TEACHING THE YOUNG IDEA. 115 



Yet another time, and we watch this gentleman mastering 

 a hot, fly-away " star-gazer," and note how he accommodates 

 himself to the altered circumstances. The impetuous and 

 excitable animal comes along, his nose in the air and head 

 flung from side to side, impatient of control of bit and 

 martingale. His ears are in constant motion, turning to 

 every point of the compass, as if expecting the spring of 

 some evil beast ; he fights at the bit and climbs in his fore 

 action, and comes yawing along in anything but a straight 

 line, bounding from side to side. Our friend is now seated 

 well down, and far back on his saddle, the body with a back- 

 ward inclination, the reins are held wide apart, his elbows 

 are at his sides, and his feet further forward than in what 

 may be termed the elegant position. 



Finally, we have an exhibition of how to handle a lurching 

 sluggish goer, and how to adjust the seat to his lazy habit of 

 going. He comes up the ride, hugging the rails, his ears 

 laid well back along his poll and his tail switching. He has 

 no vice save that of laziness. His rider has to galvanize 

 some life and " go " into him, so sits down in the saddle, 

 keeps his heels back so as to have the spurs ready and handy 

 to administer an " awakener," and is shaking him up and 

 lifting him at each stride. 



From this it will be seen how necessary it is that he who 

 aims at perfection should ride every variety of horse. Of 

 the four seats depicted above, that first sketched, with the 

 stirrup leathers lengthened a hole or two, will answer all 

 purposes in the hunting field or in any other field when 

 galloping over turf is the order of the day. It is affectation 

 and folly for a man to pose as being what he is not. When 

 any of our flat race or steeplechase cracks don silk, they 

 ride like jockeys, but, on the road or in the park, they drop 

 everything that smacks of the racecourse. Men of the first 



