28 LETTERS TO YOUNG SPORTSMEN. 



and floats over these ridges like a carriage on Cee springs, 

 but a less perfect animal will pitch and roll like a ship in 

 distress if the ridges are taken from the top of one to the top of 

 the next. Ride them aslant if you cannot take them length- 

 ways. Many ploughed lands ride very light, especially those 

 on sandy soil, and do not take much out of a horse, but deep 

 plough soon pumps him, and after rain it is cruelty to animals 

 to gallop over deep plough; therefore, drop back to a trot 

 and ride up the wettest furrow, if it goes your way — the 

 wettest furrow has always the soundest bottom. You may get 

 splashed, but all attempts at cleanliness are cast aside when 

 hounds have once found. Ease your horse uphill and spin 

 him along down. This beautifully balanced horse will sail 

 downhill without taking anything out of himself and 

 will gallop down quite a steep incline, if you ride him straight 

 down and not sideways. A good horse will get down the 

 steepest banks at a walk, you will be surprised how steep, if 

 you let him have his head and sit still. Get hold of the back 

 of the saddle if you feel like going over his head. His fore 

 legs won't crumple up, and if he slips and you sit still, he 

 just sits down on his haunches and thus takes the " way " 

 off. If you remember this you will often, if you have con- 

 fidence, get down steep places that half the field won't tackle, 

 and thus frequently save a big detour. 



If, towards the end of a fine gallop — something 

 really good, which you are naturally most anxious to 

 see the end of — your horse is pretty well done, do not 

 hesitate to gallop up the middle of a hard road. I do 

 not advocate anything but a deliberate and collected trot on 

 roads, and not much of that, except under these specially 

 important circumstances : a couple of hundred yards on a road, 

 when hounds are running hard parallel to it, just gives your 

 horse a chance of getting his wind, and you may thus get to 

 the end of a run which you might otherwise lose. On a beaten 

 horse the soundness of a hard road has a wonderfully recupera- 

 tive effect. Do not gallop on the grass at the sides of the road 

 when hounds are running alongside, because both you and the 

 horse will be watching them and the horse may put his foot 

 into those little grass-grown grips which drain the road. An 

 imperial crowner will be the result. If the run is at nice hound 



