tration: Fig. 3.--Miss Neil's Jackeroo.]

Apart from the danger to others, it is obvious that no sane woman would
ride a horse which would be likely to kick her in the event of a fall.
When I was in India, I had to get rid of a horse because of his vicious
tendency in this respect. He was a good-looking Australian, a clever
fencer, and had a nice mouth, but so vicious that when we first got him,
he used to rush open-mouthed at any one who went near him, except his
syce. My husband took him in hand, and he became sufficiently civilised
to take carrots from me. When I rode him, I found he was always looking
out for an excuse to "play up," or to lash out at other horses. In order
to test his jumping, a lightweight gentleman rider one day rode him over
a made course. The animal blundered badly at one of the fences, threw
his rider, and while the man was lying on his back on the ground the
horse deliberately put a fore foot on him, and would have doubtless
broken his back, if my husband, who was standing near the fence, had not
pulled the vicious brute off. We got rid of him, and I heard shortly
afterwards that he had killed his jockey, a native, in a hurdle race at
Calcutta, by the adoption of similar vicious tactics. It would have been
criminal to have taken such a horse as that into any hunting-field.

[Illustration: Fig. 4.--Mr. Vansittart's Romance.]

A hunter should have good shoulders (long, flat, and oblique) and a
comparatively high forehand; for horses which are lower in front than at
the croup are uncomfortable to ride, and there is generally some
difficulty in retaining the side saddle in its place on their backs. The
height of a hunter will depend greatly on that of his rider. For
instance, a tall woman with a "comfortable" figure would be suitably
mounted on a horse 16 hands or more high, whereas a light girl of medium
height would find an animal of say 15-2 as much as she could comfortably
manage; for we must remember that big horses, as a rule, take a good
deal of "collecting." A small horse generally stays better, can come out
oftener, is handier, and not so likely to hurt one if he falls. For the
Shires I do not think a lady's hunter should be much under 15-2, and he
must be a big jumper and well bred. Hunting women, as a rule, do not pay
much attention to the good looks of their horses, for hunting is not a
church parade, and the finest performer over a country is always admired
and coveted whatever his a