310 RIDING OVER A COUNTRY. 



we may sit well down in the saddle, and catch a good hold 

 of his head, with the reins well separated, and both hands 

 on them An encouraging word and a firm pressure of the 

 legs, with a touch of the spurs if required, may stimulate the 

 animal's courage. But, on the other hand, many clever horses 

 will decline the invitation, if the man in the saddle even 

 " feels " the reins or brushes their sides with his boots. One 

 of the worst falls I ever had, was when riding a steeplechase 

 on a very uncertain tempered horse, whose owner, a steeple- 

 chase jockey, had failed a few days before to make him jump. 

 We had only a small field opposed to us, and as I did not 

 " move " on him, we agreed all right for a while. At the end 

 of the first half of the journey I was leading by several 

 lengths, and thought the race was as good as won, until we 

 arrived at the eighth or ninth fence, which was a 4ft. 6in. 

 wall that could not be "chanced." I suppose that the fact 

 of my not liking the look of the barrier made me bustle my 

 mount; for I touched him with the spurs, just as he was 

 going to make his effort, as I felt he was taking off very far 

 away from the wall, and that he would require an unusually 

 strong impulse to clear it. The moment I made this mistake, 

 I felt him try to stop ; but his intention was formed too late, 

 so all he could do was to breast the masonry. In another 

 instant he was stretched on his back on the landing side, the 

 saddle smashed, and I crumpled up. 



If we know that the horse we are riding is inclined to 

 refuse to a particular side, which will be the left in the large 

 majority of cases, it is advisable to carry the whip, crop, 

 or stick, point down, in the opposite hand, so as to have 

 command over the horse's hind quarters, in straightening 

 him, when required ; and the drawn back leg of the same 

 side should also be used for this purpose. "Showing" a 

 horse the whip on the side to which he is going, or to which 

 one expects him, to refuse (Fig. 206), is, as I have already 



