96 HORSEMANSHIP. 



his fences. " When a man rides at fences a hundred miles 

 an hour, depend on it he funks ^^ was the oft repeated opinion 

 of i]\\?> pretix chevalier, this ^^ grand chasseur Smit." When 

 a horse goes at a great speed he cannot rise to any con- 

 siderable height from the ground. Never ride a beaten horse 

 at stiff timber, for he is almost certain to breast it, and a 

 fearful somersault may result. Double post and rails, if they 

 are pretty close together, may be taken in the stride ; they 

 are usually not very high, and must be ridden at with good 

 pace in order to get sufficient impetus for the horse to spread 

 himself sufficiently ; but, if to be taken " in and out," must 

 be approached leisurely, otherwise he will land too far over 

 the first rail and too close under the far one to permit of 

 his clearing the latter. This is another description of fence 

 to be avoided on a tired horse, and especially so when the 

 posts are not far apart. 



Very few men care to take a line of gates, and yet they 

 are seldom as high as most of the fences an average horse 

 clears without an effort, and the taking off is usually sound. 

 Stiles, usually placed in cramped awkward corners, are 

 almost invariably low, but unbreakable. They must be 

 approached at a walk, a trot, or at a slow canter, for horses 

 are apt to be very careless at them. INIoreover, both land- 

 ing and taking off are generally on or from puzzling ground, 

 without sufficient elbow room, with a ditch and narrow plank 

 for foot-passengers. 



Why both men and horses, both first-class performers of 

 their kind, should shirk water is unaccountable. In the case 

 of the rider, deference to the thermometer and love of his 

 clothes may act as a deterrent, but, surely, for the horse no 

 such pleas can be advanced. At timber, such as it is im- 

 possible to surmount, the noble brute will not refuse ; send 

 him at a seemingly impenetrable bull-fincher, the bottom 



