50 Knees and Feet. 



known in the hunting-field. And with a certain 

 reason, though indeed the old whip's rule of 

 " 'eels and 'ands down, 'ead and 'eart 'igh," is the 

 whole of the story, after all. For the man who 

 begins with a knee grip will never forget what his 

 knees are for, and will not, like the good little 

 dude we passed a while ago, show daylight be- 

 tween them and the saddle-flap at every rise. But 

 the knee grip alone will not suffice for all occa- 

 sions, despite our military or riding-school friends. 

 A madly plunging horse or a big leap will in- 

 stinctively call out a grip with all the legs a man 

 can spare. Moreover, the closer you keep your 

 legs to the horse without clasping him, the better. 

 Go into the hunting-field or over a steeple-chase 

 course, and you will find that the inside of your 

 boot-tops — and not only yours, but every other 

 jockey's as well — have been rubbed hard and 

 constantly against the saddle. There lies the 

 proof. At West Point, and in fact at every mili- 

 tary school, the cadets are sometimes practiced to 

 ride with a scrap of paper held to the saddle by 

 the knee while they leap a bar, and at the same 

 time thrust or cut with the sabre at a convenient 

 dummy foe. I have seen a silver dollar so held 

 between the knee and saddle. But the bar is not 

 a succession of high stone walls, nor is the cadet 

 riding a burst of several miles. And with a 

 longer stirrup it is more natural to keep the foot 



