear to afford them security ; and it often happens
that hounds, and the horses of the servants, have
done a fair day's work before the run begins. On
the other hand, we admit that a fox found in a wood
of considerable extent is more likely to show a de-

404 HUNTING.

cidedly good day's sport, than one found in an arti-
ficial cover, and for this reason : he slips away un-
perceived, eight times out of ten, and consequently
has time to look about him, and make his points,
ere the chase commences ; whereas, a fox viewed
away from a small gorse cover, within sight of a
hundred or two of horsemen, is bullied, frightened,
and soon blown, which occasions him to run short ;
and, of course, if the scent serves, and the hounds
are good, he cannot live long, half an hour being as
much as can be calculated upon under such circum-
stances. Gorse covers, however, if not too small
— not under three or four acres — are indispensable
in a hunting country, as foxes are very fond of them
for their security against anything but fox-hounds;
and another great advantage attending them is,
that they can be placed wherever it may be thought
desirable to place them.

The making of gorse covers requires no small
attention, we had nearly said skill. The ground is
all the better for being trenched to the depth of
from a foot to a foot and a half, and it should be
made as clean and in as good condition as if it were
to be the seed-bed of turnips. The seed should be
minutely examined, as it often fails from having
lost its germinating properties ; and it should be
drilled in the ground, and hoed, after the manner
of a turnip crop. By keeping it clean by the hoe,
it will, if the seed be good, and the land dry^ often
hold a fox in the second year, and will seldom fail
in the third. Some writers. Colonel Cook among
the number, speak of broom being sown amongst

COVERS. 405

gorse. This should never be, as all huntsmen who
draw, or run through, broom covers, can vouch for
their being decidedly inimical to scent. A novel
description of fox-cover came into fashion a few
years back in Leicestershire, but is not highly ap-
proved of, from the difficulty hounds experience in
drawing it. Strong black thorn stakes are driven
into the ground endways, at a small distance apart,
and the rank grass and weeds growing rapidly over,
and entwining with them, form a strong cover the
first year ; and it is found proof against a fall of
snow, which gorse covers are not, and are often for-
saken by foxes on that account. All artificially-
made covers should be not nearer than half a mile
at the least to any house or village ; and if on a
gently sloping bank, facing the south, foxes will
like them better.

Some sportsmen object to many rides being cut
through woodland covers, as they are so often the
cause of foxes being headed by the horsemen. The
objection in part holds good ; but a certain number
of rides are necessary in all large covers, to enable
the servants to get near their hounds, who might
otherwise be disposed to run riot, as they soon dis-
cover when they are out of the reach of either rate
or whip. Woodlands, with rides in them, are es-
sential to the making of young hounds in all coun-
tries ; and the finest in England are those of the
Duke of Buccleuch, near Keltering in Northamp-
tonshire, within the limits of the Pytchley Hunt,
with rides, or, speaking more properly, avenues in
them, to the extent of upwards of fifty miles.

406 HUNTING.

When speaking of the disadvantages of large
woods, in which foxes are apt to hang or dwell,
Colonel Cook recommends killing a fox, and letting
the hounds eat him, in the middle of them ; which
we believe will generally have the desired effect.
On the other hand, should a fox be killed in a small
cover, he should, if possible, be carried out of it
before the hounds break him up, for reasons which
are obvious from the foregoing remark.

The arrangement of earths, and the stopping of
them, are matters of no small importance in a hunt-
ing country. Artificial ones are sometimes made,
but they are reckoned unhealthy for foxes ; and
the best are those made by badgers, which can al-
ways be commanded at pleasure, by turning out
those animals in pairs. On the proper and careful
stopping of earths every thing depends ; for nothing
can be more annoying to sportsmen than to have
their fox get to ground, just as the hounds have
well settled to the scent of him, with every prospect
of a run. There are various methods of stopping
earths, but none more secure than by a bunch of
gorse, or furze, crammed well into the mouth of
them, with the stalks pushed inwards. When
earths are only slightly stopped, a fox will scratch
his way into them ; and as this very often happens,
it shows the necessity of a careful and experienced
earth-stopper ; and we agree with Colonel Cook in
thinking it better to pay for each day's stopping,
rather than annually in the lump, reserving the
power to withhold payment in case of evident
neglect. The expense of earth-stopping varies ac-

EARTH-STOPPING. 407

cording to the nature of the soil, covers, &c. ; but
in certain countries it amounts to as much as df*200
per annum. It may also surprise some persons to
liear, that the rent paid for artificial covers, that is,
for the land on which they are made, in one hunt
alone, in Leicestershire, (the Quorn,) amounts to
upwards of ^£^700 per annum.

A new system of earth-stopping is recommended
in a work, called '' The Diary of a Huntsraan,''^ by
Thomas Smith, Esq., who formerly hunted the
Hambledon (Hants) and Craven (Berks) countries,
published 1838. His directions on the subject are
thus given : —

" In the beginning of October, the head whipper-
in went round to every earth-stopper, taking with
him each day some matches, prepared in the follow-
ing manner : first melt some brimstone, and then
lay it with a brush over a sheet of brown paper ;
when dry, cut it in pieces an inch wide and six
inches long ; then take a sufficient number round
to each earth-stopper, to place one in every hole of
each earth, by first splitting the end of a stick, and
sticking in one of the strips or matches — the other
end to be stuck into the ground, and set fire to the
match. Or take round a pot of gas-tar, and rub
some against the sides of the earth within. Three
days after this has been done, the same whipper-in
should go round to every earth-stopper again, and
see that he stops up every earth in the following
manner : First, make a fagot of sticks the size of
each hole, which should be thrust in, then drive a
stake through it ; after which, with a spade, cover

408 HUNTING.

the whole over with earth. The reason why this
last operation is not done at first is, that in conse-
quence of the fox-earth being smoked with brim-
stone, a fox may, if in, not come out the first night;
but by waiting three days he will by that time find
his way out, and consequently, the earth may be
stopped without fear of stopping him in. After this
is done, the earth-stoppers are to understand that
the earths are to be kept stopt the whole winter,
until they have orders to open them in the spring,
for the vixens to lay up their cubs in — to be open-
ed the last week in February."

" The advantages gained by this plan," says Mr.
Smith, " are so numerous, that it has always ap-
peared most strange that it has not been known to
have ever been adopted by any other master of
hounds. He (Mr. Smith) will have no difficulty
in proving, that it is a certain way to get better
runs, because they are straighter, as the foxes do
not run the rings they used to do — in trying every
earth in the country where they are found — as they
have already discovered that they are all blocked
up, and therefore often go straight away. But.
according to the old plan of merely stopping the
earths in a certain quarter of the country, the day
it is hunted, when a straight good run does hap-
pen, and the hounds deserve their fox, he goes to
ground beyond the distance stopt for the day." In
the next place, continues Mr. Smith, stopping at
once for the season " is the best preventive against
blank days, for, as before stated, many foxes nearly
alwavs lay under ground, in bad weather particu-
larly."

EXPENSE OF A PACK OF FOX-HOUNDS. 409

There can be no objection to this plan of having
earths stopped at once for the first five months of
the hunting season, provided it do not interfere
with the vixens laying up their cubs, — in forward
seasons especially.

The following calculations of the expenses of a
pack of fox-hounds, varying, of course, with the
extent of them, are given by Colonel Cook, and
admitted to be very near the mark ; making allow-
ance for the diJBTerence in the price of markets at
the time he made them, and at others.

For hounds hunting twice a week : —

Six horses, including groom and helpers, . . . £300

Hounds' food, for 25 couples, 150

Firing, 30

Taxes, 80

Whipper-in and feeder, 140

Earth-stopping, 50

Saddlerj-, 40

Farriery, shoeing, medicine, &c., 50

Young hounds purchased, and expenses at walks, . . 60

Casualties, 100

£1000
A second whipper-in, and two horses in addition, . . 170

£1170
Expenses for three times a week : —

Twelve horses, groom, helpers, &c., .... £600

Food for forty couples of hounds, 220

Firing, 40

Taxes, 100

Two whippers-in and feeder, 210

Earth-stopping, 65

Saddlery, 80

Farriery, shoeing, &c., 80

Young hounds purchased, and expenses at walks, . . 80

Casualties, 150

£1625

9

M

410 HUNTING.

Expenses for four times a week : —

Fourteen horses, &c., . . . . . . . £700

Hounds' food for fifty couples, 275

Firing, 50

Taxes, 120

Two whippers-in and feeder, 210

Earth-stopping, 80

Saddlery, 100

Farriery, shoeing, &c., 100

Expenses of greyhounds purchased, and at walks, . . 100

Casualties, 200

£1935

" If you do not attend to the kennel department
yourself,*" adds the Colonel, " but keep a huntsman,
the expense will be at least ^^^SOO more.''

The only remark we have to offer on the forego-
ins: calculations is, that the author does not allow
a sufficient number of hounds for the several days'
]mnting in the week. For example, we venture to
say, that no country could be hunted four times a
week with fifty couples of hounds ; at all events,
fifty couples of hounds equal to that work are very
rarely to be found. We agree with the writer,
that either four times a week, or even twice, are
preferable to three, for keeping hounds in regular
work, when sound. But on the subject of expenses
we have a word or two more to say. Knowing, as
we do, that they generally, we believe we may add
always, exceed the calculations made by Colonel
Cook, and in some instances by double, we consider
it rather inconceivable that, in the present depressed
state of land property, either noblemen or private
gentlemen should of tliemselves be expected or per-
mitted to bear all the charge of hunting a country.

EXPENSE OF A PACK OF FOX-HOUNDS. 41 i

knowing, as we do, the great sacrifices of property
and income that have already been made to a per-
severance in keeping fox-hounds, unassisted by a
subscription. But this cannot go on much longer ;
nor indeed is it, with some exceptions, fit that it
should ; and, in support of our assertions, we will
quote the sentiments of a writer on this subject,
admirably well expressed, in a late number of the
New Sporting Magazine.*

After hinting at the probable decline, from this
cause alone, of a sport which Mr. Burke described
as " one of the balances of the constitution," he
thus proceeds : — " As to the total abolition of the
sport, we anticipate no such event. It is the fa-
vourite sport of Englishmen ; and that which a
man likes best he will relinquish last. Still, with
the exception of countries that boast their Cleve-
lands, their Yarboroughs and Suttons, their Graf-
tons, Beauforts, Rutlands, Fitzwilliams, Segraves,
Middletons (his lordship is since dead,) and Hare-
woods — their great and sporting noblemen, in fact
— we feel assured that, unless something be speedily
arranged, half the packs in England must either be
curtailed of their fair proportion of sport, or abo-
lished altogether. This is not as it should be. Men
are as fond of hunting, at least of riding to hounds,
as ever ; but though we feel that we may be telling
a disagreeable truth to many, the fact is, that most
men want to hunt for nothing. The day for this,
however, is fast drawing to a close. The breed of
country gentlemen who keep hounds — the Ralph

* No. xxxiv., vol. vi.

412 HUNTING.

Lambtons, the Farquharsons, the Assheton Smiths,
the Villebois and Osbaldestons — are fast disap-
pearing, in all probability never to be renewed.
True that it is a fine, a proud sight, to see an
English country gentleman spending his income on
his native soil, and affording happiness and amuse-
ment to his neighbours, receiving their respect and
esteem in return ; but we cannot help feeling, that
unless a man has one of those overwhelming incomes
that are more frequently read of than enjoyed, it
is hardly fair that the expenses of a sport which
affords health and recreation to hundreds should
fall upon his individual shoulders. Heirs at law
will not be hindered by the remoteness of relation-
ship from impugning the conduct of their ancestors ;
nor will it be any consolation to a son, on coming
into possession of an overburdened estate, to know-
that the difficulties which oppress him were incur-
red for the purpose of keeping a pack of fox-hounds,
by which his father afforded amusement to the
country." It may here be not unappropriately
added, that at the time the above was written
(February 1884,) three of the best hunting coun-
tries in England were vacant, viz., the Quorndon
in Leicestershire, the Pytchley in Northampton-
shire, and the Oakley in Bedfordshire.

Fox-hunting is a sort of prescriptive right, which
England has claimed from a very early period ;
and, more than this, it has long been considered
that the common law allowed persons to enter the
lands of another in pursuit of a fox, the destruction
of which was presumed to be a public benefit. This

VARIOUS CLASSES OF HUNTING. 41.3

opinion was founded on the celebrated case Grundy
v. Feltham (1, Term. Beports, p. 884) ; but in that
of Earl of Essex v. Capel, Summer Assizes^ 1809,
the legality of hunting foxes over the land of an-
other is rendered very questionable. This being
the case, it is a great compliment to the sport, as
no doubt injury of land to a certain amount, though
small, is occasioned by it, that it is permitted to
the extent to which we see it, in every county in
Great Britain ; and that an action of trespass is an
unusual occurrence, must be considered as still
more creditable to the yeomanry and tenantry who
live by the occupation of land. On the other hand,
however, it must be remembered, that the produce
of land is very considerably enhanced by the great
demand, as well as extra prices given, for hay, corn,
and straw, as likewise by the encouragement to
breeding horses ; and that, wherever there is a
colony of fox-hunters, it is accompanied by a great
influx of money, which is expended in the imme-
diate neighbourhood. In that of Melton Mowbray,
6^100,000 annually is the computed amount.

There were formerly three established classes of
hunting in Great Britain, each of which had advo-
cates, as it may have been suitable to situation,
fortune, time of life, &c. ; and although the strug-
gle for superiority has ended in favour of that of
the fox, we 'have reason to believe, that since what
are termed '^ packs of hounds'''' have been establish-
ed, hunting the stag or buck claims precedence of
the hare ; the hare of the fox ; the otter, perhaps,

414 HUNTING.

of all. We will then offer a few more remarks
upon them, as we have ranked them here.

Since the staof has ceased to be drawn for, and
found in his native majesty, and hunted as a wild
animal, " stag hunting" has lost all its interest
with the sportsman ; and when we say that the
chase of no other animal is, after all, from first to
last, so full of interest as that of the stag, the
sportsman has some cause for regret. But wild-
stao- huntins: could not have remained one of the
popular diversions of Great Britain, for two suffi-
cient reasons. First, from the country being so
generally cleared of wood, there would have been a
great scarcity of game ; and, secondly, from the
circumstance of the stag being, by his nature, unfit
to be hunted during some of the months that sports-
men like to be in the field. The act of harbouring
the deer, however, must be considered as amongst
the very highest branches of the sportsman's art,
and one which none but a w^ell-practised sportsman
could perform. Neither was the hunting to death
of the wild stag by any means so easy a task as
might be supposed from the bulk of the animal,
which it must be proportionally difficult for him to
conceal. On the contrary, like the harts of Mean-
dros, flying from the terrible cry of Diana's hounds,
the " wise hart,'' or cerf sage as he is termed in
ancient hunting, knows how to foil hounds perhaps
as well as, or better than, most other wild animals,
and is allowed to consult the wind in his course
more than anv of them. It is also said of him.

STAG-HUNTING. 41.")

that lie will, when pursued, rouse other deer from
their lair, to induce the hounds to run counter, or
change ; and his device of taking soil, with nothins:
but the nose to be seen above the water : runnino-
down a stream, and seeking for a hard and dry
road when pressed ; are facts too well established
to require comment. But, after all, the subtilty of
man in harbouring a deer, and knowing beforehand
its age, sex, and size, by the slot and other dis-
tinguishing marks which it leaves behind it as it
traverses its native forests, is more conspicuously
displayed than in any other department of the
chase, and is a most satisfactory illustration of
" the dominion given to man over every living
thing that moveth upon the earth. "" We shall then
dismiss this part of our subject with the remark,
that although, properly speaking, the diversion of
hunting the stag is totally extinct in Great Britain,
we can vouch practically for the fact, that there is
not a nobler sight in nature than that of a full-
headed stag, roused from his lair by hounds, and
majestically trotting before them, snuffing the air
as he goes, and appearing to care little for his pur-
suers, from confidence in his natural powers. That
these powers are great, all modern stag-hunters are
satisfied of; and those of endurance, when chased,
are allegorized in the fable of the Msenalsean stag,
the running down of which is said to have occupied
Hercules for a year, and was in consequence counted
amongst the labours of that hero. That deer are
superiorly winded animals, is apparent by the im-
mense height they can leap, just before they die

416 HUNTING.

from bodily exhaustion ; and it may be accounted
for by their being furnished with two spiracles, or
breathing places, one at the corner of each eye.
Oppian, the Greek poet, must have supposed, by
the following line, that they had/b^^r,

which was a mistake of the sporting bard; and
some writers have made Aristotle say, that goats
breathed at their ears, whereas he directly asserts
the contrary. The classic writers, however, as well
as our own poets, have taken some of their most
beautiful similes from the chase of the deer. For
examples — VirgiFs comparing the flight of Turnus
to a stag trying to escape from the toils ; and the
death of the favourite hind by the hand of the
young lulus, a master-piece of pastoral poetry.
But the death of the stag has been a favourite
theme of our own poets ; and both Shakspeare and
Thomson have been equally happy in their de-
scription of the last moments of the antlered mo-
narch of the forest, the latter particularly :

" He stands at bay,
And puts his last weak refuge in despair.
The big round tears run down his dappled face :
He groans in anguish ; whilst the growling pack,
Blood-happy, hang at his fair jutting chest,
And mark his beauteous chequer'd sides with gore."

The following account of hunting the wild stag
in Devonshire, but now nowhere to be seen in Eng-
land, is from one of Nimrod's Tours, in 1824 : —
" The amusement of stag-hunting appears to be of
ancient date in the county of Devon. For many

STAG-HUNTING. 4 I 7

years previous to 1775, the North Devon stag-
hounds were kept in a style almost amounting to
magnificent, by the then Sir Thomas Acland,
Bart., when Colonel Basset took them and kept
them to the year 1784. At that period the late
Sir Thomas Acland became master of them, and
kept them to the year 1793, when Colonel Basset
took them again, at his own expense, and hunted
them to the year 1801 inclusive; when ill health
obliging him to part with them, he gave away all
but six couples and a half to Lord Sondes. In

1802, Lord Fortescue revived them, by receiving
from Colonel Basset the six couples and a half he
had reserved, and kept them for that year. In

1803, they were first kept by subscription by Mr.
Worth, who continued at the head of them till
1810. In 1811, Lord Graves became master of
them, also by subscription ; but in the spring of
1812, Lord Fortescue determined upon keeping
them at his own expense, which he did for seven
years, when they were once more established by
subscription ; and since the year 1819 have been
managed by Mr. Lucas, who still continues at their
head."

The next year after Nimrod visited them, they
were given up ; but we give the extracts from his
account of two days' diversion with these hounds,
on each of which they found a " warrantable'' deer.
Speaking of the first, he says, " When we arrived
within half a mile of the covert in which a stag
was harboured, the hounds, till then in couples,
were put into a stable, when the celebrated Joe

418 HUNTIXG.

Faulknor, one of the whippers-in, was despatched
with two couples of old hounds, for the purpose of
rousing the game. One of these, a hound called
Leader, was shown to me as a sample of a perfect
stag-hound ; and they were both said to be so
steady, and to know a rate so well,- that they will
stop if a wrong (not a warrantable) deer be found,
and will draw again. It was some time after Joe
had got his tufters into covert before we heard any
thing but an accidental note from his melodious
pipe, which is certainly pitched in the right key.
During this interval of suspense, for, as the poet
sings,

" The blood more stirs
To rouse a lion than to start a hare,"

a farmer rode up with a piece of a stick in his
hand, which was cut to the size of a slot he had
found in a neighbouring wood. On my measuring
it by my hand, I found it to be four inches in
length, which, exceeding the usual length, showed
it to be the slot of an old and very large stag.''
He then proceeds to relate that the harboured stag
was roused, but afforded very little sport, on ac-
count of the extreme badness of the weather, and
total want of scent. Of the find on the second day
he thus speaks : — " The stag lay ' close couched,'
or he must have been found before. We stood on
an eminence which overhung the covert, and there-
fore could command a view of it. A long silence
had prevailed, and we began to wonder what had
become of Joe and his tufters, when all on a sud-

STAG-HUXTING. 419

den a holloo was heard, and a hound threw his
tongue :

" The deep-mouth'd blood-hound's heavy bay
Resounded up the rocky way ;
And faint, from further distance borne,
Were heard the clanging hoof and horn."

The rouse, it seems, had taken place in a small
covert, a short distance below us, and we could see
a stag of noble size, with branching antlers, trotting
majestically along in a small opening between two
woods, apparently paying little attention to the old
hounds behind him. Indeed, at one time, so far
from verifying the words of a poet, that pedibus
timor addidit alas^ he very coolly broke into a walk,
as much as to say, ' I value you not ; " but the
staunch old tufters getting nearer to his haunches,
obliged him to quicken his pace ; and, to the great
joy of all present, he put his head straight for a
moor twelve miles across/' But this is a subject
for poetry ; and it is impossible to read even the
foregoing short account of rousing the deer with
hounds, without calling to our recollection the
beautiful lines of the Scottish bard in the Lady of
the Lake^ so strictly true to nature : —

" The antler'd monarch of the waste

Spi'ang from his heathery couch in haste ;

But ere his fleet career he took,

The dew-drops from his flanks he shook ;

Like crested leader proud and high,

Toss'd his beam'd frontlet to the sky ;

A moment gazed adown the dale,

A moment snuff' d the tainted gale ;

A moment listen'd to the cry,

That thickened as the chase drew nigh ;

420 HUNTING.

Then, as the headmost foes appear'd,
With one brave bound the copse he clear'd,
And stretching forward free and far,
Sought the wild heaths of Uam-Var."

