BOCK-JUMPING. 461 



because they are excellent jumpers, have beautiful 

 shoulders and are remarkably sound in wind and limb. 

 They are moreover handsome breedy looking animals, 

 and those of them which are addicted to bucking, 

 soon give up this vice, if ridden by capable people. 



A lady who finds herself on a bucking horse should 

 try her best to keep both her head and her seat, and 

 not be in any way disconcerted by hearing the angry 

 grunts which such animals often give with each buck 

 they make to get her off. She should lean back and 

 firmly grip her crutches as in sitting over a fence, 

 and should try to imagine that she is jumping a line 

 of obstacles placed close together. If she feels any 

 forward displacement after one buck, she must hastily 

 get into position to be ready for the next one, 

 without pausing for a moment to think, because there 

 will be no time for thought, and her recovery of 

 balance must be done automatically, while the animal 

 is doubling himself up for his next buck. If her hat, 

 which is generally the first thing to leave the saddle, 

 flies off, no notice must be taken, because the instant 

 the rider devotes her attention to anything else but 

 sticking on, she relaxes her grip and stands a good 

 chance of being thrown. The most difficult of all 

 bucking I have experienced was when hunting in 

 Leicestershire on a young Argentine mare, which 

 started to buck when we were galloping down hill 

 over deep ridge and furrow. I knew her bucking 

 propensities, because my husband broke her in and 

 I had had a good deal of bucking practice with 



