■^ ^, P-M^^'^ V'fj'^/'f// I'i^'M .. TUFTS UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES iliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii|i||ii|iiiiiiiiiii|ii|iiiiiiiiiiiiiilili lllllllliilllMlllllfllllllli 3 9090 014 551 515 JOHNA.SEAVERNS i^^ ^-7 Webster Family Library of Veterinary Medicine Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University 200 Westtwro Road North Grafton, MA 01536 ^^^ i:d?t^^^ ?42. ^ 1 S i "^i-.ii tfj lii / ,^/ 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. 9 711. s. 5 34 ( 280 yards, less 3 1 miles. 1807. Antelope, 1809. Patriot, , " 9 9 6 6 4 6 46 23 miles. ( 3 miles and 325 ( yards. Sulky, (sent to England,) 9 6 25 ; 3 miles and 325 1 vards. Oddsbobs, 1818. Sir Low]-Y, . 9 7 4 f ran second in the above 1 race. 4 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 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 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 8 8 Bombay. 4 8 4 4 2 miles. 2 miles. 1827. Slyboots, Gaslight, Creeper, 8 5 9 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 4 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 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 Seventy-one bushels of oats, at 4s. 6d, per bushel, 14 4 Beans, 1 10 £24 14 Six horses at grass nine weeks, at 4s. per week, 10 16 £13 18 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 !!ite: ':' ■ "\ 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 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, 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. 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