Nimrod relates a few incidents connected with
this day's sport, peculiar to hunting the deer. " I
had," says he, " in this run, an opportunity of
witnessing a circumstance peculiar to stag-hunting,
and that is, hunting in water. Our deer beat down
a river for about half a mile, the hounds following
him by scent, which we might wonder how they
could avail themselves of in so chilling an element
as a rapidly-flowing stream. This, I think, may
be called one of the master-pieces of natural in-
stinct." Again, " Our stag once sank in Brem-
ridge Wood, when he was fresh found ; and the
crash of those deep-tongued hounds at the time
was very fine indeed. I was in hopes we should
have viewed him in Castle Hill Park, but we were
just too late. On breaking out of the park, he took
a ring through some of the neighbouring coverts ;
when skirting it again, he returned to the place
where he was found, and was killed at Bragford, a
short distance beyond. He was once what is called
' set up' in the water, where he sank ; but breaking
out again, he was pulled down by the pack ; and
when one of the field went up to him to cut his
throat, his eye was glazed. He was as fine a stag
as ever was seen. He had brow, bay, tray, three
on top, on one horn, and two on the other ; and
the weight of his haunch was thirty-nine poundsy
Nimrod laments the want of the French horns that
once formed part of this establishment, but which,

SPORTING TECHNOLOGY. 421

some time before his visiting it, were done away
with. The recheat and the mort were wanting to
make the thing complete.

A kind of technological dictionary is required to
almost all sports of flood and field. Of the techni-
cal terms in deer-hunting Nimrod thus speaks : —
" What we fox-hunters call the ball or pad of a
fox on foot, stasr-hunters term the ' slot.' We dras
up to a fox ; they draw on the slot, or walk up a
deer. We find or unkennel a fox ; they rouse or
unharbour a deer. A fox runs up and down a
cover ; a deer beats up or down a covert, or a
stream. With us, a fox is headed (turned back, or
driven from his point;) with them, a deer is
blanched. We say, a fox stops or hangs in a cover,
in a run ; they say, their game sinks. We re-
cover our fox ; they fresh-find their deer. We run
into (kill) our fox ; they set up the deer. The fox
is worried ; the deer is broken up. The fox goes a
clicketting ; the deer goes to rut. The fox barks ;
the stag bellows. The billiting (excrement) of the
one is termed the feument or feumishing of the
other. The brush of the fox is the single of the
deer. The mask of the fox is the snout or nose of
the deer. The view, the foil, the tally-ho, and
who- whoop, are common, I believe, to all ; but cur-
rant jelly and sweet sauce are not in the fox-hun-
ter's vocabulary."" " There are some expressions
here,"" continues Nimrod, " which require farther
explanation than I am able to afford them ; and it
is almost presumptuous in me, without any assist-

422 HUNTING.

auce at hand, to attempt giving an opinion on the
subject. The word ' harbour," however, is one of
common acceptation, and implies a place of refuge.
To unharbour a deer has long since been settled by
Pliny : ' Excutere feram cubili. The expression is
clear, and falls smoothly on the ear. Not so with
' taking soil ;' it savours of filth, and is only appli-
cable, in this sense, to a hog delighting, in the
summer months, to wallow in mud or dirty water,
previously to going to his bed. To ' beat up and
down' is only another way of expressing to run to
and fro, and is found in Terence, in the word
cursito. The deer being ' set up,' can only be in
allusion to his having his throat cut ; for Cicero
speaks of a man being ' set up' to have that pleasant
operation performed : — ' In cervicibus imponere do-
minum." The stag roused from his lair has cer-
tainly a great superiority over unkennelling the
fox. The latter is tame and puny, whereas the
former is bold and classical, and quite in association
with the wildness of the forest, of Avhich this ani-
mal is the monarch. The lair is but another word
for the den ; as we read in VirgiFs celebrated con-
trast of a town and country life, in which he so
beautifully describes the manly pursuits of the lat-
ter; and likewise in the hunting scene with Dido
and ^neas. The word feument I never heard
before, but conclude it is derived from the Greek
word ^ug^a, recrementumr

The following is Nimrod's description of a full-
headed deer : — '' A perfect head, I find, consists of

THE STAg''s powers OF ENDURANCE. 423

brow, bay, tray, and three on top of each horn ;
but some have brow, bay, tray, and five on each
horn, though these are rare."

Of the powers of endurance of a deer before
hounds, as also of his subtilty in foiling them, the
same writer thus speaks : — '' When we reflect on
the powers of a stag, and look at his qualities for
speed, we cannot be surprised that, when not over-
laden with flesh, or a ' heavy deer," as he is then
called in Devonshire, he should aftord some extra-
ordinary chases. The following well-authenticated
facts will speak to their powers of locomotion : —
' When Sir Thomas Acland kept the hounds, a
farmer in the neighbourhood of Holnicote House
saw a stag one evening in his fields, with a particu-
lar spot on his side. The next morning he met
this same stag running in great distress, with the
hounds close at his haunches, and he soon after-
wards sank before them. On his asking Sir Thomas
where he had found him, he learned that it was
twenty-five miles, as the crow flies, from the place
where he was killed. He must therefore have tra-
velled that distance in the course of the previous
night.'" Again, on the power of leaping which
we have already noticed, and particularly in allu-
sion to their wind, when otherwise much distressed,
we find the following remark : — " On my return
from hunting on the preceding Tuesday's hunting,"
says Nimrod, " I was shown a leap in Lord For-
tescue's park, which a hind had taken last season
before this pack, after a long run, and not ten
minutes before she sank before them. What makes

424 HUNTING.

it more extraordinary is, that, on being paunched,
a calf was taken from her almost able to stand.
The fence was a stone wall, with a rail on the top
of it, not to be broken ; and your readers may
judge of its height from the following statement,
having had no other means of measuring it : My
own height is five feet nine inches ; the horse I
rode is fifteen hands two inches high ; the top of
the fence was upwards of two feet above the crown
of my hat as I sat on my horse ; and it was up a
steep bank that she approached it. The stag we
ran went up to this fence, but did not attempt to
leap it."

We now dismiss the subject of stag-hunting
with the remark, that although, from the adverse
circumstances attending it in a country like Great
Britain, so generally free from large tracts of wood-
lands, which the red-deer delights in, and also so
much intersected with streams, real stag-hunting
can never be again reckoned amongst the popular
diversions in England, a good substitute for it is
found in the turning out deer before fox-hounds in
the neighbourhood of the metropolis, which has the
advantage of afibrding a certainty of something in
the shape of a run, and frequently very long ones,
to persons whose time is precious, as well as the
opportunity of, in a great measure, selecting the
country best suited to the habits and propensities
of the game. There are a number of stag-hunting
establishments in England, and there has been a
royal establishment of this nature throughout seve-
ral successive reigns. In that of George III., stag-

MASTER OF BUCK-HOUNDS.

42i

hunting was in high repute amongst the nobiUty
and gentry forming the court, as well as of others
residing in its neighbourhood, and of his Majesty
himself especially. Mr. Beckford said little about
it, because he knew little : the reason he himself
gives ; but the following expression in his book
relating to it made a deep impression on fox-hun-
ters, who reluctantly acknowledge its truth. " Could
a fox-hound," says Mr. Beckford, " distinguish a
hunted fox, as the deer-hound does the deer that is
blown, fox-hunting would be complete."

There does not appear to be an authentic ac-
count of the origin of our royal stag-hunt. In
Davis's Hunter's Annual — a splendid work, pub-
lished a few years back by Mr. Davis, animal
painter to her Majesty, and brother to the present
accomplished huntsman to the Koyal Buck-hounds
— we read as follows : —

" The office of Master of the Buck-hounds ap-
pears to have been always considered a dignity of
a very high order, and established at a very early
period. We find, in the reign of Edward II., that
William Twici was grand huntsman ; he was the
author of a treatise on hunting, which is probably
the oldest MS. that treats of the chase in England.
The office seems to have been hereditary, for in the
reisfn of Richard II. Sir Bernard Brocas, Bart, of
Beaurepaire,* Hants, became Master of the Buck-
hounds in right of his wife Mary, daughter and

* The writer of these pages resided nine years at Beaurepaire,
previously to his retiring to France. He rented it from the present
Bernard Brocas, Esq., who now occupies the house.

426

HUNTING.

heiress of Sir John de Roche, of Roche Court,
Fareham, Hants, Master of the Buck-hounds to
the King. From him it descended, through four
generations, to Sir W. Brocas, who was mas-
ter in the reign of Henry VI. He died without
male issue, and the office passed to Sir Richard
Pecksall, in right of his wife Edith, daughter of
Sir William Brocas. On the death of his son, Sir
Ralph, who died without male issue, it again re-
turned into the family of Brocas, by the marriage
of Sir Thomas Brocas with Ann, daughter of Sir
Ralph Pecksall, by his second wife. The office con-
tinued in the family of Brocas till the year 1630,
when the office seems to have become extinct. At
the Restoration, the Royal establishment was re-
established, and soon flourished exceedingly."

" Since the year 1782, the office of Master of the
Buck-hounds has been successively held by Lord
Bateman, the Earl of Jersey, Lord Hinchinbroke,
afterwards Earl of Sandwich, Earl of Albemarle,
Marquis Cornwallis, Lord Maryborough, Earl
Litchfield, Earl of Chesterfield, the Earl of Errol,
Lord Kinnaird, and, at the present time, by the
Earl of Rosslyn.

" Of the changes,'' says Mr. Davis, " that the
hound has undergone from its primitive state up
to the present style of fox-hound, we have but little
record. Up to the reign of Elizabeth, the gre-
hunde, or a style of dogs somewhat resembling the
deer-hound that is still found occasionally in the
halls of the Scottish nobility, was principally used
in hunting deer At the end of the seven-

MASTER OF BUCK-HOUNDS. 427

teentli century, we find a nearer approach to the
tbx-hound. In a portrait of the Duke of Mon-
mouth, the natural son of Charles II., there is a
part of a hound introduced, which, both in colour
and make, bears the strongest resemblance to the
stag-hound of the last century. That the hound
of those days was stout in the field, we have sin-
gular proof, in the record of a chase preserved at
Thorndon, in Essex, the seat of Lord Petre. This
account was given by Mr. Robert Nunn, the hunts-
man, and dated August, 1684."' After describing
the immense space of country over which the deer
ran, having been turned out at Swinley, in Wind-
sor Forest, and taken in Lord Petre's Park at
Thorndon, the account thus proceeds : — " The
Duke of York, who rid the whole chase, (said to
be 70 miles,) with five persons more, was in at the
death ; his Royal Highness dined at the Lord
Petre's, and lay there that night ; the next morn-
ing he returned, and, when he came to Court, re-
lated all that was done to the King.'"

" The buck-hound, in the days of George III.,"
continues Mr. Davis, " was tall, loose, and ill put
together, with a well-formed head and large ears,
not rounded ; its colour was a yellow pie, more in
spots than is usual in hounds. Its pace for half
an hour was very fast ; after the first stop there
was little difficulty in keeping with them."'

" The hunting establishment of the olden time
was maintained in great state and magnificence.
In the yeoman-prickers of later days some remains
of it might be traced. They were originally men

428 HUNTING.

of substance, living in the neighbourhood ; they
found their own hunters, and were expected to at-
tend only on hunting days, the senior yeoman-
pricker acting as huntsman, when occasion required.
In the reign of George III., the royal establish-
ment consisted of a huntsman, a whipper-in, and

six yeomen-prickers His Majesty was

an ardent lover of the sport ; he would frequently
ride ten miles to the place of meeting, and after a
run of two or three hours, ride back again to the
castle."

"In 1813 his Grace the Duke of Richmond
presented the Goodwood pack of fox-hounds to his
late Majesty George IV., then Prince Regent.
The whole system now underwent a change, and,
to keep pace with the times, it was found necessary
to re-model the establishment. Accordingly, the
yeomen-prickers were pensioned off, and were re-
placed by three effective whippers-in."

Thus far Mr. Davis ; and the following particu-
lars from another pen may be relied upon : — " Al-
though there is no authentic account of the origin
of the Royal Hunt, history hands it down pretty
clearly from the Conqueror, the Henrys, &c. For
instance, Henry VIII. dined with the Abbot of
Reading, ' after hunting the stag,' which proved a
sorry visit for the sleek old boy. Elizabeth hunted
in the forest. The Charleses, and James the Se-
cond, when Duke of York, did the same — the latter
having seen the celebrated run with a deer turned
out at Swinley, in the said forest, and taken in
Lord Petrels park in Essex, having traversed up-

MASTER OF BUCK-HOUNDS. 429

wards of fourteen parishes. Anne frequently rode
from London to Crouch Oak, near Addlestone,
Surrey, and the Five Elms, near Virginia Water,
to meet her buck-hounds. The oak is still stand-
ing, but the elms were cut down in 1815, under an
enclosure act.

" In 1 790, Lord Bateman was made master of the
buck-hounds, and soon after was succeeded by Lord
Sandwich ; and in 1806, Lord Albemarle was ap-
pointed, but remained in office only eleven months.
The King then said, the master should in future
enjoy the office for his life, and appointed Lord
Cornwallis. His Lordship dying in 1823, Lord
Maryborough was appointed master, and the fol-
lowing noblemen in succession to his Lordship. In
1830, Lord Litchfield ; in 1834, Lord Chesterfield ;
in 1835, Lord Errol ; in 1839, Lord Kinnaird; in
1841, Lord Rosslyn.

" In the reign of Anne, the huntsman's name
was Nunn, who died in 1761. He was succeeded
by William Ives ; William Ives by William Ken-
nedy ; William Kennedy by David Johnson ;
David Johnson by George Sharpe, in 1812, and in
1824 George Sharpe was succeeded by Charles
Davis, who commenced his services in the royal
hunting establishment in 1801 as whipper-in to
the harriers first, and to the stag-hounds after-
wards, and has given unbounded satisfaction in
every department of his important and arduous
duties.

" The royal paddocks contain, at the commence-
ment of the hunting season, from sixteen to twenty

430

IirXTIXG.

brace of deer, about eight or ten brace of which
are annually killed in chase. The present average
time of their running before hounds is one hour
and a quarter, whilst that under the old system
was two hours, the difference being attributable to
the present style of hound, which is the highly
bred fox-hound, in the first instance ; and in the
next, to the act of formerly stopping the pack for
the king to get up to them, as well as to the
wretched condition they were generally in, com-
pared wdth that of the present pack ; in great mea-
sure, the result of an unhealthy kennel."

'' The old style of stag-hound — in the time of
George the Third — was exactly that of the North
Devon stag-hound, their colour being chiefly yel-
low and white combined."'

Since Greorge the Third, we have seen no sove-
reign in the habit of attending the royal buck-
hounds in the field. His Majesty w^as an ardent
lover of the sport, and only discontinued it in 1806,
when the infirmities of age pressed upon him. The
writer of these pages was three times in the field
with him ; and on one occasion, witnessed an ex-
traordinary run, the deer being uncarted at Stoke
Park, near Slough, and taken in Cashiobury Park,
near Watford, Herts. His Royal Highness the
Duke of Cambridge rode the whole of the run with
the hounds ; and the good old king came up, about
an hour after the deer had taken soil, the pace
having been too quick for him, as the hounds were
only once stopped. Having refreshed themselves
at the hall, his Majesty and the Duke, in one hack-

THK ROE-BUCK. 4ol

chaise and four, and Lord Sandwich and General
Gvvynne, in another, the royal party returned to
Windsor, highly delighted at the cheering events
of the day.

In St. Edmund's Chapel, Westminster Abbey,
is the following epitaph : —

" To the memory of Sir Richard Pecksall,
Knight, Master of the Buck-hounds to Queen
Elizabeth. First married to Alianer, the daughter
of William Pawlett, Marquis of Winchester, by
wdiom he had four daughters ; and afterwards to
Alianer, daughter to John Ootgrave, who erected
this monument to his memory. ""

On the basis of the pillars are four Latin verses,
thus translated, —

" Death can't disjoin whom Christ hath join'd in love ;
Life leads to death, and death to life above.
In heaven 's a happier place ; frail things despise ;
Live well to gain, in future life, the prize."

The roe-buck has partaken of the same respite
from the chase as the wild red-deer, although by
the old law\s of the forest he was not considered as
venison until hunted ; and, according to Caesar,
the Britons did not eat this animal at all. The
fact is, the roe-buck runs so short, after the first
ring, that he is said to hunt the hounds, instead of
the hounds hunting him ; an artifice by which he
hopes to elude his pursuers, as, of course, it must
produce a confusion of scents. Neither does his
cunning end here. When closely pursued in a
thick wood, he will bound to one side of a path by
a sudden spring, and, lying close down upon liis

432 . HUNTING.

belly, permit the hounds to pass by him without
offering to stir. But the beauty of form and ele-
gance of motion of the " favourite roe," which
Solomon has made an emblem of connubial attach-
ment, ought to protect it from the chase, although
they do not appear to have done so in the country
in which Solomon wrote, as he recommends to the
man who has engaged to be surety for his neigh-
bour, to deliver himself " as a roe from the hand of
the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the
fowler."*"* There has been only one pack of roe-buck
hounds kept in Great Britain, and that was by a
gentleman of the name of Pleydell, of Whatcombe
House, near Blandford, Dorsetshire, lately decea-
sed, in whose covers these animals abounded, as
they also do in various parts of Scotland.

Otter Hunting. — Hunting the otter was a sport
much thought of in England, and is of very early
date, chiefly perhaps for the great value formerly
set on fresh-water fish, previously to that of the sea
being so generally available throughout the country
as it has been within the last hundred years, and
continues to be still more so. The system of hunt-
ing the otter is this : The sportsmen go on each
side of the river, beating the banks and sedges with
the hounds. If there be an otter near, his " seal"
(foot) is soon traced on the shore; and, when found,
he is attacked by the sportsmen with spears, when
he "vents,"*"* that is, comes to the surface of the
water to breathe. If he be not soon found by the
river side, it is conjectured he is gone to " couch"*"*

OTTER-HUNTING. 433

inland, for he will occasionally go some distance
from his river to feed. He is traced by the foot,
as the deer is ; and when found, and wounded in
the water, he makes directly for the shore, where
he maintains an obstinate defence. He bites most
severely, and does not readily quit his hold ; on
the contrary, if he seizes a dog in the water, he
will dive with him to the bottom of the river, and
will never yield to him whilst he has life. This
sport is still pursued in the few fenny and watery
districts that now remain in England, and has for
a long time been confined principally to those parts
where, from local circumstances, the other more
noble and exhilarating distinctions of the chase
cannot be conveniently enjoyed. An attempt, how-
ever, was recently made to revive it, by a celebrated
Oxfordshire sportsman, Mr. Peyton, only son of
Sir Henry Peyton, Bart., of which attempt we
subjoin an account, extracted from the Oxford
Journal. By this, two facts are established ; the
one, that otter-hunting, spiritedly pursued, is not a
tame diversion ; and the other, that the charge
against this animal of destroying young lambs and
poultry, is not altogether unfounded.

'' We have great pleasure in informing our
readers, that a novelty in the sporting world, as
far as relates to this county, has recently been in-
troduced by that ardent and indefatigable sports-
man, Mr. Henry Peyton, namely, a pack of those
rare animals, otter-hounds, with which he hunts
the country in the neiglibourhood of Bicester ; so
that these midnight marauders and inveterate ene-
2o

434 HUNTING.

mies of the finny tribe, which are numerous in the
Chervvell, and streams near Eousham and North
Aston, will not repose as heretofore in uninter-
rupted security. Mr. Peyton hunts the pack him-
self, assisted by a very powerful auxiliary in the
person of Viscount Chetwynd. These gentlemen
start with their otter spears ere the day breaks,
and at half-past five in the morning they may be
seen two or three times a-week wending their way
on foot along the banks of the river, in pursuit of
the ' furry varmint.' The pack has had some very
excellent runs, one of which continued a distance of
twenty-five miles, having been found in the river
Cherwell, near to Flights Mill, and hunted through
all the turnings of that serpentine stream to his
lodgings at Watereaton, where he took refuge
amongst the old willows, and succeeded in baffling
his pursuers ; subsequently to which a capital da3^'s
sport was afi"orded at North Aston. The hounds
found near the mill, and went away in the direction
of Nell Bridge ; but twisting into the Adderbury
Brook, after a chase of about eight miles, he was
come up with, when some hard fighting occurred,
in which a small terrier, bred by Mr. Pe}i:on,
greatly signalized himself, being much punished,
as indeed were all the hounds, from the determined
ferocity of the otter, which was ultimately speared
by Mr. Peyton. It turned out to be a fine bitch
otter, weighing upwards of twenty pounds, and,
from the appearance of the dugs, it was conjectured
that some of her family were in the vicinity, and
consequently the hounds were again laid on, and

OTTER-HUNTIXG. 435

finally succeeded in killing four fine cubs, weighing
on the average eleven pounds each. The farmers
of the neighbourhood who were up at the death
were quite overjoyed, and nothing would satisfy
them but the immediate cutting up of one of the
cubs ' a la reynard," and a distribution of the pads,
head, and body, amongst them. It is said that
these amphibious fish-merchants, when sufi'ering
hunger by reason of a scarcity of fish, will boldly
in the season carry away young lambs ; so that
the farmers, independently of their stream being
pilfered of fish, often sustain a more substantial
injury, and therefore are much gratified at the op-
portunity now afforded of in some degree thinning
the numbers of these voracious gluttons."

