Of the long list of hunters annually1 killed by what is called "a severe day," about one-third may be said to have died from bad riding, and two-thirds by improper2 treatment after the run was over.
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Supposing, as is often the case, that the majority of the horses that are "in at the death" have been out of their stables from seven to eight hours, that they have been conspicuous3 in two or three runs, and that, with the lower edge of the sun nearly touching4 the horizon, they have to travel from fifteen to twenty miles to their stables, a question of vital importance has to be determined5, namely, whether they are to perform that exertion6 in the way most agreeable to their riders, or most advantageous7 to themselves.
In the settlement of this problem the poor horses have, of course, neither voice nor vote. On their behalf, therefore, we will endeavour to contrast the attentions that ought to be bestowed8 upon them, with the inconsiderate treatment to which they are usually subjected.
In a severe day's work a hunter suffers from a combination of three causes: violent muscular exertion, an overexcitement of the circulation of the blood, and debility of his whole system caused by abstinence from food.
Of these causes, the latter produces by far the worst results; for although to the muscles may be given rest, and to the circulation repose9, the stomach of a horse is so small and, in comparison to his noble spirit, so delicate, that on becoming empty and exhausted10 it is in an unfit state to digest food, and accordingly is beneficently deprived by Nature of appetite to receive it.
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Now, under all these circumstances, it is evident that the most humane11, and, taking the money value of the poor animal into consideration, the most economical course which the rider can pursue is as follows:
As soon as the day's sport is over, the hunter should be led, or ridden, at a walk for about a mile to some stable—it little matters whether it be good, bad, or indifferent—or strawyard, where he can stand for a minute or two.
When the object for which he has been taken there has been accomplished12, about a third of a pail of gruel13, or lukewarm water, with a mouthful or two of hay, should be given to him. To prevent his being chilled, the instant he has swallowed it he should be mounted; and whatever be the distance he has to accomplish, he should then be ridden homewards at a constant steady pace of about seven miles an hour.
After a staghunt in which the hunter may have been galloping14 principally on roads, soft ground (if it be not deep) should be selected; but when, as is usually the case in fox hunting, the muscles have, during the greater part of the day, been struggling in heavy soil, he should be permitted to travel, as he invariably tries to do, on the hard road.
As they proceed together, if the rider will dismount for a few minutes to lead his horse down or up any83 very steep hill, both animals will be greatly relieved. With this exception, however, there should be no alteration15 of pace or stoppage of any sort or kind.
If, at the quiet rate described, the hunter begins to blunder, it will be proper that he should be what is termed "wakened" by a word of remonstrance16, or, if that prove insufficient17, by a slight touch of the spur. But if, as is usual, the noble animal travels safely, the duller he is encouraged to go, the greater will be the relief to that over excitement of the circulation of his blood, and that violent palpitation of his heart, from which he has suffered.
By this treatment a hunter in good condition can, in the shortest possible time, be brought home not only cool in body and tranquil18 in mind, but with limbs less wearied than when they took leave of the hounds.
On entering his stable, in the manger of which he should find, ready to welcome him, a handful or two of picked sweet hay, his bridle19 should be taken off, his girths unloosened, and then, before his body is touched, all his four legs, after being cleared only of rough dirt, should, without a moment's delay, be swathed from the knees and hocks to the hoofs20 by rough bandages of coarse common drugget, which maintain in the extremities21 that healthy circulation which, from the minuteness of their veins22, is prone23, after great exhaustion24, 84to stagnate25, producing (especially when caused by the ignorant custom of washing the legs) disorganisation and disease throughout the whole system, as the following fact will exemplify.
Several seasons ago almost every hunter in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire was afflicted26 by a combination of lumps, bumps, swelled27 legs, and cracked heels, caused by the extraordinary wetness of the ground, and the consequent ablutions of the legs. After the veterinary surgeons had in vain nearly exhausted their pharmacopœia, the oldest and most experienced among them directed that on no account should horses' legs, after hunting, be washed; and wherever this plain, sensible prescription28 was followed, all the symptoms just described rapidly subsided29.
If the hunter, as is now-a-days almost invariably the case, has been singed30, the less he is excited and tormented31 by cleaning (the main object of which, with many strappers, seems to be to make the poor animal crouch32 his back, bite his manger, and violently work all his legs as if they were on a tread-mill) the better.
At the expiration33 of about an hour white flannel34 bandages should, however, be substituted for the coarse ones, under which the dirt will then be found to crumble35 away like warm sand.
If his ears (the opposite extremities or antipodes of85 his legs) have become cold, circulation therein should be restored by the groom36 quietly rubbing them with a cloth; and as soon as they are dry, and the animal what is called "comfortable," a pailful of warm gruel given to him at intervals37, a bran mash38, a rackful of hay, a clean stall, some chilled water, and a fresh bed, will do all that is possible to procure39 for him a night's rest, free from fever; and this vital object having been accomplished, the next day he may receive without injury, and indeed with great benefit, his usual allowance of the best oats and beans.
Now, in contrast to the mode of treatment just described, we will endeavour to offer to our readers a similar sketch40 of that which, especially by what are termed "fast men" (possibly because "lucus à non lucendo" they make it a rule never to "fast" or abstain41 from any thing they desire to do), is usually adopted.
