HAND. 83 



buoyant swimmer, wafted home on the roll of an in- 

 coming wave. Strong hocks and thighs, a mutual 

 predilection for the chase, a bold heart between the 

 saddle-flaps, another under the waistcoat, and a pair of 

 light hands, form a combination that few fences after 

 Christmas are strong enough or blind enough to put 

 down. 



And now please not to forget that soundest of 

 maxims, applicable to all affairs alike by land or sea 

 " While she lies her course, let the ship steer herself. " 

 If your horse is going to his own satisfaction, do not be 

 too particular that he should go entirely to yours. So 

 long as you can steady him, never mind that he carries 

 his head a little up or a little down. If he shakes it 

 you know you have got him, and can pull him off in a 

 hundred yards. Keep your hands quiet and not too 

 low. It is a well-known fact, of which, however, many- 

 draughtsmen seem ignorant, that the horse in action 

 jiever puts, his fore-feet beyond his nose. You need 

 only watch the finish of a race to be satisfied of this, 

 and indeed the Derby winner in his supreme effort is 

 almost as straight as an old-fashioned frigate, from 

 stem to stern, while a line dropped perpendicularly 

 from his muzzle would exactly touch the tips of his 

 toes. Now, if your hands are on each side of your 



G 2 



