IN THE FIELD. 43 



the hurdles, and wind up by " rapping bis knuckles " pretty 

 hard against tbe rail. Still, if the obstacles have been sur- 

 mounted, never mind how, you will have cause to go home 

 caressing your horse, and congratulating yourself on a very 

 good morning's work. At the next essay, he will remember 

 the rap that rail gave him, and rise a bit higher at it, or else 

 refuse it altogether. If tbe latter, be most patient with him ; 

 try to persuade him that he does not really object to it, and. 

 in fact, that he is enjoying the fun as much as you are. Such 

 a grand horseman as Sir Cbarles Knightley has spent hours and 

 hours in the saddle before he could induce a borse he was 

 schooling to look at a single fence, and then, victory resting 

 with the rider, by means of patience and kindness alone, 

 the horse, at once, was fit to come out regularly in his turn, 

 and take his place with the cleverest veterans in the stable. 

 If your pupil will not have it in any other way, get off, 

 and lead him over ; most horses will let you do this, and 

 follow over almost anything. If you have a pack of harrieis 

 within reach, you will find it excellent practice to take your 

 beginner out with them, not getting too near the hounds. Tbe 

 excitement of company, and bounds running, will often induce a 

 horse to take bis fences far more kindly than he will in cold 

 blood. When first with hounds, always, if possible, ride to a 

 leader — again I would venture to remind you, not too near to 

 him ; his horse may get safel}' over a fence, and tben, three or 

 four strides farther on, come head over heels, in which case you 

 will, if following immediately in his wake, have the pleasure 

 of executing an involuntary dance upon your friend's prostrate 

 body ; on the ground of this occasionally necessitating a 

 coroner's inquest, I strongly advise the non-adoption of such 

 a system. You can get all the benefit of a "lead over," and 

 yet give your leader plenty of room, and yourself plenty of 

 time to pull ofif in case of a casualty in front. Should your 

 own horse come down, do not be in too great a hurry to 

 throw yourself off him. Sit still, giving him his head till 

 the last possible moment ; then, when you see he must go, 

 a "shove off," with hands or feet, will mostly take you clear 

 of his falling body. A clever horse almost always has a leg 

 to spare to save himself with, if the fall is not a really bad 

 one. The great thing to remember about this is, that it 

 rarely happens that a man gets hurt much by the fall; it is 

 the chance of the horse coming on top of him, or kicking 



