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The following items, from "Baily's Hunting Directory," a British annual,
give some idea of certain primary formalities and practicalities of
hunting:
HINTS TO BEGINNERS
Buy the best horses you can afford; but remember that a workably
sound horse, though blemished or a bit gone in the wind, will give
you plenty of fun, if you do not knock him about.
Obey the Master's orders without argument; in the field he is
supreme.
Hold up your hat if you view the fox away; do not halloa. If none
of the hunt servants see your uplifted hat, go and tell the nearest
of them.
Ride fast at water; if hounds clear a brook a horse has a good
chance of doing so. Steady your horse and let him take his own pace
at big timber.
Keep well away from hounds, and down wind of them at a check. The
steam from heated horses adds a fresh difficulty to recovery of
lost scent. Look out for signs that may indicate the whereabouts or
passing of the fox. Huddling sheep, staring cattle, chattering
magpies, circling rooks, may mean that they see, or have just seen,
the fox.
Never lark over fences; it tires your horse needlessly and may
cause damage and annoy the farmer.
Never take a short cut through a covert that is likely to be drawn
during the day; and keep well away from a covert that hounds are
drawing if you start for home before the day's sport is over, lest
you head the fox.
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