110 HORSES AND EIDINa. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



HIDING ACROSS COUNTUT. 



My object in writing this chapter is not so much to 

 teach people to ride across country, as to enable them, 

 when they do know how, to ride better* 



Many of my readers no doubt will think that they 

 already know all that is necessary, and that there 

 is nothing more for them to learn. This will no 

 doubt be true in some few instances, but really good 

 horsemen are not so numerous as would be imagined, 

 and many who now ride well, could ride a great deal 

 better than they do, but do not do so, partly from 

 want of thinking about the matter at all, and partly 

 because they do not know what capacity for improve- 

 ment there is in them. 



It is difficult to define or classify a good rider, 

 but in order to give my readers an idea of what I 

 mean, I will divide riding men who ca7i ride into 

 two classes, good riders and good horsemen. 



A man may think, and think with truth, that he 

 is a good rider, but still he may only be an indifferent 



