Silitring; to f^oimtis'. 139 



with so doing. To do this, you will pick the soundest 

 " land " or the wettest furrow to ride upon, as that, 

 too, is necessarily the soundest at bottom ; and 

 by carefully economising your horse's jumping and 

 other powers you may reasonably hope to generally, 

 I think, see the conclusion as well as the commence- 

 ment, or a part only, of the good runs a season will 

 provide. 



Regulate the pace at which you ride at the various 

 obstacles you may encounter to their nature, and the 

 condition of the ground from which your horse has 

 to spring. To ride slow at timber and fast at water 

 is advice as good as it is old. and if you do not adopt 

 the former principle also at blind places — banks and 

 walls, and in leaping from very deep ground — I fancy 

 that sooner or later you will be reminded in an un- 

 pleasantly rough manner that it will be advisable to do 

 so. Brooks and wide big places generally, of course, 

 require pace ; but, I think, in nine cases out of ten 

 men err rather on the fast than the slow side in our 

 flying countries, and that horses would generally go 

 stronger and longer if a little steam was shut off 

 rather than turned on as they neared their successive 

 *Meps;" but different horses jump best in different 

 ways, and an ounce of experience will go farther to 

 help you in these respects than reams of the best 

 intended letter-press can. 