The otter-hound is not a distinct kind of hound,
the strong rough-haired harrier answering the pur-
pose best, provided he will hunt a low scent, as the
game shows no small sagacity, as well as circum-
spection, in guarding against assault from man or
dog. In 1796, on the river Worse, near Bridge-
north, Shropshire, four otters were killed, one of
which stood three, another four hours, before the
hounds ; and in 1804 the otter-hounds of Mr. Cole-
man of Leominster, Herefordshire, killed an otter
in a mill-pond, which is said to have weighed
thirty-four pounds and a half; supposed to have
been eight years old, and to have consumed a ton
of fish or flesh annually, for the last five years. It
will be observed, in the list of hounds published
annually in the New Sporting Magazine, that there

436 HUNTING.

are three more packs kept in England for the pur-
pose of hunting the otter.

Hare-Hunting. — Hare-hunting claims prece-
dence of fox-hunting in the sporting chronology of
Great Britain, and we believe of all other countries,
inasmuch as a hare has always been esteemed ex-
cellent eatino'. and a fox the rankest of carrion.
We gather from Xenophon that it was practised
before his day, and he wrote fully upon it above
three centuries before Christ, both hounds and nets
being then used in the pursuit. Neither can we
marvel at hare-huntino* beinoj the favourite diver-
sion in all nations given to sporting, where the use
of the horse in the field had not become common^
But we will go a point farther than this, and as-
sert, that how inferior soever may be the estima-
tion in which hunting the hare is held in compari-
son with hunting the fox, no animal of the chase
affords so much true hunting as she does, which
was the opinion of the renowned Mr. Beckford.

In our description of the modern harrier (see
page 858,) we have termed him the fox-hound in
miniature ; and we may apply the simile to hare-
hunting, which now, as long as the chase lasts,
o-reatly resembles fox-hunting, only on a minor
scale. In the modern system, there is no tracking
to the seat with the one, any more than dragging
up to the kennel with the other ; but both animals
are now chiefly stumbled upon by accident, and
instantly fly for their lives. With the system of

HAKE-HUNTING. 437

hunting also has the kind of hound been altered ;
there being now no longer occasion for that nice
distinction of scent which was wanting to be a
match for the windings and doublings a hare was
able to make in her course when hunted by the
slow and fastidious southern hound, and which was
essential to the finding her at all, in countries
where hares were scarce, by the perplexing means
of a very cold trail. In fact, we do not think we
can better elucidate the gradual but great change
that has taken place in this highly popular and
ancient British diversion, than by the following
extracts from a very old work upon sporting, called
the GentlemavCs Recreation^ published nearly two
centuries back.

" Your large, tall, and big hounds," says the
author, " called and known by the name of the
deep-mouthed or southern-mouthed hounds, are
heavy and slow, and fit for woodlands and hilly
countreys ; they are of deep mouths, and swift
spenders ; they are generally higher behind than
before, with thick and short legs, and are generally
great of body and head, and are most proper for
such as delight to follow them on foot, as stop-
hunting^ as some call it ; but by most it is termed
' hunting under the pole \ that is, they are brought
to that exactness of command, that, in their hottest
scent and fullest chase, if one but step before them,
or hollow, or but hold up or throw before them the
hunting pole, they will stop at an instant, and hunt
in full cry after you at your own pace, until you
give them encouragement by the word of com-

438 HUXTING.

mand ; which much adds to the length of the sport
and pleasure of the hunters, so that a course oft-
times lasts five or six hours.

" Opposite to the deep-mouthed or southern
hound are the long and slender hounds called the
fleet or northern hound, which are very swift, as
not being of so heavy a body, nor hath such large
ears : these will exercise your horses, and try their
strength ; they are proper for open, level, and
champain countreys, where they may run in view
and full speed ; for they hunt more by the eye than
the nose, and will run down the game in an hour,
and sometimes in less — that is, a hare — but the
fox will exercise them better and longer.

" Between these two extremes, there are a middle
sort of dogs, which partake of both their qualities,
as to strength and swiftness, in a reasonable pro-
portion ; they are generally bred by crossing the
strains, and are excellent in such countreys as are
mixt, viz., some mountains, some enclosures, some
plains, and some wood-lands ; for they will run
through thick and thin ; neither need you help
them over hedges, as you are often forced to do by
others.

'' A true right-shaped deep-mouthed hound
should have a round thick head, wide nostrils,
open and rising upwards, his ears large and thin,
hanging lower than his chaps ; the flews of his
upper lips should be longer than those of his nether
chaps ; the chine of his back great and thick,
straight and strong, and rather bending out than
inclinins: in ; his thighs well trussed ; his haunches

HARE-HUNTING. 439

large ; his fillets round and large ; his tail or stern
strong set on, waxing taperwise towards the top ;
his hair under his belly rough and long ; his legs
large and lean ; his feet dry and hard, with strong
claws and high knuckles. In the whole, he ought
to be of so just a symmetry, that when he stands
level you may not discern which is highest, his fore
or hinder parts.

" For the northern or fleet hound, his head and
nose ought to be slenderer and longer, his back
broad, his belly gaunt, his joynts long, and his ears
thicker and shorter ; in a word, he is in all parts
slighter made, and framed after the mould of a
greyhound.

" By crossing these breeds as aforesaid, you may
bring your kenel to such a composure as you think
fit, every man's fancy being to be preferred ; and
you know the old saying.

' So many men, so many minds,
So many hounds, so many kinds.

In proof of our assertion, that there is more of
true hunting with harriers than with any other
description of hounds, we shall point out a few of
the difficulties which they have to overcome. In
the first place, a hare, when found, generally des-
cribes a circle in her course, which is in itself not
only more difficult to follow, but it naturally brings
her upon her foil, which is the greatest trial for
hounds. Secondly, the scent of the hare is weaker
than that of any other animal we hunt ; and,
unlike some, it is always the worse the nearer

440 HUNTING.

she is to her end; which accounts for its being
better, and lasting longer, when going to her seat
than when running. There is scarcely any scent
from a hare until she is in motion; therefore hounds
constantly draw over her ; and, of course, accord-
ing to the length of time she has been gone to her
seat after feeding, will be the difficulty of hunting
her by the trail. In fact, at the most distant part
of her previous night or morning's walk, the most
tender-nosed hound in a pack will be scarcely able
to own the scent at all. But the grand puzzler of
all is, when hounds get upon the counter trail
about the middle of a hare's work, and the scent
lies so equal that it is most difficult to distinguish
heel from chase. No such difficulty as this can
occur in any other description of hunting, and can
only be obviated by the skill and experience of the
huntsman in his notice of tlie working of his
hounds. But although this difficulty is alluded to
by almost all writers on the chase, we know not
where to look for directions to the huntsman at the
critical moment. It is true, Mr. Daniel, in his
Rural Sports, says, '' To find out this, see if your
hounds challenge counter ; if they double, and carry
it on counter, they will soon signify their error by
opening singly."" We conceive there is some rea-
son in this remark, but it Avill not always avail.
Hounds, harriers in particular, are fond of a scent ;
and if they cannot carry it forward, they will turn
and hunt it heel ; and here it is that the judgment
of a huntsman turns to account. One with a keen
eye, and a perfect knoidedge of his hounds, may be

HARE-HUNTING. 441

able to unravel tins mystery perhaps six times out
of ten ; but it is in no man's power to be sure of
doing it. His chief guide is in the cry of his pack
at this time, which will slacken instead of getting
fuller if the scent be heel, as the experience of old
hounds adds to their natural instinct the faculty
of judging whether it is leading them to their game
or from it.

The great perfection of modern harriers is the
head they carry over a country, the result of the
pains now taking in breeding them of the same size
and character ; whereas, upon the old system, which
was all for the pot^ the chief dependence was upon
a few couples out of the whole pack, the rest being
wheresoever they liked or were able to be in the
chase. On the other hand, it may be said modern
harriers have not the nose and patience of the old
sort, which perhaps they have not ; but what they
may lose in those respects, they more than gain in
another, viz., by being nearer to their game in
chase, and, by pressing her, not allowing her to
make more than half the work she was able to do
when pursued by slow hounds. In fact, the want
of speed, and tedious exactness of the southern
hound, rendered the warmest scent, after a short
time, cold ; which may be proved from the fact of
an hour being the average time of killing a hare,
in former days, with a good scent, and from three
to four with what is called a '' fair,"" a " holding,"
or a " half scent."" For our own part, speaking as
fox-hunters, yet abandoning all prejudices against
a sport it is too much the fashion to hold cheap,

442 HUNTING.

we consider that, to any man who is a real lover of
hunting^ that is, of seeing hounds do their work,
and do that work well, a twenty minutes burst over
a good country, with a well-bred pack of harriers
of the present stamp and fashion, affords a high
treat. To see them to advantage, however, it should
be over a country in which the fields are large, and
the fences stone walls, like those of Oxfordshire or
Gloucestershire ; for harriers, being for the most
part obliged to meuse, strong hedges prevent their
carrying a head in chase, which is the chief beauty
in all hunting.

Somerville has these appropriate lines on the
adaptation of hounds to their game : —

" A different hound for every chase
Select with judgment ; nor the timorous hare
O'ermatch'd, destroy ; but leave that vile offence
To the mean, murderous, coursing crew, intent on blood and
spoil."

Harriers should not be too large, certainly not more
than eighteen inches high, or, by their speed, and,
if good withal, they will much overmatch their
game ; but in a good and open country there should
never be less than from eighteen to twenty couples
in the field. A strong pack not only adds to the
respectability of the thing (at all events, a small
one greatly detracts from it,) but in our opinion^
more hounds are wanting to pursue an animal that
runs short, than one which, like the fox, generally
makes for a distant point. The opinion of Mr.
Beckford is in opposition to us here. He says,
'•' the fewer hounds you have the less you foil the
ground, which you will find a great hindrance to

BECKFORD ON HARRIERS. 443

your hunting ;'' but it must here be remarked, that
in the preceding sentence, this eminent sportsman
speaks of the difficulty of getting a strong pack of
harriers to run well together ; a difficulty which
no doubt existed in his day, but is totally over-
come in the best hare-hunting establishments of
ours. Indeed, we once heard a sportsman declare,
and he was a sportsman who had hunted in all the
best countries in England, that he had never seen
a chase quite complete from end to end, not a
single hound being out of place, until he saw it
with a pack of harriers — those already alluded to,
as belonging to Sir John Dashwood King — over
the Cotswold Hills.

The following passage from Beckford is worthy
of his pen, and should be strictly observed by all
masters of harriers : — " Harriers, to be good, must
be kept to their own game. If you run fox with
them, you spoil them. Hounds cannot be perfect
unless used to one scent and to one style of hunt-
ing. Harriers run fox in so different a style from
hare, that it is of great disservice to them when
they return to hare again. It makes them wild,
and teaches them to skirt. The high scent which
a fox leaves, the straightness of his running, the
eagerness of the pursuit, and the noise that gene-
rally accompanies it, all contribute to spoil a har-
rier."" We conclude that the writer here alludes
to hunting wild foxes, which is now very rarely
done with a pack of harriers, at least in countries
near to which fox-hounds are kept. No master of
harriers would do it, who wishes his pack to be per-

444 HUNTING.

feet ; and there are other reasons for his not doing
it, which it is unnecessary to mention. But the
very best understanding now generally exists be-
tween masters of fox-hounds and masters of harriers;
and it is a common practice of such of the latter as
reside in a fox-hunting district, to await the publish-
ing of the fox-hunting fixtures before they make
their own.

The following hints may be useful in hunting
the hare. First, respecting the hare herself; hares
breed from February to the end of harvest, and are
said to live seven years. The buck affords the best
sport, particularly in the spring^ when, after one or
two rings, he often goes straight on end for several
miles. Hence the proverb, " as wild as a March
hare.'' Some persons pretend to distinguish the
sex upon the seat ; at all events, the head of the
buck is shorter, the shoulders redder, and the ears
redder, than those of a doe ; he is also larger, and
his hind parts are of a lighter colour. If the claws
are smooth and sharp, and the ears tear easily, the
hare is young.

The difficulty of finding a hare by the eye is well
known. It is an art greatly facilitated by experi-
ence, although not one person in ten who attempts
it succeeds in it. But here we recognize the Hand
that furnished her with such means for her security;
as, from the delicacy of her flesh, she is the prey of
every carnivorous animal, and her means of defence
are confined only to her flight. In going to her
form, she consults the weather, especially the wind,
lying always, when she can, with her head to face

FINDING A HARE. 445

it. After harvest, hares are found in all situations;
in stubble fields, hedgerows, woods, and brakes ;
but when the leaves fall, they prefer lying upon
open ground, and particularly on a stale fallow,
that is, one which has been some time ploughed ;
as likewise after frost, and towards the spring of
the year. In furze, or gorse, they lie so close, as to
allow themselves nearly to be trodden upon, rather
than quit their form. The down or upland-bred
hare shows best sport ; that bred in a wet, marshy
district, the worst, although the scent from the
latter may be the stronger. If a hare, when not
viewed away, runs slowly at first, it is generally a
sign that she is an old one, and likely to aflbrd
sport ; but hares never run so well as when they
do not know where they are. Thus, trapped hares,
turned out before hounds, almost invariably run
straight on end, and generally till they can run no
longer ; and they most commonly go straight in a
fog.

The chase of the hare has been altered, and ren-
dered less difficult in some degree, by the improve-
ment of the hound used in it. In the first place,
she is now so pressed by the pace at which she is
hunted, that she has not time, when first started,
to visit the works of the preceding night ; nor is
she, from the same cause, so likely to run her foil.
But when making out her foil, hounds are not left
to puzzle over it now as formerly, but, if it be not
quickly done, are rated forward by a whipper-in,
to make good the head ; and if that do not succeed,
to make it good round the fences. Formerly, when

446 HUXTIXG.

hounds were at fault, the cast was made in a small
circle to begin with, and then their huntsman tried
wide ; whereas they now generally, and especially
if the game is supposed to be not far before them,
make a wide cast at first, and then contract the
circle if the wide cast fails. There is reason in
this ; for if the hare is on, the wide cast will cross
her; and if she is not, she has most likely squatted.
The old system was, " avoid a view, if possible."
The modern one rather encourages a view, but no
hollooing ; for as hares regulate their speed in great
measure by the cry of hounds, they are less apt to
have recourse to shifts when the cry bursts upon
them at once. In fact, to suit the taste of the day,
which is to have every thing that moves, fast, it
was necessary that the greater part of the system
of huntino' the hare should be chano-ed. It used to
be insisted upon, that harriers should never be lifted
as long as they can possibly carry a scent ; and
Beckford says, " a hare is not fairly hunted unless
the pack be left almost entirely to themselves ; that
they should follow her every step she takes, as well
over greasy fallows as through large flocks of sheep;
nor should they be cast, but when nothing can be
done without it.'' This may have been all very ';
well when gentlemen followed hounds on foot, or j
were content to be some hours killing one hare ; or |
for Mr. Beckford himself, who (although he admits 1
having bred an infinity of harriers before he could
get a pack to please him) thought hare-hunting
should be taken as a ride after breakfast, to get an
appetite to dinner.

TEEMS IN HARE-HUNTING. 447

But we have reason to believe, if a master of
harriers of the present day wished to show his pack
to advantage, and could have a choice of a run to
display them, he would say, " Give me twenty-five
minutes in all ; the first fifteen a severe burst ; then
a fault, well hit off; and the remaining ten without
a turn." But, it may be asked, wherefore the fault?
We reply, because, although the speed of well-bred
harriers, for a certain time, if not quite equal to
that of fox-hounds, is too much for most hares, as
well as for most horses that follow them, yet, after
that certain time, say fifteen minutes, wind and
power begin to fail, and a short check is useful.
Besides, the ability of a pack, in quickly recover-
ing a fault, is more than a counterbalance to their
coming to a fault at all, which, with a short-run-
ning animal, as the hare is, it is often difficult to
avoid, nay, rather to be looked for indeed in every
field.

The difference in the terms used in hare-hunting
and fox-hunting is comprised in a few words : —
Harriers are cast off, in the morning ; fox-hounds
throw off. The hare is found by the quest or trail ;
the fox by the drag. The hare is on her form or
seat ; the fox in his kennel. The young hare is a
leveret; a fox a year old is a cub. The view holloo
of the hare is, " Gone away ;'' of a fox, " Tallyho.'"'
The hare doubles in chase ; the fox heads back, or
is headed. The harrier is at fault ; the fox-hound
at check. The hare is pricked by the foot ; the
fox is balled or padded. The hare squats ; the fox

448 HUNTING.

lies down, stops, or hangs in coA^er ; the " who-
whoop"' signifies the death of each.

Our ideas of a complete pack of fox-hounds are
very soon expressed. For four days' hunting in
the week there should be not less than sixty couples
of working hounds ; nor do we think more are ne-
cessary, as hounds, like horses, are always better
and sounder when in regular work. For three days
in the week, forty couples are enough. They
should have at their head not only a huntsman,
but also a master, each of whom knows his business,
and one clever whipper-in, and another as clever as
you can get him. It is not necessary, because it is
not feasible, that they should all be good drawers
of covers ; but it is absolutely necessary to perfec-
tion that they should all get to w^ork as soon as a
fox is found, and prove themsejves true on the line
their game has gone. As to their being quite free
from riot on all days, and on all occasions, the man
is not yet born icho can say with truths " my hounds
never run riot.'' Nature is seldom extinguished ;
and as ^sop's damsel, turned to a woman from a
cat, behaved herself very v/ell till the mouse ap-
peared, so wdll hounds occasionally break away
upon riot, particularly when out of sight of the ser-
vants, in large covers, or when disappointed by a
long blank draw. We conceive a pack of fox-
hounds entitled to be called " steady from riot," if
they will bear being put to the following test : — If,
when at fault for their fox, in the middle of a large
field, a hare gets up in view, and not a hound stirs,
nor attempts to break away after her; and this

PERFECTIOX IN FOX-HOUNDS. 449

without a word being said to caution them. But
it is in chase, with only a holding scent, that a
pack of fox-hounds display their excellence. In
such a case as this there must be checks ; and it
being ten to one against their fox running straight,
because they cannot press him, now is the time to
see them work. Do they carry a good head when
the scent is a-head and serves them well i Are
they cautious when it does not I And do they
turn short when the game has turned right or left,
or is gone back I Are they careful not to overrun
the scent, and will they stand pressing to a certain
degree by the horsemen i But having overrun it,
do they stop directly, and make their own cast 'i
Should that fail, do they come quickly to horn or
holloo — to their huntsman's cast I Do they fling
for a scent when their huntsman lifts them to points,
and not attempt to ^fiash, or break away, without a
scent i When the scent serves well, do they not
only carry a good head over a country, but, as their
game is sinking, does the head become better i If
they do all this, and have speed and stoutness
withal, they are equal to any fox in any country,
and are worth a thousand sovereigns, if not two, to
a sportsman.

The number of fox-hounds taken into the held
depends chiefly upon country ; more being required
in that which is woodland, than for an open cham-
paign, or for our enclosed grass districts, such as
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, &c. Eighteen
couples are generally considered as sufficient for the
2p

450 HUNTING.

latter ; and the strongest woodlands do not require
more than from twenty-two to twenty-five couples.

The average speed of fox-hounds is estimated at
ten miles, point hlank^ over a country, with a good
scent, in one hour ; that is to say, making allow-
ance for deviations from the straisjht line, hounds
seldom go more than ten miles, from point to point,
in that space of time. Mr. Beckford has a very
judicious remark on this part of his subject. " That
pack," he writes, " may be said to go the fastest
that can run ten miles the soonest, notwithstand-
ing the hounds separately may not run so fast
as many others. A pack of hounds, considered in
a collective body, go fast in proportion to the ex-
cellence of their noses and the head they carry ; as
that traveller gets soonest to his journey'*s end who
stops least upon the road. Some hounds that I
have hunted with would creep all through the same
hole, though they might have leaped the hedge ;
and would follow one another in a string, as true
as a team of cart-horses. I had rather see them,
like the horses of the sun, all abreast!'''

