RIDING- ACROSS COUNTRY. Ill 



horseman. There is the same sort o£ distinction 

 between a man who can simply ride well and a finished 

 horseman, that there is between a musician and a 

 musical composer. One of them can play almost any- 

 thing, but requires his music to be given him, while 

 the other creates his own music. 



So a good rider can ride a horse when he has got 

 one, while a good horseman can make a good hunter 

 out of a horse that knows nothing about it, and can 

 improve to a considerable degree a horse that has 

 already learnt the rudiments of his trade. 



As a rule, what is called a hard rider is not a very 

 good horseman. A horse generally comes out of his 

 hands no better educated than he was when he went 

 into them. 



Again, being able to ride anything, which some 

 people think is a test of a good rider, is little or 

 no test of a good horseman. Many men can ride 

 almost any sort of a horse in a certain way, who are 

 utterly unable to teach a horse anything, while some 

 men may be very good horsemen who are neither 

 bold nor forward riders. 



As a rule, men who are good riders when they are 

 young become better horsemen as they get older, 

 but not better riders. 



If anyone wishes to form an opinion as to how 

 good a rider or horseman he is, let him try the follow- 

 ing experiment. 



Let him take the handiest horse in his stable, and 



