KEEP THE HANDS DOWN. 67 



with the horse's mouth when he lands, or of being 

 pulled over on to the animal's neck. The hands, one 

 on each rein, and well separated, should be held little 

 if anything, beyond the pommel. 



From nervousness, or from some insane idea of "lift- 

 ing" a horse, some riders contract the habit of jerking up 

 their hands just as the horse is making his spring. By 

 doing this, the rider tends to make his horse throw up 

 his head, and thus to check the free action of his hind 

 quarters, at the very moment their assistance is most 

 needed. He should, on the contrary, keep his hands 

 low down so that the horse may be induced to bend 

 his neck, and carry his head in the best position for 

 conforming to the action of the hind quarters. The 

 remarks I have made on page 185 concerning this subject 

 apply specially to jumping. 



When the rider can take his own time over jumps, 

 the old axiom of riding a horse slow over timber, i.e. 

 any high obstacle, and fast at water, i.e. any broad 

 place, holds good (see page 133). At steeplechasing, 

 however, a great deal has to be left to the honour of the 

 horse, while the jockey does his part by sitting still, and 

 keeping a good hold of his animal's head. When I 

 write about going slow at height, I mean that it should 



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