There is nothing in the history of our domestic
sports and pastimes to inform us correctly as to
the date of the first regularly-established pack of
fox-hounds kept in England. Neither the holy
prioress of St. Alban's, Dame Juliana Bannes,
Markham, nor any of the very old writers on such
subjects, are able to satisfy us on this point ; but,
on the authority of the Rev. William Ohafin, in
his Anecdotes respecting Cranhourn Ckase^ the first
real steady pack of fox-hounds established in the

MR. FO\VNEs"'s PACK OF FOX-HOUNDS. 451

western part of England was by Thomas Fownes,
Esq. of Stepleton, in Dorsetshire, about the year
1 730. " They were," says the author, who wrote
in 1818, " as handsome, and fully as complete in
every respect, as the most celebrated packs of the
present day. The owner, meeting with some
worldly disappointments, was obliged to dispose of
them ; and they were sold to Mr. Bowes, in York-
shire, the father of the late Lady Strathmore, at
an immense price for those days. They were taken
into Yorkshire by their own attendants, and, after
having been viewed and much admired in their
kennel, a day was fixed for making trial of them
in the field, to meet at a famous hare-cover
near. When the huntsman came with his hounds
in the morning, he discovered a great number of
sportsmen, who were riding in the cover, and whip-
ping the furzes as for a hare ; he therefore halted,
and informed Mr. Bowes that he was unwilling to
throw off his hounds until the gentlemen had re-
tired, and ceased the slapping of whips, to which
his hounds were not accustomed, and he would en-
gage to find a fox in a few minutes, if there was
one there. The gentlemen sportsmen having obeyed
the orders given by Mr. Bowes, the huntsman,
taking the wind of the cover, threw off his hounds,
which immediately began to feather, and soon got
upon a drag into the cover, and up to the fox's
kennel, which went ofi" close before them, and, after
a severe burst over a fine country, was killed, to
the great satisfaction of the whole party. They
then returned to the same cover, not one half of it

452 HUNTING.

having been drawn, and very soon found a second
fox, exactly in the same manner as before, which
broke cover immediately over the same fine coun-
try ; but the chase was much longer ; and, in
course of it, the fox made its way into a nobleman's
park, I believe Lord Darlington's, which w'as full
of all sorts of riot, and it had been customary to
stop all hounds before they could enter it, which
the best-mounted sportsman now attempted to do,
but in vain ; the hounds topped the highest fences,
ran through herds of deer and a number of hares,
without taking the least notice of them ; ran in to
their fox, and killed him some miles beyond the
park ; and it was the unanimous opinion of the
whole hunt that it was the finest run ever known
in that country. An ample collection of field-money
was made for the huntsman, much beyond his ex-
pectation ; and he returned to Stepleton in better
spirits than he left it, and told his story as above
related, in which we must allow for some little ex-
aggeration, very natural on such an occasion. This
pack was probably the progenitors of the very fine
ones now in the north. Before tliis pack was raised
in Dorsetshire, the hounds which hunted in the
chase hunted all the animals promiscuously, except
the deer, from which they were necessarily made
steady, otherwise they would not have been sufi'ered
to hunt at all in it.'' We have good reason to be-
lieve Lord Yarborough's fox-hounds, at Brocklesby
Hall, Lincolnshire, were established as far back as
the year 1700. The present huntsman and his late
father hunted them more than sixty years.

THE FOX. 453

The Fox. — The fox makes a conspicuous figure
in the natural history of animals ; still, in some
respects, his character has been over-rated and
exaggerated. He is a native of all temperate
regions ; and although we read of the cur, the
greyhound, and the mastiif-fox, we consider a fox
as a fox, the difference in size, colour, &c., being
dependent on either climate or food. It is true,
they are larger in some particular parts of England
than in others ; and it is generally believed, that
such as are what sportsmen call '' stub-bred foxes,""
that is, bred above, and not below ground, are the
largest. It is in this sole instance that the habits
of the fox differ from those of the wolf, to whose
genus he belongs ; the she-wolf never bringing
forth her young, as the fox does, under ground.
But although the general conformation of the fox
is the same as that of tlie wolf, his external form
has a greater resemblance to the dog, with whose
character also he closely assimilates, when domesti-
cated, in expressions of affection, of anger, or of
fear. When minutely examined, and particularly
in relation to his predatory life, and, consequently,
the dangers to which he is exposed, he will be found
to be abundantly endowed by nature with the in-
stinctive faculties requisite for such a life, in addi-
tion to the most elegant form an animal of his size
is capable of. Foxes copulate in the winter months,
and of course bring forth in the spring, on an ave-
rage, perhaps half a dozen cubs at a litter, born
blind like the dog ; but the period of each depends
on the mildness or severity of the winter. Except-

454? HUNTING.

ing during the season of sexual desire, the fox is a
solitary, not a gregarious animal, for the most part
passing the day in sleep, and the night in prowling
after food.

The food of the fox is extremely variable ; in-
deed, very few things that have or have had life
come amiss to him : but we have reason to believe
that rabbits, hares, poultry, partridges, and phea-
sants, with their eggs, are his favourite repasts ;
and when these are not to be had, he contents him-
self with field-mice, black-beetles, snails, and frogs.
That he can even exist solely on the latter, was
proved a few years ago, by the circumstance of a
fox-hound and a fox having been found at the bot-
tom of a dry well, into which they had fallen ; the
hound had perished from hunger, but the fox had
supported his life on frogs.* Of those animals and
birds which we call game, they are, without doubt,
destroyers — of pheasants, it is asserted, twenty-
live per cent. ; bat how it happens that they have
been charged with feeding on grapes, we are, as
far as our own experience directs us, quite at a loss
to determine. The fact, however, is stated by
several accredited writers, and has given birth to
the fable of the fox and the grapes, the moral of
which is a severe rebuke to an envious person who
" hates the excellence he cannot reach."" Aristo-
phanes, in his Equites, compares soldiers devastat-
ing a country to foxes destroying a vineyard ; and

* The hound's leg was broken by the fall, which may account for
his not having killed and eaten the fox ; and it also might have has-
tened his own death.

THE FOX. 455

Oalen {De Aliment.^ lib. iii., c. 2,) tells us, that
hunters ate the flesh of foxes in Autumn, because
they were grown fat with feeding on grapes. There
are also two lines in Theocritus, {Idyl. E., v. 112,)
which admit of the following version : —

I hate those brush-tailed foxes, that each night
Spoil Micon's ^dneya^ds with their deadly bite.

He is likewise accused of eating human flesh, and,
we have reason to believe, accused justly. In ad-
dition to the sentence pronounced by David in the
sixty-third psalm, that the enemies of God and
himself should be " a portion for foxes," we have
the followino^ interesting: historical anecdote. When
the famous Messenian general Aristomenes was
thrown into the Ceadas (a deep chasm into which
criminals were hurled) by the Lacedaemonians, his
life is said to have been preserved by following a
fox that was feeding on a dead body, to the aper-
ture at which he had entered, and through which,
after enlarging it with his hands, he himself
escaped.

But although the subtlety of the fox has been
proverbial from the earliest times ; so much so,
that our Saviour himself called the tetrarch Herod
" a fox," by way of signifying the refinement of
his policy ; we do not perceive that, with the excep-
tion of a timid prudence on breaking cover, he
shows more sagacity in his endeavours to baffle his
pursuers than the hare is known to do, if indeed so
much. To " catch a weasel asleep," is a typical
designation of an impossibility ; but foxes are fre-

4)56 HUNTING.

quently surprised in their naps by hounds drawing
upon them, up wind, particularly when gorged with
food. In the faculty of natural instinct, however,
they are vastly superior to hares, and equal in this
respect to the dog ; there being well-attested in-
stances of their being sent, marked^ upwards of fifty
miles in a bag, and, having escaped being killed by
hounds before which they were turned out, being
retaken in their native woods. But it is in his
last moments, when seized by hounds, that the
superiority of character in the fox over the hare
exhibits itself. He dies in silence ; but he sells
his life dearly ; for, revengefully seizing upon the
first hound that approaches him, he only relinquishes
his hold with the last gasp.

When first the fox was hunted in Great Britain,
he was considered merely as a beast of prey, and
killed in any way in which he could be got at,
generally by being caught in nets and pitfalls, or
killed at earth by terriers ; his scent not being con-
sidered favourable to hounds by our forefathers.
Although they admitted it to be hotter at hand
than that of the hare, their favourite object of pur-
suit, they believed it to be sooner dissipated ; but
perhaps the real cause of their objection was, in the
general inequality of speed and endurance in the
hounds of their days and a really wild fox ; and
foxes then were undoubtedly stouter, and able to
run much greater distances from point to point
than they now do, when they have comparatively
so short a distance to travel for their food, as well
as beino" often over-fed. These animals, then, beinff

THE HUNTSMAN. 457

always destroyed when an opportunity offered,
were of course generally scarce ; which, added to
the great extent of woods and other fastnesses with
which England then abounded, accounts for the
fact of hunting the fox, unless as a beast of prey,
not being in vogue until these objections were re-
moved. But the fox was ever considered as a mis-
chievous animal, and, in one signal instance, is
said to have been made an engine of mischief to a
vast extent, in carrying fire and flame into the
standing corn of the rebellious Philistines. A
solution of this account, however, on natural prin-
ciples, being difficult, it is pretty generally admitted
that a mistake in the translation has given rise
to it.

As the preservation of the fox is now more an
object in Great Britain than his destruction, it
may not be amiss to observe, that a few links of
an iron chain, such as an old plough-trace, or a
small piece of red cloth, suspended near to the spot
on which a hen-pheasant sits, is a certain protec-
tion from foxes, of herself, her eggs, or her brood.

It is asserted by sportsmen of experience, that
the scent of foxes varies with the animal ; and that
a vixen fox, which has laid up (brought forth) her
cubs, is nearly devoid of scent.

Huntsman. — In the lower ranks of life there are
callings which require the exercise of skill and
judgment to the very utmost of their extent ; and
we know of none that comes more directly with-
in this class than that of a huntsman does, of
2q

458 HUNTING.

whom it may be said, that in all his operations he
has not only to exercise his mental faculties at
every step he goes, when unravelling the intricacies
of the chase, but actually to tread a path nearly
unknown to human reason. Fimus oratores^ nas-
cimur j)oetw^ is a good definition of the constitu-
tional qualifications of a first-rate poet, at all events
of the difficulty of becoming one ; and really when
those of a huntsman are all summed up, if the
life of man be not too short, years of toilsome labour
appear to be scarcely sufficient to evince, even to a
man of talent, a perfect knowledge of his art. Let
us first hear what Beckford says of a huntsman,
and then we will offer our own sentiments on the
subject, which vary little from those entertained
by this great authority on all matters of the chase.
" A good huntsman,"' says he, " should be young,
strong, and active, bold and enterprising ; fond of
the diversion, and indefatigable in the pursuit of
it ; he should be sensible and good tempered ; he
ought also to be sober ; he should be exact, civil,
and cleanly ; he should be a good horseman and a
good groom ; his voice should be strong and clear ;
and he should have an eye so quick as to perceive
which of his hounds carries the scent, when all are
running ; and should have so excellent an ear, as
always to distinguish the foremost hounds when he
does not see them. He should be quiet, patient,
and without conceit. He should let his hounds
alone when they can hunt, and he should have genius
to assist them when they cannot.'''' It is scarcely
necessary to observe, that Mr. Beckford is here

THE HUNTSMAN. 459

speaking of a huntsman to fox-hounds, his demands
on the hare-hunter being somewhat more moderate;
and yet the difficulties he, the hare-hunter, has to
combat with are more than obscurely acknowledged.
Aware that practice is the key to excellence in
every art, and that experience is the great mistress
of all human knowledge, he requires age, with its
experience, to fit the hare-huntsman for his office,
and to be a match for the wiles of the hare ; ludi-
crously adding, that, " for patience, he should be a
very Grizzle.''

We do not think we exaggerate when we say,
that the picture here drawn of a clever huntsman
may, in one degree, (of bodily endowments at least,)
be termed a near approach to human perfection ;
nor do we hesitate in adding our conviction, that
if to the attributes here given him are joined a
comprehensive mind and a humane heart, nothing
is wanting to make it complete. As the chase is
said to be the image of war, "but without its guilt,''
let us suppose Mr. Beckford had been drawing the
character of a soldier, and not a huntsman. Could
he have given him higher qualifications than a clear
head, nice observation, a good constitution, un-
daunted courage, a powerful voice, an accurate ear,
and a lynx's eye, together with a quick perception,
endowed with quick impulses for acting, so neces-
sary to each? That he should be "fond of his
profession," and " indefatigable in the pursuit of
it;" " sober and exact," "sensible," and "good-
tempered?" It is not necessary that either a hunts-
man or a soldier should be a man of letters ; some of

460 HUNTING.

the best among the former have been scarcely able
to read ; and there have been but few Csesars who
could fight and write ; but a good understanding
is put to the test by both the one and the other ;
and although we do not mean to place the servile
situation of a huntsman on a level with the hon-
ourable profession of the soldier, each requires, in
a high degree, a good, sound understanding, and a
manly exertion of talent.

But the office of huntsman to fox-hounds is not
always intrusted to servile hands. It has long
been the ambition of masters of packs to hunt their
own hounds ; and although the fashion has become
more prevalent within the last thirty years than it
was in the earlier days of fox-hunting, yet we could
bring forward some instances of what are called
gentlemen-huntsmen of pretty long standing. His
Grace the Duke of Cleveland, and the late Sir
Richard Puleston, Bart., each hunted his own
hounds for nearly forty years ; and the late Wil-
liam Leche, Esq., of Carden-Hall, Cheshire, was
his own huntsman for an equally long period.
Coming next to them in chronological order, stand
Messrs. Ralf Lambton, Musters, Thomas Assheton
Smith, Lord Segrave, Sir Bellingham Graham,
Bart., Mr. Osbaldeston, Mr. Nicoll, the Earl of
Kintore, Mr. Hodgson, Mr. Smith, late of the
Craven, Mr. Folyambe, Sir Richard Sutton, Vis-
count Kelburne, Lord Elcho, Lord Ducie, the
Honourable Grantley Berkeley, and a few of a
more recent date. There can be no doubt that
no man enjoys hunting to perfection equally with

THE HUNTSMAN. 4r6l

him who hunts his own hounds ; nor can there be
any reason assigned why an educated gentleman
should not excel, in any ardent and highly scienti-
fic pursuit, an uneducated servant ; nevertheless,
we do not think that, throughout the fox-hunting
world in general, gentlemen-huntsmen have been
so popular as might have been expected ; and in
some countries that are hunted by subscription, an
exception is taken against the master of the pack
being the huntsman. That it is a very laborious
office when efficiently executed, both in the kennel
and the field, is well known to those who have
filled it ; but {labor ipse voluptas) we have seen a
pains-taking zeal displayed in the master which we
have too often seen wanting in the servant ; and
we could name a nobleman who used frequently to
tell his huntsman, when drawing for his second
fox, that he was " thinking more of his dinner than
of hunting."

In the earliest days of English hunting, gentle-
men-huntsmen were in high estimation ; and a
reference to Doomesday-hook will show that Wale-
ran, huntsman to William the Conqueror, pos-
sessed no less than fifteen manors in Wiltshire,
eight in Dorsetshire, together with several in
Hampshire ; and his name occurs on the list of
tenants in capite in other counties. The same
venerable record of antiquity describes the exten-
sive possessions of other huntsmen, bearing the
names of Croc, Godwin, Willielmus, gentlemen of
consideration in those times, in which, according
to Froissart, the ardour of the chase was carried
to a pitch since unequalled by the Norman lords,

462 HUNTING.

some of them having kept sixteen hundred dogs,
and a proportionable number of horses, for the
chase.* But we may go still farther back, to a
very barbarous age, for the respect in which hunts-
men have been held by kings and legislators.
The temperate but brave Agesilaus, and even
the luxury-destroying Lycurgus, provided for the
bountiful entertainment of their huntsmen on their
return from the chase ; a pursuit which they be-
lieved to be so agreeable to the gods, that they
offered the first fruits of their sports to Diana.

The Duties of a Huntsman. — The situation of
huntsman to a pack of fox-hounds is one of great
responsibility, and, if the breeding as well as hunt-
ing of them be left to him, a very arduous under-
taking. Nor does it end here. There is great call
for judgment in feeding hounds to answer every
purpose, such as long draws, severe days, and at
the same time to go the pace without showing dis-
tress, and to come home at night with their sterns
up, and looking fresh. Here variety of constitu-
tion increases the difiiculty ; for, to please the eye,
hounds should look level in their condition, as well
as even in point of size. One hound will not bear
to have his belly more than half filled ; another
will not fill his when he may ; and still each must
be made equal in strength and wind to the other,
to stand hard work and go the pace without dis-
tress. A huntsman must have a very watchful
eye over the condition of his pack, which will be
effected by work and weather ; and he must be

* See Proissart, torn, iv., c. 27.

DUTIES OF A HUNTSMAN.

463

pathologist enough to foresee and provide against
the alterations which such circumstances produce.
He has need also to be a physiologist, to enable
him to exercise a sound judgment in breeding his
hounds after a certain form and fashion, which are
absolutely essential to their doing well, and at the
same time pleasing the eye. Then look at him in
the field, with two hundred eyes upon him, and a
hundred tongues to canvass all his acts. Here he
.should be a philosopher.

N Vl

In the Field. — A huntsman is expected to bring
his hounds to the cover side in a high state of con-
dition, at all seasons of the year. They should be
seen quietly grouped about his horse's heels, when
he is waiting for the hour of throwing off, without
a whip stirring, or even an angry word said to
them. This is a time when they are often subject
to the inspection of strangers, and a first impression
goes a great way.

464 HUNTING.

When the master gives the word to draw, they
should approach the cover at a gentle trot, one
whipper-in riding in their front ; and when within
about a stone's throw, they may dash into it with
as much spirit as they like. Not a word need be
said by way of caution, unless it appears to be espe-
cially called for, when " gently, there," by the first
whipper-in, and one smack of his whip, will gene-
rally have the desired effect. But we like to see
the huntsman alive at this moment, as well as his
hounds. Homer compares hounds cheered by their
huntsman, to troops encouraged by a skilful ge-
neral ; and doubtless there is a similarity in the
effect. Putting hounds out of the question, there
is something very cheering to the field in the
'' cheering holloo" of a huntsman, when encourag-
ing his hounds to draw ; and it also answers two
good purposes. Should a hound get wide of the
pack, or hang behind in the cover, or should any
of the field be at a loss, which often happens in
woodlands, the " pipe"' of the huntsman is an un-
erring guide to all. How necessary is it, then, at
all events how desirable, that, like Ajax, he should
be jSoTjv ayoL&hg^ " renowned for the strength of his
voice,"' and, we may add, for the melodiousness of
it. He should likewise blow a horn well ; and if
he varies the blast, to make himself more intelli-
gible to his hounds, he will find his advantage in
it. We wonder this is not more practised than it
is. Independently of the common recheat^ why not
have the " view horn" as well as the " view holloo?"
But too much horn, like wx et prwterea nihil, is

HOLLOOING.

465

bad, making hounds apt to disregard it; yet a
huntsman would be sadly at a loss without it, not
only in getting hounds away from cover and in
chase, but in drawing large covers, in which they
will occasionally get wide. Here a twang of the
horn saves a huntsman's voice in bringing them
over to him. One short blast is sufficient.

" He gave his bugle-horn a blast,
That through the woodlands echoed far and wide."

The following observations on hoUooing are from
the pen of an old sportsman. They contain hints
that it would often be advisable to profit by ; and
they apply not only to huntsmen, but to the field.
'' A general rule as to hallooing is, never to halloo
unless you can give a good reason for so doing. A
constant and indiscriminate use of the voice is
blameable in a huntsman ; his hounds, by con-
stantly hearing his voice, will soon learn to pay
no more attention to it than they do to the singing
of the lark, and they will not come to him when
they are called. Some huntsmen, in making a cast,
try that part of the ground where they can most
conveniently ride, instead of that where it is most
likely the fox is gone. Others ride on hallooing,
without regarding their hounds, while making their
cast ; their own noise then prevents them from
hearing their hounds, who often take the scent
without their being aware of it.''

" No person should halloo that is not well for-
ward. It signifies little what words you use, as a
hound's knowledge of language is confined to a view
halloo, a call, and a rate ; it is the tone of the voice,

466 HUNTING.

and not the words, that they understand ; and hounds
will always draw to the voice, if it be not a rate.
This shows the impropriety of hallooing behind
hounds. In running with good scent, if you are
up with the pack, a cheering halloo does no harm ;
the hounds will not attend to it, and it is expres-
sive of the pleasure of the hallooer. Never cap
hounds with loud halloos to a bad scent ; capping
makes them wild and eager, and should never be
done but when the scent is high. Hounds should
be brought up gently to a cold scent.'" Hollooing
to hounds is often necessar}^ and highly useful
when done with judgment ; but the word " tallyho"*'
loses many a good run ; as, unless a fox is gone
clear away from his cover, it occasions him to turn
back often into the mouth of the hounds.

Dog Language. — It is true, no correspondence
can subsist between beings whose natures are se-
parated by a chasm so wide as that between rational
and irrational animals ; and it is with a view of
adapting our meaning to the level of their under-
standings, that we generally address or converse
with brutes in a silly unmeaning manner ; which
gave rise to the remark, that children, or men who
act like children, have animals more immediately
under their control than the philosopher who is re-
plete with wisdom. But we may look farther into
the subject than this. If the Almighty had not
manifested some portion of his attributes by means
which are on a level with the capacity of the human
race, man must have remained for ever ignorant of

DOG LAXGUAGE. 467

his Maker. The power of language, however, be-
tween man and man, is prodigiously increased by
the tone in which it is conveyed. The vagrant
when he begs, the soldier when he gives the word
of command, the senator when he delivers an ora-
tion, and the lover when he whispers a gentle tale
to his mistress, all differ in the key in which they
speak ; and it is thus that huntsmen and whippers-
in make themselves intelligible to hounds. They
do not speak to them in an unmeaning manner, or
after the manner of children ; but in short and
pithy sentences, every word of which is law. The
method of doing this, however, admits of several
degrees of excellence ; but the huntsman w^ho is
endowed by nature with a clear, sonorous voice, in
a well-pitched key, and knows when to use it with
effect, contributes greatly to the enthusiasm of fox-
hunting, and no doubt to the success of it.

