144 How to Begin. 



any horse can be taught to do so in a measure, 

 and no horse can be called a hunter unless he 

 will do so cleverly. 



If you first go out with the hounds, there is 

 some danger that if your seat is insecure you 

 will drag Nelly back from her leaps, and worry 

 or confuse her so much that you will lose a deal 

 of ground. Though, indeed, she will be less read- 

 ily spoiled if she gets excited by the chase, than 

 if put at equally high jumps as a lesson, because 

 her eagerness to keep up with the other horses 

 will exceed her annoyance at your unsteady 

 hands. 



I would advise you, on the whole, to have a lit- 

 tle practice in some quiet spot all by yourself. A 

 horse who will only jump in company is far from 

 perfect in this accomplishment. A well-trained 

 horse should jump a three and a half foot gate or 

 an eight foot ditch at any time as willingly as 

 start into a sharp gallop. 



I assume that Nelly knows nothing of leaping. 

 Wander off into the fields somewhere. Find a 

 place where there is a gate or fence of several 

 bars. Let all these down but one or two, — leav- 

 ing enough in height for Nelly to step over if 

 she lifts her feet way up, — say twenty inches. 

 A fallen log is an excellent thing to try on. 

 Make her cross and recross the bar or log a num- 

 ber of times, by persuasion only. Any horse 



