H E -:- H O R S E 



CHAPTER V. 



Riding up and down hill or on a pavement — The right and 

 •wrong ways of doing so — Xenophon's comments about ancient 

 hill riders — Opening a gate when on horseback — Talking to 

 horses — Efficacy oi a well-spoken word — The art of falling 

 off — How best to escape injury — A midnight runaway and a 

 drop in the darkness. 



Riding a Horse Up and Down Hill and in 

 Other Difficult Places. — Consensus of opin- 

 ion tells us that it is always detrimental to 

 the constitution of a horse to ride him rapid- 

 ly up or down hill, on a pavement, or, in fact, 

 any place where the ground is hard. 



This is true for the general run of riders, 

 and indulgence in such riding would un- 

 doubtedly work a hardship on the horse so 

 ridden. But let us now examine in exactly 

 what way the hardship is wrought. 



The ordinary unskilled and ignorant horse- 

 man, who delights in running his horse up 

 hill, will probably not realize when the horse 

 is winded, and will continue the exercise 

 until the horse's wind is permanently af- 

 fected. The same person riding a horse 

 rapidly down hill, will probably not keep the 

 animal under him collected, and some time on 

 the downward slope he will be the cause of 

 over-balancing the horse, making him lose 

 a step, or strike the ground with an excep- 

 tionally hard blow with his hoof in an effort 

 to regain the balance lost. 



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