i62 LEAPING. 



jumping, fall or over-reach in this manner, is to '^ throw 

 up their hands," and thus cause the animal to unduly 

 raise and extend his head, which he does with the object 

 of " saving " his mouth ; the result being that the horse 

 cannot accurately see where he is going to put his feet. 

 The rider, on the contrary, should keep his hands low 

 and should give his mount plenty of rein, so as not to 

 interfere with the animal's movements when landing. 



Influence of Blood in Jumping. — Seeing the manner 

 in which the rate of speed influences the extent of the long 

 jump, we may reasonably conclude that a fast galloper, 

 other things being equal, would jump a greater width 

 than a slow horse. The possession of great galloping 

 speed, however, would not, of itself, materially assist 

 the high jumper. I regret to say that I have no exact 

 data to go on ; but my own experience leads me to 

 conclude that the majority of big water-jumpers will be 

 found among well-bred horses. As the height or distance 

 over which the body is propelled by the limbs, depends 

 on the speed at which they are straightened out ; we 

 shall find that a horse which is quick in his movements, 

 other things being equal, will jump higher and broader 

 than another which is slower. For this reason, the 

 thorough-bred, properly selected and trained, will make 

 the best of all jumpers, over height as well as over length. 