Without enterino^ asrain into the wide rano^e of
hunting, we cannot do more than add a few maxims
which may be observed by a huntsman in the field.
In drawing for your fox, don't be persuaded always
to draw up wind. In the first place, you are in
danger of chopping him ; secondly, he is sure then
to go down wind at starting ; and, thirdly, you
may drive him into a worse country, or from his
point. When found, get after him as quickly as
possible if you have a body of hounds with you ;
if not, you will have a better chance of sport if you
can wait till the body come up. This is easily
done by a twang of the horn, or a false holloo, if
hounds are under good command, and the conve-

468 HUNTING.

nient opportunity be seized upon. Keep near to
them in chase, with your eye on the body of the
pack, as well as on such hounds as may be leading ;
the body are more certain to be right. Next to
knowing where a fox is gone, is knowing where he
is not gone ; therefore, in your cast, always make
good the head. This you will do for your satis-
faction ; but hounds are seldom at fault for the
scent a-head, when the chase has been at all warm,
that is, on a fair scenting day ; for if the fox be
gone forward, wherefore the fault \ Good hounds
will seldom or never leave a scent a-head, unless the
ground be stained by sheep or cattle, or when the
chase leads over dry ploughed land, hard and dry
roads, &;c. It is high odds that your fox has
turned to the right or to the left ; but although his
point may be back, he cannot well run his foil, from
the number of horsemen that are generally in the rear
of fox-hounds.. Recollect your first check is gene-
rally the most fatal to sport, and for these reasons :
— Your hounds are fresh, and perchance a little
eager ; they may have overrun the scent for some
distance, owing to their being pressed by the
horses, which are also at this time fresh ; nor will
they always get their heads down so soon as they
should do, from the same exciting causes. Again,
your check now generally arises from a short turn,
the fox having been previously driven from his
point, which he now resolves to make ; and he will
make it at all hazard at certain times. When
your hounds first " throw up," {i. e. check,) leave
1 them alone if they can hunt ; but, disregarding

CONCLUDING MAXIMS. 469

what the " old ones" say on this subject, as inap- j <
plicable to these fast times, don't be long before \ |
you take hold of them, and assist them, if they ?
cannot. We would not go from scent to view ;
yet hounds in these days that will not bear lifting
are not worth having. But do all this quietly as
well as quickly. Turn your horse's head towards
the line you think your fox is gone ; and the first
moment you see all their heads up — that is, if they
do not hit him off — put your horn to your mouth
for one blast or two, and trot away to still more
likely points. If your pack will divide when cast-
ing, so much the better ; but if they are good for
any thing, they will be making their own cast
whilst you are making yours, by not keeping at
your horse's heels, but spreading as they go.

When you have hit upon his point, if a single
hound goes off with a good scent, get the body to
him as quickly as you can ; but not so if the scent
be not warm. In the latter case, your hounds will
be in expectation of a fresh fox, and will be in a
hurry ; the hound that is forward will be lifted,
and in all probability you will have to seek for the
scent again. Go gently, and your hounds, if steady,
will settle to it. Likewise, if, when at check, you ^
are hollooed to a spot where a fox has been viewed, \
stand still, and say nothing at the moment the first j
two or three hounds throw their tongues. If you \
hurry the body on immediately, the scent will often <'
be lost if the fox has been a few minutes gone. If
it can be done, give your hounds the wind at a
crisis like this. Again, when a fox has been viewed,

470 HUNTING.

and you go directly to holloo, do not take your
hounds to the extreme distant point at which he
was viewed, but a hundred yards behind it ; and
for this reason. If you take them to the extreme
point, and they do not take up the scent at once,
you have then to make your cast at a venture ;
whereas, if you lay them on at that distance be-
hind it, you have somewhat of a guide to that ex-
tent, as to the line towards which you should draw
them.

The following further hints may be serviceable,
or at all events they relate to hounds at check. In
trying back, hounds have this advantage* -I t^ is
evident the fox has come the line, up to the point
where the check occurred; and he must be gone
either to the right or the left of it, or back. We
make this observation, because so much has been
said about the straight running of foxes, which is
far from true ; and the necessity of persevering in
the cast a-head with the fox, and back, on the foil,
with the hare. The more hounds spread, within
reason, in this backward cast, the better will be the
chance of making the check a short one. Again,
if at check on a road, or foot-path (the latter not
often run over by foxes,) when you observe some
of your best hounds failing to make it good, on one
side of either, it is reasonable to suppose the fox is
gone on the other. If your hounds check in a
cover in the middle of a run, and the fox is viewed
away from it, try and get your hounds together as
much as you can in the short time that can be al-
lowed for it, before you cap them to the sceiit. It

CONCLUDING MAXIMS. 471

generally ensures a good finish, from two obvious
causes. First, hounds get fresh wind ; and, se-
condly, they will have a better chance to carry a
good head, which generally ends in blood, and in
blood well earned ; for the fox is more likely to
stand longer, and go straighter, for not having been
viewed by hounds when he broke. But the most
difficult point for a huntsman to decide upon
promptly is, when his pack divides, which division
is on the hunted fox. If it happen in cover, his
ear is his surest guide, as the cry is louder and
stronger on a fresh-found fox, than on one which
has been for some time on foot. If when out of
cover your pack should split on two separate scents,
you should get as near as you can to what you
imagine to be the chase, giving view holloos every
yard you go ; also sending one of your whippers-in
to stop the other hounds. Your choice will doubt-
less be directed by several circumstances. You
will first look for your truest and best line-hunting
hounds, and next, to the points your first fox would
be likely to make for ; and if your choice fall upon
the lot that are going farthest up the wind, the
other will be more likely to hear them running ;
and, should they come to a check, to join cry again
perhaps before a whipper-in can get to stop them.

To the above a few general rules may be added.
Don't be dispirited at a succession of bad sport, for
it is not within your control, good hounds and sport
not being naturally co-existing circumstances. Be
as zealous as you please in the field, but temper
your zeal with judgment, and don't weary your

472 HUNTING.

hounds by long draws, on days which bid defiance
to sport. It was once justly observed, that those
who seek pleasure from the chase must ask permis-
sion of heaven ; and the case still remains the same.
Hounds without a scent resemble a man running in
the dark ; neither can make head against such
fearful obstructions ; and on stormy days, with a
I very high wind, if you have influence with your
master, persuade him to let you go home after the
first failure. It is not generally known what mis-
chief even one such day does to some hounds. .
\ Don't set too high a value on blood, unless well i
j earned ; it is the result of want of reflection alone \
j that has set any value w^hatever upon it, when
I otherwise obtained. Mob a bad fox in a cover if
/ you like ; but never dig out a good one, unless your
f hounds have almost viewed him into a spout, and
I you can bolt him before the excitement subsides.
Never break ground in a country belonging to an-
other pack of hounds, nor dig for a fox in a main
earth in your own. Many a bitch fox, heavy with
young, has been killed by this means in the spring,
instead of the one that was hunted and marked to
ground ; and be assured that sportsmen in general
do not estimate the goodness of a pack of hounds
by the noses nailed against the kennel door. Lastly,
keep your field back from pressing on your hounds
in chase, and still more so when in difficulties, as
wtU as you can ; but don't suff'er your zeal to carry
you too far on this point. Remember the apostolic
precept, " be courteous.""

The modern annals of sporting contain the names

THE WHIPPER-IN. 473

and characters of several very eminent huntsmen,
whose conduct and abilities would have done credit
to any other situation of life to which it might
have been their lot to have been called. Consider-
ing the responsibility of their office, the severity of
their work, and the risks they run, they are not
supposed to be too highly paid in wages, say on
the average dS'lOO per annum, besides their board ;
but, from perquisites, such as annual presents from
gentlemen who attend the hounds which they hunt,
and drafted hounds sold to other packs, they may
realise the like sum in addition.

The office of whipper-in is, in our opinion, thought |;
more lightly of by the sporting world in general •
than it deserves to be ; and, as we shall show, we
have the great Beckford on our side. We never
saw a steady pack of hounds without at least one
good whipper-in, and we are quite sure we never
shall ; but we have seen many of these red-coated
youths who might have been better employed at
the plough-tail — who, like Cicero's lawyer, belonged
rather to the profession than the science. " If he
has genius," says Beckford, " he may show it in
various ways ; he may clap forward to any great
earth that may by chance be open ; he may sink
the wind to holloo, or mob a fox when the scent
fails ; he may keep him off his foil ; he may stop
the tail hounds, and get them forward ; and has it
frequently in his power to assist the hounds without
doing them any hurt, provided he has sense to dis-
tinguish where he is wanted most. Besides, the
most essential part of fox-hunting, the making and

9, ^,

474 HUNTING.

keeping the pack steady^ depends entirely upon him,
as a huntsman should seldom rate, and never flog
a hound. In short, I consider the first whipper-in
as a second huntsman ; and, to be perfect, he
should be as capable of hunting the hounds as the
huntsman himself. He should not be conceited,
but contented to act an under part, except when
circumstances may require that he should act other-
wise ; and the moment they cease, he must not
fail to resume his former station."

To the above excellent remarks we have very
little to add. We only recommend, when a hunts-
man is casting his hounds, that a whipper-in should
turn them to him always as gently as he can, and
with little noise ; by which means they will draw
towards him, trying for the scent as they go ;
whereas loud and repeated rates and cracks of the
whip make hounds fly to their huntsman at this
time with their heads up. When they are draw-
ing properly towards him, not a word should be
said ; a whipper-in riding outside of them will be
sufficient.

It is scarcely necessary to say, a whipper-in, to
be perfect, should be an accomplished horseman,
as nothing requires a much firmer and nicer hand
than the act of following a hound over open ground
to flog him. A whipper-in, however, should always
hit a hound first, and rate him afterwards, and be
able to hit hard when occasion requires it. A
riotous fox-hound cannot be trifled with, if he is to
be cured of his evil ways ; and let the lash fall
heavily when necessary, but at no other time.

THE WHIPPER-IX. 475

/ Above all, let the whipper-in have an eye to a |

I skirter: skirting is the least pardonable fault a |

I hound can possess, because he is then deviating !

i from his nature, and has not the force of impulse |

[ to plead, which the hound that runs riot has.

476

1—1

HORSE-DEALING.

ANTIQUITY OF THE TRAFFIC IN HORSES ' CAVEAT EMP-
TOR' WARRANTY SAFEST PRECAUTION FOR GENE-
RAL PURCHASERS — GENERAL AND QUALIFIED WAR-
RANTY RE-SALE BY A PURCHASER WITH A WAR-
RANTY SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS SEAT OF

DISEASES DEALING ON A SUNDAY SELLING BY SER-
VANTS FRAUD HORSE-DEALERS.

A TRAFFIC in horses must have been carried on
in very early times, for we read in the 27th chap-
ter of Ezekiel, that " they of the house of Togar-
mah traded in the fairs of Tyrus with horses and
mules/' Neither is it a little remarkable that no less
a personage than Solomon himself should have dealt
largely in horses, having them brought from Egypt
and other countries in strings, and selling them
again, at a great profit, to the neighbouring kings.
He was likewise a great breeder of these animals,

ANTIQUITY OF THE TRAFFIC. 477

in which he was favoured by having married a
daughter of Pharaoh, and therefore enabled to have
the picking of Egypt for those of the best form ;
which circumstance, together with the well known
rapidity with which a stud of horses multiply, ac-
counts for the immense extent of the royal stables,
and the splendid array of horsemen that turned out
of them. It would, however, be very interesting to
us to be informed in what way this traffic was
conducted, generally, in the early ages of the world ;
whether the cheating, the tricks, and the frauds,
now in practice, and so often successful, among the
lower orders of horse-dealers, were resorted to then ;
and whether, amongst those of a higher grade, the
wholesome precaution of " caveat emptor ^^"^ — *' let
the buyer beware," was as necessary as it is at pre-
sent. We know, from the history of our own
country, that cheating in horse-flesh was carried to
such an extent during the reign of Richard the
Second, that in 1386, a statute was passed regu-
lating the price of all horses, and which statute
was proclaimed in the chief breeding counties of
England. But, according to Pomponius (Digest.
1. 4. tit. 4. 16,) the law of nature allows of over-
reaching in buying and selling — (what a good
father-confessor this Pomponius would have made
to some of our modern horse-dealers ;) — and Eras-
mus appears nearly to sanction a license to horse-
dealers in these words : — " Scis quanta impostura
sit, apud nos, in his qui vendunt equos." That
some rules, however, should be established, for the
protection of the ignorant against the arts of the
designing, appeared absolutely necessary to British

478 HORSE-DEALING.

legislators ; and the laws relating to selling horses,
on warranty, have been, in themselves, rendered
as protective to the purchaser as we believe it is
possible for words to make them.

But the difficulty and uncertainty in appealing
to these laws, lies in the difficulty and uncertainty
of proof, and which may be thus accounted for.
In the first place, no evidence is so vague and con-
tradictory as that given in horse causes, — and
even when given by perfectly disinterested persons,
merely such as are called upon professionally. Se-
condly, by their almost general ignorance of the
economy of the horse, either in theory or practice,
both judge and jury often labour under very great
disadvantages in their endeavours to get at the
truth. Moreover, what says the warranter of a
horse — and it is upon warranty alone that an
action of trouver can be brought? Why, he first
warrants him sound ; perhaps free from vice ; some-
times quiet to drive in harness, and now and then
a good hunter. Now there is no such equivocal
word in the English language as the word " sound r
it can be only properly used with reference to an
original idea, or object, and is therefore purely an
analogical word. As to its significations, they are
too numerous to mention here, nor is its derivation
perfectly satisfactory. If from the Latin word
sanus, it might be properly applied to a healthy
horse, but if from so?ius, a sound, or noise, it might
better apply to a confirmed roarer than to a horse
with good lungs. But what should we say to a
horse warranted sound asleep ? However, to be
serious, although it may be difficult to sound the

WARRANTY. 479

meaning of this word, (for example, we eat cod's
sounds, from a sound, or a narrow sea,) we will
presently endeavour to show what, in law, is con-
sidered an unsound horse.

Then, a warranty of " free from vice," is one of
a very ticklish nature. It might be very difficult to
prove any real act of vice in a horse, whilst in the
possession of the seller ; and, in the next, a horse,
from being ill-treated, or alarmed, may become
vicious in a week, never having been so before.
There was a remarkable instance of this a few years
back, in a Cossack horse which had carried General
Platoff during the war between Russia and France,
and which, when in England, he presented to his
late Majesty, George the Fourth, then Prince Re-
srent. When first received into the stables of Carl-
ton House, he was quiet and tractable in the high-
est degree ; but in consequence of his having been
ill-treated by one of the grooms, he became so
vicious that he could not be approached without
danger. " A good word," says the proverb, " will
lead an elephant with a hair;" and horses are
equally sensible to good or ill usage, and often — as
in this case — prepared to resent the latter. Equally
liable to objection is the warranty of " quiet in
harness," or " a good hunter." The horse war-
ranted as the former, may be very quiet on the day
he is sold, but, in a week afterwards, from some
mismanagement in the driver, from sudden alarm,
or from some part of the harness pinching him, he
may become a kicker or a runaway. Tlie hunter
also may be a good one for one man, and not worth

480 HORSE-DEALING.

a shilling to another, all depending upon the pace
at which he is ridden after hounds.

But in all cases of a horse warranted sound, one,
often insuperable, difficulty arises in the event of
his proving unsound — and this is, the proof of his
having been unsound, or lame, from the very iden-
tical cause of his present unsoundness, or lameness,
whilst in the possession of the seller. Without this
proof, no action of trouver can be maintained ; and,
as we are aware that some diseases will remain a
long time inactive — in fact, will not be brought into
action at all until the horse has done some work —
warranties are, after all, but very slender securities
to the buyer. In our opinion, the general pur-
chaser, if he have no previous knowledge of a horse
he wishes to become possessed of, has a better
chance of protection from loss, by adopting the fol-
lowing precautionary measures, than from trusting
to the " glorious uncertainty of the law :*" — Let
him submit the horse to the inspection of a veteri-
nary surgeon of acknowledged ability, who, from
his anatomical knowledge, will be able to detect
not only incipient disease — the chief cause of sub-
sequent unsoundness — but to make a fair estimate
of the probability of the horse not becoming un-
sound from mal-conformation of limbs, ill organised
feet or fetlocks, bony excrescences, which so frequent-
ly abound, and are in some cases injurious, although
in others not ; ill organised eyes, &c. &c. As to
the good properties of the horse, they are to be
judged of by the buyer, and a difficult judgment it
is, without a previous trial, so many circumstances

GENERAL AND QUALIFIED WARRANTY. 481

being combined in it. In fact, as knowledge in
horse-flesh can only be the result of experience, we
strongly recommend all inexperienced purchasers
not only not to rely on their own judgment, but,
in their purchases from regular dealers, to procure,
if they can, a week's trial of horses for their own
riding, with a stipulation to pay a certain sum for
the said trial, in case of their not being found suit-
able. In the event, however, of a warranty being re-
quired of the seller, it may be well to let it embrace as
many points as may be likely to be called in ques-
tion afterwards ; that is to say, an express or quali-
fied, and not a general warranty — such as sound,
free from vice, restiveness, crib-biting, &c. ; and
although it has been held, that it is not necessary
(as in the case of Skrine v. Elmore,) to have a
warranty on a stamp, yet it is safer to adopt it,
and then the receipt will be received in evidence
to prove the warranty, as well as the price given
for the horse.

Although, in the sale of horses, warranties are
very much done away with — amongst private in-
dividuals at least, and amongst sportsmen almost
entirely — it may be well to state that they are
divided into two classes. Namely :

A general warranty^ extending, according to
Lord Mansfield, to all faults known and unknown
to the seller ; a qualified warranty, extending
equally to all faults known and unknown to the
seller, except certain ones specifically mentioned
and excepted in the warranty. For example, in
the case of Jones t. Cowley, where the latter
2s

482 HORSE-DEALING.

warranted a horse to be sound every where except
a leg on which he had had a kick, the Court of
King's Bench held it to be a qualified, and not a
general warranty. With respect to a general war-
ranty, the law is thus laid down by Lord Ellen-
borough, before whom bv far the neatest number
of important cases relating to horses have been
tried ; and who, in addition to his great legal ac-
quirements, had a better practical knowledge of the
animal (his Lordship was celebrated for his excel-
lent horses,) than any judge of past or present
times : — " If a horse be affected by any malady,"'
said his Lordship, " which renders him less ser-
viceable for a permanency, I have no doubt that
it is unsoundness.'' Again : — " I have always
held, and now hold, that a warranty of sound-
ness is broken, if the animal, at the time of the
sale, had any infirmity upon him which rendered
him less fit for present service. It is not neces-
sar}-- that the disorder should be permanent or
incurable." It is asserted, that these doctrines, so
concisely expounded by Lord EUenborough, went
far to check the indiscriminate use of the general
warranty which formerly prevailed and led to so
much litigation — substituting the qualified war-
ranty in its place, where any is required — as few
horses can stand the test of a general warranty, of
'-' sound wind and limb, and quite free from ble-
mishes."

With respect to the length of time to which a
warranty shall extend, there does not appear to be
any general rule on the subject, and few persons

DURATIOX OF WARRANTY. 488

would be found to give a warranty of a horse, in
futuro. As a remedy, however, against fraud prac-
tised at the time of sale, it has been expressly laid
down by Lord Loughborough, in the case of Fielder
v. Starkin, that no length of time elapsed after
a sale will alter the nature of a contract origi-
nally false. The following are the particulars of
the case : — Starkin sold a mare " warranted sound,
quiet, and free from vice or blemish.'' Soon after
the sale. Fielder discovered that she was unsound
and vicious ; that she was a roarer, had a thorough-
pin, and also a swelled leg from kicking. Never-
theless, he kept her three months, physicking and
using other means to cure her ; at the end of which
time he sold her, but had her soon after returned
as unsound ; when he passed her back to Starkin,
who refused to receive her. On her way back from
Starkin's she died, and, upon examination, it was
the opinion of the veterinary surgeon that she had
been unsound a full twelvemonth before her death ;
but it did not appear that Fielder had, during the
three months, though in Starkin's company, ever
complained of the mare being unsound. Lord
Loughborough said — " Where there is an express
warranty, the warranter undertakes that it is true
at the time of making it. If the horse, which is
warranted sound at the time of sale, be proved to
have been at that time unsound, it is not neces-
sary that he should be returned to the seller. No
length of time elapsed after tlie sale will alter the
nature of a contract originally false ; though the
not giving notice will be a strong presumption

484 HORSE-DEALING.

against the buyer that the horse at the time of the
sale had not the defect complained of, and will
make the proof on his part more difficult/' That
this mare was not according to warranty, cannot
be doubted ; still it stands to reason, that a person
having purchased a horse under a warranty of
soundness, or indeed any other warranty, should
lose no time in returning him after finding he does
not answer such warranty. It is, however, laid
down by the late Lord Chancellor Eldon, when
Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, in
the case of Curtis «. Hannay, " that if a per-
son purchases a horse which is warranted, and it
afterwards turns out that the horse was unsound
at the time of the warranty, the buyer may, if he
pleases, keep the horse, and bring an action on the
warranty, in which he will have a right to recover
the difference between the value of a sound horse
and one with such defects as existed at the time of
warranty:" or, "• He may return the horse, and
bring an action to recover the full money paid ;
but, in the latter case, the seller has a right to ex-
pect that the horse shall be returned to him in the
same state he was when sold, and not by any
means diminished in value ; for if a person keeps
a warranted article for any length of time after
discovering its defects, and when he returns it, it
is in a worse state than it would have been if re-
turned immediately after such discovery, I think
the party can have no defence to an action for the
price of the article on the ground of non-compliance
with the warranty, but must be left to his action

RE-SALE WITH A WARRANTY. 485

on the warranty to recover the difference in the
value of the article warranted, and its value when
sold."