After the run is over, while one sturdy hound that all the rest seem to be afraid of is stealing straight away with the poor fox's head, and while another at his utmost speed, chased by several, is meandering42 through the pack with a lump of unsavoury, very dirty fur in his mouth, groups of riders, some sitting astride, some like pretty ladies with a right leg hanging over the saddle's pommel, some with cambric handkerchiefs mopping moist heads and red faces, and some adjusting86 mustachios, are to be seen reciting to each other incidents aqueous, terrestrial, and amphibious, of the run. Here and there, one of the most handsome, as he talks, leans forward for a moment to pat the neck of his thorough bred animal in grateful acknowledgment of the particular feat43 he is describing.
In what is considered by all to be hardly a quarter of an hour, (for when men sit conversing44 about themselves, they little know how fast old father Time gallops), this joyous45 conversazione ends by the talkers, after giving to each other here and there a farewell nod, radiating in masses along roads, or across a fence or two, to gain the road that leads to their respective homes; but as, by this time, in almost every mouth a newly-lighted cigar happens to be gleaming, they resume their talk as they walk towards an object described at the back of the head of almost every one, in the humane words "gruel for my horse," to be obtained, not exactly at the first farm, but at the first great town, be it even half a dozen or so, miles off.
On reaching the best hotel, at which there is seldom hot water enough ready for all the cavalcade46, the horses are handed over to that lot of idle attendants who, some out of the stable and some from the bar, greedily rush forward to grasp their bridles47. "Gruel" is most kindly48 ordered for them all; but as it is voted that87 there is no great necessity to see them drink it, the landlord's smiling invitation is accepted, and in a few minutes, by one of those extraordinary contingencies49 that nobody could have anticipated, each gentleman rider is to be seen, in high glee and good-humour, sipping50 from a tumbler (which for some quaint51 reason or other happens to contain a silver spoon) something that is evidently very wet and very warm. Alas52! little thinking that his poor faithful horse, whose performances he had so lately been describing, with cold clammy ears is shivering, chilled by having just drank too freely of "a summut," without a spoon in it, that was wet and cold.
On mounting, and clattering53 out of the paved yard of the hotel, most of the riders fancy they are all the better—many of their horses feel that they are all the worse for the half hour's rest and "gruelling" that was ordered for them. But although the quadrupeds leave behind them the fatal pail, the silver spoon has apparently54 accompanied the bipeds, who, like the favoured children of Fortune, are, externally as well as internally, under the influence of ardent55 spirits.
All thoroughly56 happy, they think neither of their horses nor their homes; but, according to the subject of their conversation, and the state of their cigars, they walk, trot57, sometimes very slow, and sometimes very88 fast, until, on coming to a portion of the road bounded by grass, although their poor horses have had an overdose of both excitement and of heavy ground, they touch them with their spurs, to re-enjoy, for a short distance, a hand-gallop.
In short, travelling at what may either be described as "every pace," or "no pace at all," they unnecessarily excite and fatigue58 their horses; and yet, after all, though undoubtedly59 "fast men," they are often considerably60 more than an hour longer in getting home than if they had proceeded at a slow, quiet, steady, but unceasing rate.
On reaching this goal the poor horse who, from eight o'clock in the morning, has been working on an empty stomach, is led by his bridle to his stable. The rich man prepares himself for his dinner. Since he breakfasted, at a quarter before nine in the morning, he has, at a low average, enjoyed the slight intoxication61 of very nearly a cigar per hour, besides certain refreshments62 which he brought out with him, and the few crumbs63 of comfort at the hotel at which he stopped to give "gruel" to his horse.
Nevertheless, on the principle that "by-gones are by-gones," after his ablutions, exactly as if he had been fasting, he sits down to a capital meal, joyous conversation, luscious64 wine. In due time he "joins the ladies,"89 and as, with rosy65 cheeks, and with a cup of fragrant66 coffee in his hand, he stands in patent-leather boots, whispering soft nonsense, the butler, white in waistcoat and in tie, most respectfully interrupts it to inform his Lordship that "Mr. Willo'thewhisp" has just sent up a strapper from the stable to say that "Harkaway" "has took to shaking, and seems very queer indeed all over!" and accordingly, on the evening of the next day, the poor high-bred animal, with protruding67 tongue, glacy eyes dishonoured68 by a few particles of dust, hollow flank, and outstretched limbs, lies in his stall, stiff and stark69, a victim to the unintentional maltreatment and thoughtless mismanagement of his noble master.
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1
annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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4
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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7
advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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8
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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11
humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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12
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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13
gruel
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| n.稀饭，粥 | |
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14
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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15
alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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16
remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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17
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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18
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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20
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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21
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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23
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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25
stagnate
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| v.停止 | |
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afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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28
prescription
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| n.处方，开药；指示，规定 | |
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29
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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30
singed
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
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31
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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32
crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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33
expiration
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| n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物 | |
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34
flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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35
crumble
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| vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁 | |
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groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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38
mash
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| n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情 | |
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procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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40
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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41
abstain
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| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
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42
meandering
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| 蜿蜒的河流，漫步，聊天 | |
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43
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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44
conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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45
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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46
cavalcade
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| n.车队等的行列 | |
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47
bridles
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| 约束( bridle的名词复数 )； 限动器； 马笼头； 系带 | |
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48
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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49
contingencies
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| n.偶然发生的事故，意外事故( contingency的名词复数 )；以备万一 | |
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50
sipping
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 ) | |
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51
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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52
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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53
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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54
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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55
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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56
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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57
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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58
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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59
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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60
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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61
intoxication
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| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
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62
refreshments
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| n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待 | |
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63
crumbs
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| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
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64
luscious
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| adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的 | |
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65
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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66
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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67
protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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68
dishonoured
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| a.不光彩的，不名誉的 | |
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69
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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