58 PARK RIDING. 



The disqualifying properties of a horse are his 

 vices, against which you should always be pre- 

 pared. Those vices and the remedies which we 

 recommend to be employed in the correction and 

 cure of them are given in a subsequent chapter, 

 under the head of " Vices." 



Mounting. 



As mounting is the commencement of eques- 

 trian exercise, to do it well and gracefully should 

 be the aim of every horseman, for when done 

 awkwardly and without address, it raises the pre- 

 sumption that the rider has been imperfectly in- 

 structed in the art of riding. To mount well, 

 study and constant practice are required. 



Approach your horse a little before the near 

 shoulder with your whip in the left hand, take 

 the reins from the groom with your right hand 

 very short, let them slip smoothly through the 

 fingers into the left hand to the proper length, 

 the back of your hand towards the horse's head ; 

 with your left hand take a lock of the mane (the 