The following relates to a month's trial of a
horse : — " In Ellis v. Mortimer, the action was
brought to recover thirty guineas, the price of
a horse sold by plaintiff to defendant, upon an
agreement for a month's trial, and to be at liberty
to return him at the end of the month if he did
not like him.

" After keeping him about a fortnight, the de-
fendant said he liked the horse but not the price ;
upon which the plaintiff desired him, if he did not
like the price, to return the horse. The defendant
kept him ten days after this, and then sent him
back within tJie month ; but the plaintiff refused to
receive him.

" The Court held, that the effect of the contract
was, that the defendant should have to the end of
the month to decide, and that he had not deter-
mined the contract until he had actually returned
the horse, and that the action could not be there-
fore supported."" See The Horsemarts Manual^ by
R. S. Surtees, Esq., Lincoln's Inn Fields.

Resale by a Purchaser with a Warranty. —
Where a purchaser, relying upon his warranty,
sells the horse to another, giving a similar war-
ranty to the one he received, and, upon its failing,
an action is brought against him, and he gives
notice of such failure and action to the orio-inal

o

seller, who gives no direction for defending or

486 HORSE-DEALING.

abandoning the cause, the costs sustained thereby
will be added to the amount of the original damage
accrued by reason of the false warranty, and the
seller will be entitled to recover the sum from the
original vender. It must, however, be proved,
that the horse was unsound at the time of the first
sale. (See Horseman s Manual.)

A difficulty often arises in returning unsound
horses, but an offer of an unsound horse, or of one
not answering to the warranty, should always be
made, because on that being made and refused, the
purchaser will have a claim for the expenses of his
keep, as well as for the value given for him.

Verbal warranties are not to be depended upon,
by reason of their being liable to misinterpretation.
For example, in a case of fraud brought some years
back before the Magistrates of Bow Street, it ap-
peared, that a person in the character of a quaker
was asked by a purchaser if his horse would draw ?
" Thou wouldst bless thine eyes," said he, " if thou
couldst see him draw.'^ On this implied warranty,
the bargain was effected ; but, on its being found
the horse would not draw, the quaker was remon-
strated with, and made this answer — " I told thee,
friend, it would delight thine eyes to see my horse
draw : I am sure it would delight mine, for I never
could make him draw an ounce in his life."

The question may be asked. How is it that the
present system of declining to warrant horses sound,
so prevalent amongst noblemen and gentlemen,
both in their sales by private contract and at the
Repositories, does not affect the value of them more

SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS. 487

than it is found to do 2 The fact is, the seller or
his agent is generally asked the question, Is your
horse sound ? or, Do you believe him to be sound I —
and if answered in the affirmative by a person of
common veracity and respectability, it is in great
measure considered binding ; at least, a remon-
strance is sure to be made on the part of the pur-
chaser, if he has given any considerable price for
the horse, and he proves unsound, particularly if
the bargain has been a private one. In this case,
the matter in dispute is often submitted to a refer-
ence. An arbiter is appointed on each side, and
a third called in should they not be able to decide ;
and we consider this by much the best medium
for the arrangements of all disputes about horse-
flesh, and one in which justice is most likely to be
dealt out to each party. But we do not wonder at
a strong remonstrance being made against any
man's selling a horse he knows to be unsound, at
what may be called a sound price ; for, indepen-
dently of pecuniary loss and disappointment, a
dear bargain is considered a disagreeable reflection
on a man's judgment.

We will now proceed to the most important part
of this subject, and state what constitutes a sound,
and what an unsound horse. Mr. Stewart, veteri-
nary surgeon, and Professor of Veterinary Surgery
in the Andersonian University, Glasgow, says, (Ad-
mce to Purchasers of Horses^ p. 16,) " At first
view, it seems easy enough to define a sound horse.
It may be said a horse is sound when every part
of him is in perfect health ; but, upon farther con-

488 HORSE-DEALING.

sideration, it will appear, that such a definition
would be of little or no practical utility ; for scarcely
a seven-year-old in the kingdom could be fairly
said to answer to it. The most trifling splent,
or even a wart, no matter how small, or where
placed, are deviations from health, and would make
a horse unfit to be warranted, if such a definition
of the term ' sound' were to be adopted. It must
therefore be qualified in order to be useful, and that
the buyer and seller may be placed upon something
like an equal footing. This, however, is not so
easily done, for a horse is liable to several trifling
diseases, which do not in the least incapacitate
him ; and yet it is difiicult, I think I may almost
say impossible, to define soundness in such a way
as to admit those, without, at the same time, ad-
mitting others of greater consequence ; and, on the
other hand, it is as difiicult to define unsoundness,
so as to embrace all those diseases or faults which
deteriorate the animal, without likewise including
many that do not. Under such circumstances, a
middle course is the most advisable ; and though
there must be some outstanding points, yet they
are so seldom met with, that they may be left to
the decision of the lawyer or the veterinary sur-
geon, according to circumstances. It is evident,
however, that natural defects in the conformation,
temper, or action of the animal, must not be con-
sidered as unsoundness. There is difi'erence of
opinion and strife enough in horse-dealing already ;
and to introduce the doctrine, that a natural defect
is an unsoundness, would not diminish it. Nothing

SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS. 489

but the existence of disease of one kind or another
can in justice be so considered. I think the defini-
tion most likely to be generally useful, and most
impartial to both buyer and seller, is this: — A
horse is sound when there is no disease about any
part of him, that renders, or is likely in future to
render, him less useful than he would be without
it ; and, of course, a horse must be unsound when
he has any disease about him, that renders, or is
likely in future to render, him less useful than he
would be without it."

On the question, What do you consider consti-
tutes a sound horse l being put to Mr. Mavor, of
New Bond Street, London, a veterinary surgeon of
great practical experience, (See Horseman s Manual^
p. 9,) his answer was — " I consider a horse to be
sound which is perfect in structure, and perfect in
f unction. ""

" I also consider a horse to be sound, though
with alteration in the structure, provided he has
never been either lame or incapacitated (and is not
likely to become lame and incapacitated) from per-
forming the ordinary duties to which he may be
subjected in consequence of such alteration, and
can perform them with equal facility as if there
had been no such alteration of structure."

We heartily concur in both these definitions of
soundness ; and our own opinion of a sound horse
is comprehended in a few words. If a horse be free
from disease, and from any alteration of structure,
attended with interruption to, or impairment of,
function, it matters not how much soever he may

490 HORSE-DEALING.

be blemished, or how imperfect soever may be his
texture. These are matters that concern only the
buyer, who of course can see them previous to pur-
chase ; and it might perhaps surprise persons un-
acquainted with sporting affairs, to walk through
the various hunting-studs of Great Britain, with
reference to these points. He would see in horses,
whose owners value them highly, not only every
deformity of texture, such as twisted legs, distorted
spine, hips shotten, defective eyes, confirmed
roarers, (one of which we will name, viz., the late
General Sir Charles Wardens famous hunter Star^
for which he refused the enormous sum of six hun-
dred guineas,) crib-biters, and wind-suckers ; horses
with curby hocks, with bone, bog, and blood spa-
vins, with thorough-pin, with ring bone, with
string halt, with thrush or thrushes, with splents,
with corns, with windgalls, with chronic cough,
and lastly, though frequently, w^ith one leg quite
as laro^e again as its fellow ; and he might still see
such horses " performing,'' as Mr. Mavor expresses
it, " the ordinary (and, we may add, extraordi-
nary) duties to which they may be subjected,''
quite as well as if they were free from such defects ;
or, in his own words, as if they had been " perfect
in structure and perfect in function." Still, as
some of these diseases might sooner or later either
destroy the animal — at all events, considerably
lessen his value — we consider a warranty of sound-
ness could not be given to a horse with defective
eye or eyes, or affected with chronic cough, and
perhaps with corns ; but we doubt whether an

SOUNDNESS AND UN.SOUNDNESS. 491

action would lie against the warranty of either the
roarer or the crib-biter, provided the alteration in
the structure of the former, and the ugly, and too
often hurtful, habit of the latter, did not incapaci-
tate them from doing all that the purchaser required
of them. We therefore pronounce a horse to be a
sound horse, if, with proper care of him in the
stable, and no unnecessary or unreasonable abuse
of him wdien at work, he performs the duties he is
required to perform, and continues to perform them
after proper intervals of rest. We differ, therefore,
from Chief Justice Best, (afterwards Lord AVyn-
ford,) who told the jury (Best v. Osborne) that
sou7id meant perfect ; but it is fair to add, that
his lordship was sitting in judgment on a case
wherein the operation of unnerving having been
performed unknown to the purchaser, was set forth
against a warranty of soundness. How far perfec-
tion in the nervous and organic system is absolutely
essential is another question ; but many instances
could be produced of horses having had the nerve
leading from the foot up the leg divided, carrying-
heavy sportsmen with hounds equally well as if, in
this respect, they had been perfect. That cele-
brated horseman, Mr. Maxse, rode a horse that had
been thus operated upon, over Leicestershire, and
was well and safely carried by him. A castrated
horse is not a perfect horse ; neither, in the strict
application of the term, could one be so considered
that had been either docked or cropped.

But unsoundness is a term, the exact limits of
which are not very clearly defined. For example,

492 HOUSE-DEALING.

crib-biting, in its incipient state, has been held to
be no unsoundness ; but when inveterate, and inter-
fering with the health of the animal, which it does
by impairing his digestion, it then has been held
to fall within the meaning of the term. But how
many thousand first-rate hunters and race-horses
have been and are crib-biters ; and, with the com-
mon precaution of the neck-strap, not in the least
the worse for it. Thus it appears that the doc-
trine laid down by Lord Ellenborough is right —
namely, " that any infirmity which renders a horse
less fit for present use or convenience, is an un-
soundness : " to which we may add, in the spirit of
controversy, that any infirmity which does not
render a horse less fit for present use or conve-
nience, is not an unsoundness. Nevertheless, we
think it is not justifiable in a person to sell a horse
which is a crib-biter, how good soever he may be,
without previously mentioning the fact to the
buyer, although the act is generally self-evident,
from the mark made on the neck by the preventive
strap.

A few years back. Sir John Dean Paul, the Lon-
don banker, was plaintiff in an action to recover
the price given by him for a horse which proved
to be a crib-biter, and obtained a verdict ; but the
evidence of the veterinarians, who were examined
on the point in question, was curiously contra-
dictory. But how stands the matter of unsound-
ness in regard to a temporary lameness ? Why,
in a case which turned upon an alleged lameness,
wherein it was admitted by a witness for the de-

SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS. 498

fendant, that one of the fore-legs had been ban-
daged, because it was weaker than the other, a ver-
dict was obtained by the plaintift*. (See Law
Magazine for October 1828.) It was held by Lord
Ellenborough in this case, that to constitute un-
soundness, it is not essential that the infirmity
should be of a permanent nature ; it is sufficient if
it render the animal for the time unfit for service.
Now, it is well known that amongst hunters and
racers, bandages on the legs are nearly as common
as head-collars on their heads, and that at least six
out of ten of the former are subject to temporary
lameness, perhaps two or three times in a season.
But this decision, says the writer in the Law
Magazine^ on the subject of warranty, appears to
contradict a prior one, in which Eyre, 0. J., held,
that a slight lameness, occasioned by the horse
having taken up a nail at the farrier's, was not an
unsoundness. This learned Judge, in his observa-
tions to the Jury, remarks, " A horse, labouring
under a temporary injury or hurt, which is capable
of being speedily cured or removed, is not for that
an unsound horse, within the meaning of the war-
ranty."' If these decisions are not to be regarded
as conflicting, one deduction ought possibly to be,
that such slight injuries as proceed from external
causes, and are, with moral certainty, to be speedily
and effectually cured, do not fall under the head of
infirmities^ which term properly comprehends such
diseases only as may, without much improbability,
hang by the animal through life, while they impair
his present usefulness.

494 HORSE-DEALING.

And here arises another difficulty. How man}^
thousand first-rate hunters (and it was frequently
the case with race-horses when they were kept in
training for any considerable time beyond the
period of their colthood) are subject to chronic
cough ! Now, chronic cough does not render a
horse " less fit for present use and convenience;''
and yet, in the case of Sliillit^e v. Olaridge, it was
held by Lord Ellenborough to be unsoundness,
although the buyer was told that the horse in
question had a cough, and there was no evidence
of any mismanagement by the buyer. "If it had
a cough,'' said his Lordship, " and it was of a per-
manent nature, I have always held, that it was a
breach of warranty ; and such has, I believe, been
the understanding both in the profession and among
veterinary suro-eons. On that understandino- I
have always acted, and think it quite right. Know-
ledge makes no difference. There was a case before
Mr. J. Lawrence, in which it was held, and it was
there said, that the plaintiff might rely upon the
warranty only, and not choose to trust to his own
knowledge. I have always understood that a cough
is an unsoundness. The horse was then unsound
when he was bought ; and there is no proof of any
discontinuance of that unsoundness, or that he
would have got well if he had not been hunted."
Now, as it is held, that " no length of time elapsed
after the sale will alter the nature of a contract
originally false," it would appear, that a person
purchasing a hunter with chronic cough, warranted

FORMS OF WARRANTY. 495

sound, may have his season's hunting out of him,
and then return him as unsound.

Despite of the slender security warranties for
the most part afford, we give the various forms.

London^ August 1, 1842.
Received from A. B. the sum of fifty pounds
sterling, for a bay gelding, warranted sound.

0^50. C. D.

To this may be added the age, if known to the
seller, dating it from the previous May. Also
" free from vice ;*" quiet to ride and drive ; neither
a crib-biter, a wind-sucker, nor restive ; that is to
say, if the seller is so accommodating as to extend
his warrantv so far, which few, we tlmik, would
do. ' ^

White gives the following form. (See Veteri-
nary Dictionary^ p. 318.)

" Received of the sum of ,

for a black gelding, warranted perfectly sound, free

from every kind of vice, and between and ■

years old.''

If for harness, the words, " steady in harness, not
given to kicking, roaring, or jibbing ; " all of
which may be called fine ground on which to dis-
play the ingenuity of the learned profession, and
the " glorious uncertainty of the law."

It appears to be going great lengths in warrant-
ing the temper and abilities of any animal, never-

496 HORSE-DEALING.

theless, the warranty of " free from vice"' in a horse
we know nothing of, is by no means an unnecessary
precaution ; for we know that, in the London Re-
positories, horses are sold over and over again,
(which is called, amongst the fraternity of low
horse-dealers, " going round the mill,"") which will
neither draw nor carry, and are consequently per-
fectly unserviceable.

AlthouD'h anatomical knowledo^e would be want-
ing to discover the various causes of diseases in the
following various parts of a horse, still the follow-
ing directions for examining the seat of them, as
given by Professor Stewart, may be very useful to
a purchaser : —

" The head. For the eyes ; for cataract, glass-
eyes, and^pecks. The nostrils ; for glanders,
tumours, ^d cold. The glands between the
brooches of the lower jaw, for enlargement. The
throat ; for mark of crib-biting strap, and the
tenderness which accompanies cold. The teeth ;
for the age, and marks of crib-biting. The veins
of the neck ; to see that both are entire.

" The fore-leg and shoulder. The seat of the
collar ; for tumours. The point of the elbow, for
tumours. The knee ; for blemishes and stiffness
of that joint. The shank ; for speedy-cut, splent,
and strain. The fetlock-joint ; for enlargement,
windgalls, unnerving, and marks of cutting. The
pastern ; for ring-bone.

" The foot ; for side-bones, sandcrack, contrac-
tion, thrush, corns, and flat-soles. The shoe ; for
signs of cutting.

SEATS OF DISEASE. 497

" The trunk and quarters. Each side of the chest ;
for marks of blisters and rowels. The space between
the fore-legs ; for the same. The stifle ; for en-
largement. The groin ; for rupture.

" The hock ; for capped hock, curb, thorough-pin
bone spavin, and bog spavin, (no blood spavin.)
Then the horse should be mounted, and ridden a
few hundred yards at a gallop, in order to quicken
his breathing, and thereby display the presence or
absence of roaring, thick-wind, or broken-wind.

" This brief summary will assist the memory,
bringing, as it does, the seat and causes of unsound-
ness into one point of view. It includes, however,
some ohjectionables^ which, properly speaking, do
not constitute unsoundness ; such as windgalls,
thorough-pin, capped hock, and string halt. The
first two are objectionable, as indicating that the
horse has been severely exerted, and may be other-
wise more seriously injured. The two last are
eye-sores, and only to be avoided as such."

We will remark on a few of the points here
specified which relate to fraud and warranty. The
eye is a point difficult to decide upon, and often
a subject for fraud, particularly amongst the lower
orders of dealers, who used formerly to have very
bright ivhite walls, against which they showed
their horses, when the reflection concealed cata-
racts, which are in themselves white. But this
important organ is difficult to judge of, even in its
healthy state, by reason of the varieties in itis
organisation ; and still more so to detect the extent
of disease which may have, at some time or an-
2t

498 HORSE-DEALING.

other, attached to it. Even the best judges of horse-
flesh have purchased horses without having de-
tected deeply seated cataracts, which shows the
necessity of caution ; and the best security is, the
inspection of a professional man, who is alone equal
to form a correct opinion on the subject, which will
be at once apparent on perusal of Mr. PercivaPs
sixty-first lecture " on the eye,'' Part III., p. 131.

" The Teeth for the Age" are also made sub-
servient to fraud, and sometimes by the breeder.
A three-year colt is passed off as a four-year-old,
by pulling out a milk or sucking tooth on each
side of the two central ones, and then the other
two, or the horse teeth, make their appearance
much sooner than they otherwise would, and the
colt brings a four-year-old price, whereas he is, in
fact, but a few months more than three. The old
trick of Bishopping, as it is called, from Bishop
having been the name of the rogue Avho invented
it, although it may deceive an experienced buyer,
will fail in doing so by one who has had much
experience in horses, because there are other cri-
teria than the teeth, which mark the age of horses.
The latter would not reject a horse if he liked him,
and did not object to his price, merely because his
mouth is too old to express his age. He w^ould esti-
mate the probability of his future services by the
state of his leo's and feet, as also of his constitu-
tion, all of which are often worn out before a horse
arrives at what may be called his maturity —
namely, seven or eight years old.

There can scarcely be deception as to broken

SEATS OF DISEASE. 499

knees, or any other blemished part, where the in-
jury has been extensive ; but, in the former case, a
minute inspection is necessary, as sometimes means
are taken to colour the injured part on which the
hair has been destroyed, and thereby make it so
nearly to resemble nature as to be rather difficult
of detection. Broken knees are no detriment to a
horse, provided the action of the joint be free, and
consequently many broken kneed horses, as hun-
ters, sell for large sums. The author himself sold
one, thus blemished, for two hundred and fifty
guineas.

The examination of " the shank for speedy cut,
splent, and strain," is an easy task, as such evils
are self-apparent ; but the detection of incipient
ring-bone is not within the ken of the inexperienced.
Should any fulness appear round the coronet,
(" caveat emptor^'') let a veterinary surgeon be
called to give his opinion on it, for there are few
diseases more uncertain of cure than ring-bone.

"The Foot" is now so generally understood,
that it may be needless to say more than to re-
mind the buyer of the proverb, " No foot, no horse."
" The hock" is the most complicated, therefore
most difficult joint for the uninitiated to form a
judgment upon. It is not in every person's power
to detect the absolute presence of disease in this
part, still more so to foretell the probability of it
in future ; but there is a certain conformation of
this joint which almost ensures disease, and conse-
quently it should be most minutely examined as to
its shape, substance, &c.

500 HORSE-DEALING.

" Broken wind"' is easily discoverable ; and it is
only amongst the most disreputable of the frater-
nity that it is ever attempted to be concealed,
which can be done for a few hours, by adminis-
tering a certain quantity of lead, which, by its
pressure, checks the violent action of the abdomi-
nal muscles, or what is called heaving of the flanks.
But " roaring," " wheezing," and " thick wind,"
are by no means always discoverable in a common
trial of a horse, such as a dealer is disposed to
give, on a good sound road. Nothing but a gallop
over soft ground, or against a hill, can be depended
upon in certain stages and degrees of either of these
complaints.

