PRACTICE OVER NATURAL FENCES. 225 



jump them. A lady should ride as many different 

 horses as she can, and in company, for when four or 

 five horses are cantering together, the lady's mount 

 will, doubtless, be sufficiently excited to require 

 steadying in approaching his fences, and she may then 

 learn to gauge the distance at which to take a pull at 

 him. Those who are riding with her should require 

 her to wait her turn at the only practicable place in a 

 fence, as she would have to do when hunting, to pull 

 her horse up to a halt, and to send him at his fence 

 with a run of only a few strides. She should also 

 practise trotting her horse up to a fence to see what is 

 on the other side of it, and, if 'it is negotiable, she 

 should turn him away from it, give him a short run at 

 it, and jump it. After she has obtained as much 

 practice as possible, on different horses, over various 

 kinds of natural fences, and has shown ability to 

 control her mount at a gallop, and when excited by the 

 presence of other horses galloping in front of him, she 

 should be considered competent to commence her 

 hunting career, and take her place in the field at the 

 beginning of the cub-hunting season. She should 

 remember on all occasions of difficulty and danger 

 to keep a cool head and trust to the honour of 

 her mount. A good horsewoman, even if she has 

 had no experience in hunting, will not be likely to 

 incur disgrace by wild and incompetent riding, for, 

 having been accustomed to keep her mount 

 under thorough control, she will carefully avoid 

 spoiling the sport of others, while seeing as much 



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