r mount will not lash out at
hounds, she should keep well away from them, and should never ride into
a covert where they are. I once had a mare of this description who never
kicked horses, but who would try to get a sly kick at even our own
wow-wows during a hacking ride. We had some foxhound puppies at walk,
but I never allowed her to get near them, and our own dogs got so artful
that they always managed to evade her kicks. I do not believe that mare
would ever have been safe with hounds, so I took good care to give her
no opportunity of disgracing the pair of us in the hunting field. In
every other respect she was most amiable. As there are inconsiderate
people who ride kickers, a lady should carefully avoid getting near a
horse whose tail is adorned with a red bow. If this is impossible, and
it often is in crowds, she should try and keep to the left of the
kicker, so that if he lashes out he may not be able to break her legs.
Scrutator in his book on _Foxhunting_ points out that "the risks men
encounter in the chase are great enough without being subjected to the
chance of having their legs broken by a bad-tempered brute at the covert
side." I once had the misfortune to see a man's leg broken by a vicious
kicker in Leicestershire. Another case happened while I was in Cheshire,
and yet these dangerous be-ribboned animals can still be seen in almost
every hunting field.

We must here draw a sharp line of distinction between horses which kick
from vice, and those, especially young ones full of corn and short of
work, which throw up their heels from exuberance of spirits. Many mares,
particularly in springtime, are apt to kick from causes which I need not
discuss. Hence, geldings are more free from this baneful habit than
their female relations, and are consequently, as a rule, more reliable
mounts. Great care should be observed in gradually accustoming a young
horse to placidly bear the excitement of being surrounded by a large
number of his equine companions, and he should thoroughly learn this
part of his education before he is required to quit the outskirts of the
field, and take his place as a hunter. This preliminary training of
course comes under the heading of breaking and not of hunting. A young
horse "turned out" in the open, not unfrequently gives a companion a
playful kick, which very seldom inflicts any injury, because it has no
"venom" in it, and the hoof that administers the tap is unshod. I have
even seen