Dealing on a Sunday. — "All dealings and con-
tracts which are made on a Sunday by persons in
their ordinary calling are declared void by the
Stat. 29, Charles IL, c. 7, § 2 ; and, independent
of the illegality of the act, dealing on that day
is not a very respectable occupation. However, if
the person who buys or sells on a Sunday is not
thereby following his ordinary calling, the law will
not set aside the contract.

Lord Mansfield said, in the case of Drury ^.
Defontaine, where an objection was made that the
contract for sale took place on a Sunday — " The
bargaining and selling horses on a Sunday is cer-
tainly a very indecent thing, and what no religious
person would do ; but we cannot discover that the
law has gone so far as to say, that every contract
made on a Sunday shall be void, although, under
these penal statutes, if any man, in the exercise

SELLING BY SERVANTS. 501

of his ordinary calling, shall make a contract on a
Sunday, that contract would be void."

Again, Bloxsome t. Williams, where Bloxsome
made a bargain with Williams, who was a horse-
dealer, (but of which fact he was ignorant at the
time,) for a horse on a Sunday, which was war-
ranted, but proved unsound, it was held by Mr.
Justice Bailey, that Bloxsome, having no know-
ledge that Williams was a horse-dealer, and exer-
cising his calling on a Sunday, had not been guilty
of a breach of the law, and therefore entitled to
recover back the price of the horse on the action
for the breach of the warranty.

In Fennell n. Ridler, it was laid down that the
statute before mentioned, " for the better obser-
vance of the Lord's Day,*" applies to private as well
as public conduct, and that a horse-dealer cannot
maintain an action upon a private contract for the
sale and warranty of a horse, if made on a Sun-
day." *

Selling Horses by Servants. — In the case of
Alexander 'c. Gibson, an action was brought upon
a warranty given by Gribson's servant. Lord Ellen-
boi'ough said — " If the servant was authorised to
sell the horse, and to receive the stipulated price,
I think he was incidentally authorised to give a
warranty of soundness. It is now most usual, on
the sale of horses, to require a warranty, and the
agent who is employed to sell, when he warrants the
horse, may fairly be presumed to be acting within
the scope of his authority. This is the common

* See HorsemarCs Manual, p, QQ.

502 HORSE-DEALING.

and usual method in which the business is done,
and the agent must be taken to be vested with
power to transact the business with which he is
intrusted in the common and usual manner.

" I am of opinion, therefore, that if the defen-
dant's servant warranted this horse to be sound,
the defendant is bound by the warranty."

Mr. Justice Bailey, Pickering «. Busk, went
farther than Lord Ellenborough, and said — "If the
servant of a horse-dealer, with express directions
not to warrant, does warrant, the master is bound ;
because the servant, having a general authority to
sell, is in a condition to warrant, and the master
has not notified to the world that the general
authority is circumscribed."

In an analogous case of Fenn ^\ Harrison, where
the above opinions were quoted. Lord Kenyon
doubted the propriety of a master's being bound by
his servant's warranty, and said he thought the
maxim of " respondeat superior" applied.

A difference of opinion appearing on this point,
the safest way is, for the master to write down the
instructions for his servant, if he himself do not
choose to be referred to.

Fraud. — In order to set aside a bargain for
horses, (or indeed for any thing else,) any fraud or
deception practised at the time of the sale will void
the contract; and it is not absolutely necessary
that the horse should be unsound, so as to consti-
tute a breach of warranty, in order to annul a bar-
o-ain where fraud has been practised. But if a man
will not use his endeavours to protect his own in-

FRAUD. oOo

terest, the law will not take cognisance of the im-
positions which may be practised upon him owing
to his negligence. Vigilantihus^ non dormientibus,
jura suhserxiunt^ — (the laws relieve the careful, not
the negligent,) — is an ancient maxim in the law,
and forms an insurmountable barrier against the
claims of an improvident purchaser. In Dyer t*.
Hargrove, (a case in Chancery,) a purchaser was
compelled to take an estate, though varying from
the description inserted in the particulars of sale,
in consequence of not having taken the trouble
to look into the truth of the statement. And in
another case, of Bayly 'e. Merrel, it was held, that
" no man was bound to give credence to another's
speech ;" and the Judges instanced a case where
'' a person buys a horse under a warranty that he
has both his eyes, when he hath but one, in which
case the buyer is remediless ; for it is a thing which
lies in his own cognisance, and such warranty or
affirmation is not to be material, or be regarded ;
but otherwise it is, in cases where the matter is
secret, and properly in the cognisance of him who
warrants it."

Perhaps enough has now been stated to show the
value of '•'' caveat emptor'''' to all who purchase or
sell horse-flesh; and there only remains one species
of fraud to be mentioned, which, although for a
long time practised with great success in London,
is nearly worn thread-bare by means of the seve-
ral exposures of it by the press. We allude to
the practice of chaunting unsound horses, as this
species of SAvindling is called, by the means of

504 HORSE-DEALIKG.

admirably drawn up advertisements in the most
respectable of the London papers. The chief in-
ducement to become the dupe of these advertising
scoundrels, is the apparently candid offer of "aweek'^s
trial ;" and thus has the business been conducted :
— The unfortunate victim, lured by the specious
wording of the advertisement, in addition to the
week's trial — it being very often stated that price
was not so much an object, as getting the horse or
horses (sometimes the property of the widow of a
deceased clergyman) into good hands — asks for
John the ostler, or William the groom, according to
directions given him, when one of them makes his
appearance. The master also is always at hand, and
after a careful survey of his customer, will make his
appearance in the stable, to confirm what might have
been stated by his confederates. And now comes
the finish : — on the gentleman expressing a wish
for " the week's trial,'"" John or William is ordered
to take the horse immediately to the gentleman's
stables, putting the card of the said gentleman
into his hand. But when on the point of quitting
the yard, the following question is invariably put
to the unsuspecting dupe — " I suppose, sir, you
will not object to leaving a cheque for half the
amount asked for the horse, as you are a stranger
to me." The cheque is no sooner given, than it
finds its way to the bankers ; but when the horse
finds its way back, after having been proved totally
worthless, neither John the ostler, William the
groom, much less the master, is to be found. One
individual, formerly a country horse-dealer and of

A dealer''s yard. 505

very respectable appearance, carried on this trade
for a great many years, and although frequently
brought before the Police Magistrates, he always
escaped punishment from the difficulty of proving
fraud. The horses selected for this purpose are
generally of the finest symmetry and appearance,
but from accident or disease rendered useless.

The interior of a dealer's yard during the hours
of business, is by no means an uninteresting sight ;
at all events an entertaining one, especially in Lon-
don. The anxious stare of the by-standers, whilst
listening to the insinuating oratory of the dealer-
interrupted only by a parenthetical exclamation to
his man to " heep his whip still^'' an admonition
which he knows better than to attend to — together
with the alternate workings of doubt and confidence
in the customer, exhibit human nature in some-
what more than her every-day costume. Horse-
dealing, however, like the game of whist, requires
a partner, and it often happens that there is some
one in hearing of the customer to confirm what the
dealer has advanced, and " caveat emptor^^ should be
always present to his mind. Shameful misrepre-
sentations of the merits and qualifications of horses
are made on those occasions, and although there
may be several honourable exceptions amongst the
higher order of dealers, we may quote the words of
an old writer, who says, that " as mortar sticketh
between stones, so sticketh fraud between buyers
and sellers of horses."

A large horse fair is the scene not only of amuse-
ment, but those who think with Pope, that the best
2u

506 HORSE-DEALING.

study of mankind is man, and take his axiom in
its literal sense, may here indulge in the observance
of character in its various grades, from the best
bred gentleman to the lowest vagabond in the com-
munity, whose " slang'" must amuse, although it
may fail to edify. Horncastle, in Lincolnshire,
boasts the largest in England ; but that held at
Preston, in Lancashire, which continues for a week,
combines pleasure with business, being attended by
the neighbouring gentry and their families, whose
attraction is a splendid ball, and various other
gaieties.

But there is a good deal to be said in mitigation
of the general opinion that an honest horse-dealer
is a character written in the dust ; and there is a
saying amongst the fraternity that helps to bear
them out. " If we buy the devil," say they, " we
must sell the devil." Now, it was the advice of a
quaint writer, some hundred years back, that " If
you have fallen on a bargain not for your turn,
make the market your chapman, rather than a
friend ;" and such we know to be the general prac-
tice amongst gentlemen. If they have a horse they
do not like — perhaps vicious, perhaps a tumble-
down, perhaps unsound — they send him to a fair to
be sold for what he will fetch. It too often hap-
pens that even the scrutinizing eye of a dealer fails
to discover either of these objections, and having
purchased him he must sell him. Again, dealers
are not always to blame in cases of horses sold by
them not turning out well, or even becoming un-
sound. Their warrantv of soundness should not

AN APOLOGY FOR DEALERS. 507

be made responsible — though it often is — for what
may happen to a horse for a certain time after he
has been sold, whereas it may be the consequence of
mismanagement, by the purchaser, particularly in
putting him to work too soon, when, in what is
called " dealer's condition" — namely, all fat and
no muscle. Moreover, they are entitled perhaps to
some advantage over the buyer, as also over the
seller, from the price at which they must have pur-
chased their experience ; for our common judgment
of figure, animate or inanimate, is by no means an
inherent faculty, but a practical result of expe-
rience, and often repeated experiments. Indeed, a
great moral philosopher says, in allusion to games
of chance — that the position that one side ought
not to have any advantage over the other, is
neither practicable nor true ; not practicable, be-
cause that perfect equality of skill and judgment
which this rule requires, is seldom to be met
with. And as to that rule of justice which the
same writer requires to be inculcated, namely —
" that the seller is bound in conscience to disclose
the faults of what he offers for sale,"' we are
not to expect so much virtue in horse-dealers,
whom it would be difficult to convince by the same
rule of ethics, (actions being the same, as to all
moral purposes which proceed from the same mo-
tives and produce the same effects,) that it is mak-
ing a distinction without a difference, to esteem it
a fraud to magnify beyond the truth the virtues of
what they have to sell, but none to conceal its
faults. It would, however, greatly add to the value

508 HORSE-DEALING.

of this kind of honesty that it should pass current
amongst all persons who sell horses, inasmuch as
their faults are often of a nature known only to
themselves, in which case the purchaser has no se-
curity from imposition but in the ingenuousness and
integrity of the seller.

Then, another argument in favour of the horse-
dealer, is, the fact of there being no law or rule to
define his profit. No one horse forms a criterion
for the value of another, and the circumstances
under which horses are sold, are so different, that
the better horse is oftentimes purchased for the
smaller price. The value of a race-horse, for ex-
ample, has never been defined, and hunters vary
much in price, depending as much perhaps on the
whim of the purchaser, and the independence of
the seller, as on the character of the horse itself.
But this is not the case with the tradesman who
opens a shop, who, although the goods are his own,
and it might be imagined he had a right to pre-
scribe the terms upon which he would consent to
part with them, yet by the very act of exposing
them to public sale, he virtually engages to deal
with his customers at a market price. This, it is
true, is an implied, and not an absolute contract ;
nevertheless, the breach of it constitutes fraud.
The horse-dealer, however, disclaims any such en-
gagement in his traffic with the public, and there-
fore sets what value he pleases upon his articles,
and obtains the highest price within his reach.

But a horse-dealer, on his defence, goes into a
Court of Justice, like a dog with a bad name, by the

PREJUDICE AGAINST DEALERS. 509

influence of which, coupled with the want of practi-
cal knowledge in the jury, and perhaps the preju-
dice of all parties, he does not always obtain justice.
It is generally taken for granted that he must have
known of the unsoundness or vice of the horse in dis-
pute, which circumstance, coupled with those before
mentioned, and the contradictory statements of ig-
norant and incompetent witnesses, operate strongly
against him. It too often happens, however, that
a mass of perjury, on one side or another, is pro-
duced in Court, disgusting to all persons of decent
character, and such as could not well be surpassed
under the dispensations of the dark ages, which as-
sumed to deprive oaths of their validity and sin of
its guilt. But horse-dealers are averse to appear
in Court at all, -which is a proof of their good judg-
ment ; and if they would exercise a little more
candour in their dealings, so as to prevent the fre-
quent necessity they are under of taking back
horses which they have sold, they would find it
much to their advantage, and bring many good
customers to their stables. " Have a regard to thy
name,'" saith the son of Sirach, " for that will con-
tinue with thee above a thousand great treasures
of gold;" but the winged Mercury is the horse-
dealer's god, and he rightly interprets his emble-
matic appendage, for he seldom lets an opportunity
fly away of taking hold of a good ofiier, lest it
should never come within his reach as^ain.

The following humorous character is given of a
horse-dealer by Butler, the author of Hudibras : —
" A horse-dealer,^' savs he, " is one who reads

510 HORSE-DEALING.

horses, and understands all the virtues and vices
of the whole species. He makes his first applica-
tion to a horse, as some lovers do to a mistress,
with special regard to eyes and legs. He has
more ways to hide defects in horse-flesh than wo-
men have decays in faces, with which oaths and
lies are the most general accompaniments. He un-
derstands the chronology of a horse's mouth most
critically, and will find out the year of his nativity
by it as certainly as if he had been at the mare's
labour that bore him ; and he is a strict jobserver
of saint-days, only for the fairs that are kept on
them."

After all, few horse-dealers are really good judges
of horses. It is true, that many of them possess a
peculiar rapidity of vision, the eff"ect of a quickened
intellect ; and that, in the inspection of a horse,
one of their eagle glances will comprehend more
than half an hour's scrutiny from other eyes, yet
this chiefly has reference to what may be termed
his selling points. They too often buy horses as
butchers do bullocks, by their size and weight ; and
as fat conceals many faults, their highest notion of
condition is being fat. Of action — that is, proper,
lasting action — they are for the most part ignorant,
and, for that reason, very few of them have a good
judgment in hunters, which are for the most part
selected for them by agents or friends, some of
whom are always on the '" look out" for them.

The vocabulary of the horse-dealing fraternity is
not less amusing than pithy, having what is called
a '' flash" term for almost every description of

THE ' FOOL-CATCHER.' oJ 1

horse. Amongst these is, the " fool-catcher,'' —
namely, a horse with a good head and tail, possessing
showy action, but not intrinsically worth twelve
months keep. This sort of animal, from his worth-
lessness, is commonly purchased at a small price ;
but when made fat by bran-mashes, and other soft
food, is sure — in London particularly — to answer
to his name. But all this is classical. The jug-
gler mentioned by Xenophon, requested the gods
to allow him to remain only in places where there
was much money and abundance of fools, " o'rrou
av fig, didovai '/.aoirou (mv d(pdoviav, (ppsvuv ds d(po^iav." A
great portion of horse-buyers, however, have to
thank themselves for being cheated in their pur-
chases, because they will rely on their own judg-
ment, without its having had the benefit of expe-
rience. Almost every man, in fact, wishes to be
thought a good judge of a horse, which, from the
various points to be taken into consideration, not
only of form, but as relating to action, for several
purposes, is of all others the animal most difficult
to judge of correctly. But such is the case in other
matters than horse-dealing, and the experience
which often comes too late for our own use, is rare-
ly accepted for that of others.

The author of these pages can produce two cir-
cumstances relating to his own transactions in
horse-buying, from which hints may be taken. The
first has reference to warranty, and its — in his case
— inutility. He purchased a five-year-old hunter
of a clergyman in Bedfordshire, who bred him, for
the sum of 1 30 guineas, warranted sound. Three

512 HORSE-DEALING.

days after his arrival in Leicestershire, whither he
was led by the side of another horse, he fell lame
in a fore-foot ; and it proved an incurable case of
navicular disease. The disease, in its incipient
state, no doubt existed when he purchased the harse,
and the journey (only at the rate of 25 miles per
day, at a foot's pace,) produced lameness; but as he
could not pro'ce the horse had been lame premously to
his hamng purchased him^ (although he observed to
his owner that he appeared to favour the foot in
his stall,) he could not return him as unsound.

The other was the case of a cart-horse, purchased
at Reading May-day fair. The owner so continued
matters, that he (the purchaser) never was per-
mitted to see the near side of the said horse's
body, although, of course, he examined him in
front and behind. When he arrived at his house,
he proved to be striped on that side, like the
Zebra, by severe lashings of a whip, he being the
" rankest gibber,'' to use a horse-market term, that
perhaps ever was foaled. Strange, however, to say,
it was only when put to a waggon or cart that he
would gib ; a better plough-horse no man need re-
quire.

Another case may be quoted, in which the author
was able to return a horse (and these are the only
two instances in which he considered himself en-
titled to do so,) under somewhat unusual circum-
stances. He gave the late Mr. Stroud, the cele-
brated Oxfordshire dealer, 180 guineas for a horse,
on condition that his hocks (which looked suspi-
cious,) should stand sound on trial with hounds.

CONCLUDING CAUTION TO PURCHASERS. 513

On the first day of his riding him, he cut one of
his heels so deeply by an over-reach, that he could
not try him again for a period of two months. His
hocks then gave way, and the money was, after
some hesitation, offered to be returned, but the pur-
chaser preferred taking another horse, at the same
price, which proved one of the best hunters he ever
had in his stable.

The followino- remarks of the editor of the Bri-
tannia newspaper, (December 15, 1841,) in a re-
port of a trial of warranty — Hazell x. Bardell —
in which a verdict was given for the plaintiff, are
very much to the purpose : —

" This is one of that class of actions which go
under the name of Horse Causes, and in which the
witnesses on both sides usually seem to consider
they have a prescriptive right to indulge in an un-
limited quantity of what is technically termed
' hard swearing."* We should say there is no
branch of dealings in which every class of society
is so frequently taken in, as in the purchase of
horses. A dashing sheriff 's-officer who, in his time,
had played many parts, is, for the moment, meta-
morphosed into a nobleman, wishing to dispose of
some thorough-bred animals, in consequence of his
unavoidable absence on the Continent ; or an ima-
ginary lady of quality, existing only in the fervid
imagination of some ' horse chaunter,' desires to
part with an exquisite pair of ponies, of so gentle a
character that a child might drive them. There
are no specific rules by which persons can conduct
themselves so as to avoid these impostures, but

5 J 4 HORSE-DE A LING.

they may, at any rate, decline placing confidence
in those with whom they have no previous ac-
quaintance. In transactions which are fair, the
negotiating party is anxious that every facility be
given to a purchaser to see that he is being treated
with in good faith ; and we should pause the mo-
ment we detect undue haste or reservation, as, in
nineteen cases out of twenty, we may depend upon
it, there is something suspicious in the transaction.
The only safe warranty is a trial of several days,
and the disinterested opinion of an experienced
veterinary surgeon."*'

INDEX.

A

Action of the Race-horse, 52-54 ; of the Hunter, 98, 99 ; of the
Hackney, 118-124 ; of the Charger, 135 ; of the Gig-horse, 150,

Age of Hounds, 353, 354'.

Arabia, the Horse not indigenous to, 5, 6 ; climate of, highly
favourable to the rearing of Horses, 11.

Arabian Horse, character of the, 15-18; comparative speed of
the Arabian and English Horses, 22-24.

Arts, (Fixe) the Horse a favourite subject in the, 4.

Ass, (The) preferred to the Horse in the early ages, 1, 2.

Athenians, (The) their love of hunting, 370.

Augustus, his use of Horses for posting, 152.

B

Baroda, races at, 20.

Beagle, (The) described, 361, 362.

Beckford's (Mr.) description of a perfect Hound, 330-333;
character of his Book on Hunting, 388, 389 ; his picture of a
huntsman, 458, 459 ; remarks on the whipper-in, 473, 474.

Bengal, races at, 19.

Blood in the Race-horse, meaning of the term, 11-15.

Blood-Hound, (The English) its distinguisliing featvu-es and pro-
perties, 322-324.

Bombay, races at, 19.

Breeding the Race-horse, 24 ; crossing blood, 27-29 ; the Hun-
ter, 72-77 ; breeding Hounds, 328, 329, 334-338.

Bridle, varieties of, in general use, 282, 283.

Broken-wind in Horses, 500.

Brook-jumping, 101, 102, 268-272.

Buck*Hounds, Mr. Davis's account of the Royal, 425-431.

.516 INDEX.

c

Calcutta, I'ace at, 23.

Cart-Horse, (The) heavy less useful than lighter breeds, 155 ;

requisites of the, 156 ; best breeds of, 157, 162, 163.
Caveat emptor, value of this maxim to purchasers of Horses,

477 ; 'chaunting' unsound Horses, 503-505 ; the * fool-catcher,'

511.
Charger, (The) as described by the ancients, 132, 133; fatal

effects of cavalry officers not being properly mounted, 135 ;

what a charger ought to be, 135, 136 ; how to manage him, 223.
Charles II. greatly improved the breed of Horses, 10.
Chaunting unsound Horses, this species of swindling described,

503-505.
Check, maxims to be observed when it occurs, 468-471.
Clydesdale, famous for its Cart-horses, 157, 162, 163.
Clipping the Hunter recommended, 195, 196.
CoACH-HoRSE, (The) 138 ; the Gentleman's, his form and colour,

140-142 ; the Stage-coach Hoi'se, improvement in his condition,

142 ; necessary qualifications of, 143, 144 ; his pace, 145 ;

diseases peculiar to, 147.
Cob, (The) 127, 128.
Cock-tail, (The) description of, 66-68.
Colour of the thorough-bred Horse, 64-66 ; of the Coach-horse,

141, 142 ; of Fox-hounds, 349-351.
Cook (Colonel) on feeding Hounds, 347, 348.
Cossack Horses, beaten in a match by English, 25.
Covers, (Fox) observations on, 403-406.
Crib-biting m Horses, 492.

