FENCES, COUNTRY AND GATES. 287 



When hunting in England, gates are hardly ever 

 jumped, for two very good reasons. First, because 

 it would take a Manifesto or a Cloister to negotiate 

 a series of them safely during a long run ; and second, 

 because the habit of leaping gates would be almost 

 certain to unfit a horse for the task of steadily going 

 through the various phases of opening and shutting 

 these means of ingress and egress. Besides, gates 

 are often in such positions, as regards taking off and 

 landing, that it would be impossible to fly them safely, 

 even if the way were clear of hunting companions, 

 which is seldom the case in large fields. Every 

 horsewoman should remember that nothing is more 

 apt to spoil a horse than allowing a brace of alterna- 

 tive ideas to occupy his mind at the same time. 

 Hence, when a hunter sees a gate during a run, his 

 thoughts should be solely occupied in doing his best 

 to aid his rider to open, get through and shut it, or 

 hold it open, if necessary. 



Gates, as a rule, may be divided into five-barred 

 gates (Fig. 123) and bridle gates (Fig. 124). Variety 

 in gates is chiefly limited to their form of fastening, 

 which is generally on the left-hand side of the rider 

 when the gate opens towards her (Figs. 125, 126 and 

 127); and on her right-hand side, when it opens 

 away from her (Fig. 129). In Fig. 125, we see the 

 old-fashioned wooden latch. In Fig. 126, the spring 

 latch has to be pulled towards the hinges of the gate ; 

 and in Fig. 127, away from them. In the double gate 

 shown in Fig. 128, the upper fastening consists of a 



