JUMPING. 63 



which they were once put. When hunting in a cramped 

 country, it is especially necessary to ride in such a 

 manner as to show the horse that he has to go where 

 one wants, and that he is not required to jump every 

 fence which comes in sight. In steeplechasing, on the 

 contrary, the horse should have the necessity impressed 

 upon him of clearing every obstacle which he is 

 turned at, with quickness and precision. The value of 

 the hunter greatly depends on his possessing the neces- 

 sary intelligence for understanding his master's wishes. 

 Need I say how requisite it is for the rider to have 

 decision of character } Riding in a flying country is, of 

 course, more or less like chasing, in which the possession 

 of the faculties for galloping, staying, and jumping 

 makes the perfect horse. As every rider who steers his 

 own horse, has a right to study his own convenience 

 as to whether his animal should go fast or slow at his 

 fences, I have nothing to remark on this subject beyond 

 saying, that if a horse requires to be steadied at a jump, 

 the pull ought not be taken nearer, as a rule, than thirty 

 or forty yards away from it, and that the horse, for that 

 distance, ought to be allowed to make his own pace up 

 to it, always supposing that the rider has a steady 

 feeling on his horse's mouth, and that he never leaves 