Crossing Blood, effect of in Horses, 27 ; in Hoimds, 336.
Cry of Hounds, 351-353.
Cyrus, his love of Himting, 370.
Colt, maxims for rearing a racing, 37-41 ; for rearing a Hunter,

78-80 ; purchase of Colts for Hunters, 80-82 ; fraud by which a

three-year-old is passed off as a four-year-old, 498.

D

Dashwood, (Sir John) his excellent breed of Harriers, 359.
David, King of Israel, his ignorance of the use of Horses, 3.
Darley's Arabian, 9.

Diseases of Horses hereditary, 34, 35 ; those peculiar to Coach-
horses, 147, 148.
Distemper in Horses, 42 ; in Dogs, 341-345.

INDEX.

517

Disunited, meaning of the term applied to a Horse, 228-230.

Dog, sagacity and fidelity of the, 314-316 ; his origin and history,
316-318 ; early reputation of the Dogs of Britain, 319-322. See
Hound, Fox-hound, Stag-hound, Blood-hound, Harrier, Beaglei

DupuY, (Professor) his remarks on the diseases of Horses,
33, 34.

E

Earth-stopping, 406 ; Mr. Smith's system of, 407, 408.
Eclipse, descended from the Darley Arabian, 21 ; his remarkable

form, 46 ; his action, 53 ; his organs of respiration, 56 ; his

colour, QB.
Egyptians, the Horse first used by them, 6 ; the Dog held sacred

by the, 317.

F

Falls in the hunting field, 276-279.

Faults of Hounds, 329.

Fences, variety of, 246-251 ; riding at fences, 259-271.

Field Sports vindicated from the charge of cruelty, 382-385.

Foaling, 41.

Food of Hunters, 187, 188, 201-205 ; of Hounds, 347, 348.

Fool-catcher, (The) description of Horse so called, 511.

Form of the Racer, 43-48, 50-52 ; of the Hunter, 82-94 ; of the
Hackney, 115-118; of the Charger, 133, 134; of the Coach -
horse, 139, 140 ; of the Fox-hound, 329-340.

Fownes, (Thomas, Esq.) the first to establish a pack of Fox-
hounds in England, 450-452. '

Fox, modern method of di^awing for the, 402, 403 ; woodland
Foxes superior to those bred in covers, 403, 404 ; nature and
habits, 453-457 ; maxims in drawing for the, 467, 468.

Fox-HOUND, (The) his oi'igin and improvement, 326-328 ; remarks
on breeding, 328 ; form, 329-340 ; choice of animals to breed
from, 331-336 ; crossing of, 336-338 ; height, 339, 340 ; distem-
per, 341-345 ; kennel management, 345 ; best mode of feeding,
347, 348 ; importance of watei'-runs in kennels, 348, 349 ; colour
of, 349-351 ; tongue or cry of, 351-353 ; age of, 354 ; Separation
of the sexes, 354, 355 ; names and price of, .356-358 ; first kept
in England, 386 ; Mr. Meynell's method of training, 390-400 ;
expense of a pack of, 409-412 ; the author's ideas of a complete
pack, 448, 449 ; average speed of, 450 ; account of the supposed

2x

518 INDEX.

first pack, 4.50, 451 ; duties of a huntsman in the kennel and
the field, 462-466.
Frauds in Horse-dealing, antiquity of, 477; the eye, 497,498;
fraud practised at the time of sale voids the contract, 502.

G

Galloway, (The) 128; several remarkable for speed, 128, 129.

George III. an ardent follower of Stag-hunting, 428-430.

Gig, (The) great improvement in the build of, 149 ; causes of
accidents, 151.

Gig-horse, (The) for town and country use, 149-151 ; mares ob-
jectionable, 151.

GoDOLPHiN Arabian, (The) 9, 10.

Goodlake, (Mr.) on the Greyhound, 363.

Gorse-covers, 404, 405.

Greeks, use of Horses among the ancient, 3-6 ; the breeding of
Horses enforced by them, 24 ; the Romans derived theu' know-
ledge of Horsemanship from them, 217.

Greyhound, (The) highly esteemed in the middle ages, and now
much improved, 362 ; the Orford breed, 363-365.

Grooms, 196; their cruelty to Horses sometimes produces vice,
479.

H

Hackney, (The) and its varieties. 111 ; description and requisites
of, 115 ; a perfect specimen of, 125 ; difference between Irish
and English, 158 ; road-riding, 237-243.

Hadrian, his passion for Hunting, 374.

Hare, (The) habits of, 444.

Hare-hunting, its antiquity, 436 ; difficulties to be overcome in,
440 ; terms used in, 447.

Harkaway, at Goodwood, 161.

Harrier, (The) 358 ; Dashwood breed celebrated, 359 ; as de-
scribed in " The Gentleman's Recreation," 437-439; great per-
fection of the modern, 441 ; Beckford's remarks on, 443.

Hawkes, (Mr.) his account of Mr. Meynell's mode of hunting,
390-400.

Head of the Horse, 44, 45 ; of the Hunter, 82 ; diseases of the,

496.
Health promoted by field sports, 380-381.
Height, standard of, in Fox-hounds, 338-340.
Henry 11. an encourager of the breeding of Hounds, 321.
Hollooing, cheering influence of, 464-466.

INDEX. 519

Horse, (The) his early history, 1, 2; the Ass preferred to him
in the early ages, 2, 3 ; difficulty of fixing his native country,
5 ; first used by the Egyptians, 6 ; different breeds, 7 ; the
* Racer,' 8 ; progressive improvement of the Race-horse, 9-1 1 ,-
meaning of the term ' Blood' in the Racer, 11-14 ; superiority
of the English over the Arabian, 23 ; over Cossack, 25 ; choice
of Stalhons and Mares for racing stock, 29-31 ; Stallions sub-
jected to legal restrictions abroad, 34 ; hereditary diseases in
the, 35 ; physiological remarks on the, 36 ; risk in rearing
young stock, and advice regarding the training of racing colts,
36-38 ; remarks on their diet and other treatment, 39-41 ; ob-
servations on the form, action, wind, temper, and speed of the
Racer, 43-62 ; the ' Cock-tail' described, 66-68 ; the « Hunter,'
his general usefulness, 70; the 'Hackney,' 111 ; the * Cover
Hack,' 112, 113; the ' Park Hack,' 113; 'the ' Lady's Horse,'
114; causes of stumbling, and method of detecting it, 120, 121 ;
tricks in, 124 ; the ' Pack Horse' extinct, 127 ; the ' Cob,' 127 ;
breeding of him hazardous, 128; the 'Galloway,' 128; the
' Pony,' remarkable for hardiness, 129, 130; the ' Charger ;'
the Duke of Wellington's Charger, 1 36 ; the ' Troop-Horse,'
137 ; the gentleman's ' Coach-Horse,' his form and colour, 138-
140 ; the ' Stage-Coach Horse,' improvement in his condition,
142 ; diseases peculiar to, and their cure, 147 ; the ' Gig-Horse,'
150, 151 ; Mares objectionable for gigs, 151 ; the ' Post-Horse,'
its character and form, 152-154; the 'Cart-Horse,' 155-157 ;
the ' Irish Hackney,' 1 58 ; the ' Irish Hunter,' 159, 160 ; ' Irish
Racer,' 161 ; Scotch Cart-Horses, 162, 163 ; remarks on the
treatment of the, 164-213; the Horse used m tournaments,
218, 219 ; early traffic in horses, 476 ; Warranty, 478-514. See
Mace-Horse, Hunter, Hack, Horsemanship, Horse-dealing, &c.

Horse-dealing, antiquity of, 476 ; laws relating to it, and the
difficulty of their application, 478 ; Horses warranted ' free
from vice,' often spoiled by harsh treatment, 479 ; advice to
inexperienced purchasers, 481 ; law of warranty, 482-487 ;
sound and unsound Horses, 489-494 ; remarks relating to
fraud and warmnty, 497 ; Sunday bargains, 500 ; selling by
servants, 501 ; tricks of dealers, 504 ; apology for them, 506 ;
dealers rarely judges, 511 ; the Author's personal experience,
511,512.

Horsemanship, ancient history of, 214-219 ; its advantages as an
accomplishment, 221, 222 ; different styles of, 223 ; directions
for Road Riding, 237-243 ; for riding in the Hunting Field,.

520 INDEX.

and Fencing, 243-280 ; importance of a fine hand, 281, 282 ;
observations on Race-Riding, and various methods of managing
a Horse upon the Turf explained, 294-309.

Hound, the difficulty of determining the original stock of the
Enghsh, 322 ; English Blood-Hound, and its properties, 324 ;
English Stag-Hound, its peculiarities and scarcity, 324, 325,
360, 361 ; the Fox-Hound, its origin and history, 326-328 ;
distemper, and its cures, 341-345 ; the Harrier, 358-360 ; the
Beagle, 361 ; the Greyhound, 362 ; varieties of the Hound as
described in * The Gentleman's Recreation,' 437-439. See
Beagle, Blood-hound, Fox-hound, Harrier, Stag-hound, ^c.

Hunter, (The) advantage of Eastern blood in the production of,
20, 21 ; his general usefulness, 70 ; bad consequences of breed-
ing from inferior stallions, 72-75 ; description of Brood Mares,
75-77 ; rearing and training, 78-81 ; form, 82-95 ; size, temper,
and courage, 95, 96 ; action, 98-104 ; may be either thorough
or half-bred, 103-106 ; advice in purchasing a Hunter, 106-110 ;
prices given for, 110 ; the Irish, and his peculiarities, 159, 160 ;
treatment of him during summer, old system condemned, 169,
182 ; advantages of the new system, and mode of treatment re-
commended, 183 ; clipping, 195 ; good stables indispensable,
197-200 ; proper food for, 201, 202 ; broken wind, 202, 203 ;
treatment of, before and after hunting, 203-207 ; management
of the legs and feet of, 208-213 ; the best mode of riding him
to hounds, and rules to be observed in fencing, 243-280.

Hunting, pre-eminence of, among manly sports, 367, 368 ; the
Hunting Seat, 243 ; early origin of, 369. 370 ; a favourite theme
of the ablest writers, 369-378 ; vindicated from the charge of
cruelty, 381-385 ; Mr. Meynell's opinions on fox-hunting, 389-
400 ; gorse covers, 404-407 ; earth-stopping, 407-409 ; expenses
of a pack of fox-hounds, 409-411 ; Stag-Hunting, 414-421 ;
Sporting Technology, 421, 422 ; the Royal Hunt, 425-431 ; Ot-
ter-Hunting, 432-436 ; Hare-Hunting, 436-448 ; the Fox, 453-
457 ; the Huntsman, 457-466 ; Dog Language, 466 ; Conclud-
ing Maxims, 467-475;

Huntsman, (The) his requisites and charactei-, 457-460 ; Beck-
ford's picture of a, 458-459 ; Gentlemen often act as, 460 ; du-
ties of, 462-466 ; manner of making himself intelligible to
hounds, 467.

I

India Company, account of races run by Horses belonging to their
stud, 19.

INDEX. 521

Irish Horses, peculiarities of the Hackney, 158 ; of the Hunter,
159 ; of the Racer, 161.

J

James T. the first to improve the Horse by Eastern Blood, 8,

Jews, reasons for the use of the Horse being forbidden to the, 2 :
Dogs held imclean by the, 317.

Jockey, the personal appearance of a racing jockey described,
293 ; his professional accomplishments and duties enumerated,
296-304 ; importance of his being acquainted with the temper
of his horse, 306-308 ; how to finish a race, 308, 309 ; qualifi-
cations of a Steeple Chase Jockey, 310, 311.

Jockeyship. See Race-Riding.

K

Kennel-Management, 345-349 ; 400, 401.

L
Lady's Horse, (The) 114, 115.

Lawrence, (Mr.) his scepticism regarding pedigrees, 68.
Leaping, first lessons of a colt in, 79, 80 ; one of the greatest ac-
complishments in a Hunter, 100-103.
Legs, management of Horses', 208-213.
Lick (The) in Horses, and its cure, 148.
Lincolnshire, celebrated for breeding Coach-Horses, 141.

M

Madras, races at, 20.

Manege, (The) 219-221.

Mare, choice of, for producing racing stock, 29-31 ; her treat-
ment at foaling time, 41 ; milk, 49 ; choice of, for breeding
hunters, 74 ; prejudice against mares as hunters, 77, 78 ; ob-
jectionable in single harness, 151.

Mayor's (Mr.) definition of a sound Horse, 489.

Megrims (The) in Horses, 147.

Meynell, (Mr.) his system of hunting, and its peculiarities,
389-400.

Military Seat, (The) 223-225.

Milk of the Brood-mare, 49.

Mounting a Horse, 225-227.

N
Names of Hounds, 356.

522

INDEX.

Neck of the Horse, 44, 45 ; of the Hunter, 82-84.
NiMROD, the first Hunter and King, 369.

0

Olympic Games, (The) 24.

Orford (Lord) celebrated for liis Greyhounds, 363-365.

Otter, (The) his habits, and mode of hunting him, 432; Lamb?

destroyed by, 435.
Otter-Houxd described, 435.
Otter-Hunting, 432-436.

P

Pack-Horse, (The) now out of use, 127.

Paddocks for Hunters, 200.

Persians, (The) their love of the chase, 370.

Phvsic for Hunters, 184, 185 ; 190-193.

Plunging, 124.

PooNAH, races at, 1 9.

Pony, (The) remarkable improvement upon, by attention, 129;
its exemption from lameness in the feet, 130 ; its great powers
of endm'ance, 130.

Post-Horse, (The) antiquity of, 152 ; improvement in the condi-
tion of, and description of Horse best fitted for the work,
153, 154.

Price of Hounds, 356-358.

Pyramus, the Ai-ab racer, 23.

R

Race-Courses, 304, 305.

Race-Horse, (The) 8 ; progressive improvement of, 9-1 1 ; mean-
ing of the term ' blood' in the, 11-14 ; different breeds, 21-25 ;
superiority of the English racer, 23 ; match between English
and Cossack racers, 25 ; effects of ' crossing blood,' 27 ; of
breeding ' in and in,' 28 ; choice of Stallions and Mares for
breeding, 29-31 ; Stallions subjected to legal regulations
abroad, 34 ; risk in rearing young stock, and remarks on their
diet, training, and general management, 36-41 ; form, action,
wind, temper, and speed of the, 43-62 ; expenses of a racing
establishment, 62, 63 ; the half-bred racer, 66-68 ; Harkaway,
161 ; training, 166-170; the necessity of a I'ider knowing the
temper of the, 306-308 ; Zinganee, 308.

Race-riding, 290-310; the half-mile race, 299, 300; the mile
race, 301 ; the two mile race, 301, 302.

INDEX,

i23

Races in the East, 19, 20 ; large stakes at racing meetings, 64 ;
ancient racing, 290-292.

Racing Stock, rearing of, 36-41.

Racing Stud, expenses of, 62-64.

Road-riding, 237-243.

Roebuck, (The) not now an object of the chase, 431, 432.

Romans, (The) use of Horses among them, 3 ; post-horses used
by, 152; derived their knowledge of horsemanship from the
Greeks, 217 ; hunting at one time discouraged among, 374.

S

Saddle, the importance of a good one, 282 ; antiquity of the,
284-288 ; first woman's saddle, 289 ; hunting-saddle described,
289.

Scotch Horses, 162-163.

Seat on Horseback, 230-535 ; the military seat, 223-225 ; seat
on the road, 237-243; the hunting seat, 243-246 ; seat of the
jockey, 292-298.

Shoulders of the Horse, 46 ; of the hunter, 84, 85 ; diseases in,
496.

Sir Teddy, remarkable power of endurance of this pony, 130.

Smith, (Mr.) his system of ' earth -stopping,' 407, 408.

Solomon, a horse-dealer, 476.

SoMERviLLE, his poem, ' The Chase,' mentioned, 377.

Soundness and Unsoundness in Horses, 480, 481 ; 487.

Speed of the race-horse, 61, 62 ; of fox-hounds, 450.

Spur, (The) use of by the ancients, and as used at present, 289,
290 ; preferable to the whip in racing, 303.

Stables, importance of comfortable, 196-200.

Stag, (The) his powers of endui'ance, 423.

Stag-hound, (The) 324-326 ; his original appearance, 360, 361 ;
his appearance in the days of George III.

Stag-hunting, 414 ; Nimrod's account of stag-hunting in Devon-
shire, 416-420 ; technical terms used in, 421 ; account of the
Royal Hunt, 425-431.

Stakes, value of, 64.

Stallions, choice of, 29 ; more important than of mares in the
production of racing stock, 32 ; importance of, in breeding
hunters, 72-74.

Steeple-Chase, this system of sporting deprecated, 309 ; qualifi-
cations of a steeple-chase rider, 310, 311.

Stewart's, (Mr.) definition of a sound Horse, 487-489.

524 INDEX.

' Summering' the Hunter, 170-190.
Symmetry, see Form.

TEMPEiLftfJlxa.ila^aeJv*k£^5I;^oi the Hl^tefy-^l^^iErtpomnce of

understanding it, 306-308.

Teh^er, (The) usesXv365 ; th^Scotqh bre^^

•LJHoJ^e^^H-gV^^Sjaeam^^of l^ie/eQ^

.Jt^^si555M|oi

TraiS^g of Horses, SZT^lSkety to which it is brought, 166-169

modes adopted during the sfemmer, old and new systems, 169.

Troop-Horse, CWje) \^di|\1ie is and what he ought to be

136, ISTT- ^ X^+v^

U

Unsoitndxess, see Soundness, Warranty, <|c.

W

Warranty of Horses, 478; general and qualified, 481,482;

length of time to which it extends, 482-485 ; forms of, 495.
Weatherby's Stud- Book, 68.
Wellesley Arabian, (The) 10-17.
Whipper-in, (The) importance of a good one, 473-475.
WiLD-GoosE Chase, (The) as described in ' The Gentleman't;

Recreation,' 312, 313.
Wind of the Racer, 54-56.

X

Xenophon on field-sports, 371-373.

Xerxes, number of cavalry in the army of, 3.

Y

Yorkshire, celebrated for breedino; Horses, 141.

THE END.

T. CONSTABLE PRINTER TO THE QUEEN.

-A-

^ItilW

p// -u/i,

Dogs.—'* T, S. R." writes ;—'' It is with regret
that I ask you to reopen the correspondence on the sub-
ject of the ' Dogs' Home,' but absence abroad has pre-
vented my seeing until now the manager's reply to my
letter of June 23. That reply, which is devoted exclusively
to one remark of mine, is presumably the result of a con-
fusion made by the manager between my case and that of
some other sufferer, since no such conversation as that
quoted therein took place between us, nor was his refusal
to accept a written description of the dog prefaced by an
inquiry as to its distinguishing marks. It also happens
that the dog in question is not ' golden tan,' but does
possess peculiarities which distinguish him from others of
his class, and had I not been prepared to give a much
more definite and less silly description than that ascribed
' to me by the manager I should not have thought of tender- \'
; ing it as a means of identification. It would, I think, be
' a more satisfactory policy, and one more in keeping with
the gwasi-official position of the * Home,' were some
attempt made to render active assistance to those who
have made several but unsuccessful visits to the institu-
tion in search of their lost property, and were the
manager, instead of assumin.^ that all descriptions are
necessarily worthless, to accept even an insufficient one,
and try to make it more complete by asking such ques-
tions as his experience and knowledge of dogs miglif;
suggest. His calculation of the amount of correspondence
this practice would entail upon the staff is clearly
erroneous, as ib is based on the hypothesis that no visitor
recovers his dog, and that no dog is possessed of dis-
tinguishing marks. The reason for the line of passive
indifference at present adopted towards those searching for
their lost property is not difficult to find, as the sale of
valuable animals to strangers gives less trouble and a
surer profit than the restoration to their owners, while
the skins of the worthless probably produce enough to
cover the expense of their brief sojourn at the ' Home.'
It has not been my wish unduly to decry the ' Home,' but
to point out that the indiscriminate use of the power
possessed by that institution of giving with the dogs it
sells an indisputable title, irrespective of all antecedent
circumstances, does work great injustice and may be pat
to very evil uses by the professional thief, and also to
warn those who lose favourite or valuable dogs and fail
to recover them within the first few days that they need
not look for active assistance from, the ' Home,' but must
be prepared to make a bi-weekly pilgrimage to Battersea
during certain prescribed hours of the day if they wish to
prevent their property being destroyed or sold for a tenth
of its value, and themselves debarred from all right to
recovery.'*

k ^^

WW