iv.] MECHANICAL AID OF THE RIDER. 61 



yards, will not arrive at the end of a mile nearly so soon 

 as if he had gone the whole at the best pace he could 

 stay at. Here the assistance from the rider is mental not 

 mechanical. 



When mounted it never happens to any horse but an 

 arab or a barb to go his best muscular pace. What we 

 call best pace is the best pace a horse can stay at for 

 wind. If a common hack were started fresh for the last 

 hundred yards against the best horses in England when 

 finishing their race, he would have it hollow. 



Woe to the sportsman who ambitiously attempts to lift The rider 



should not 



his horse mechanically over a fence on the principle dis- 

 cussed above ; he is much more likely to throw him into 

 it. He had better content himself with sitting quietly on 

 his horse, holding him only just enough to keep his head 

 straight and to regulate his pace, and trust the rest to 

 his horse's honour. The horse should feel sufficiently 

 commanded to know that he must go, and sufficiently at 

 liberty to know that he may use all his capabilities. The 

 body should not previously be thrown back, but as the 



