14 GRACEFUL RIDING. 



and accoutrements are properly placed. The neglect 

 of attending to these matters has caused many 

 serious accidents. 



The method of gracefully holding and using the 

 reins is tery important^ although but little under- 

 stood or attended to ; in fact, it seems but a 

 secondary consideration with Riding-masters, \Yhere 

 it should be a sine qua non. One person may 

 pull at a runaway horse with all his strength, but 

 to no purpose ; another possessing that knowledge 

 shall be able to manage, and hold him with a pack- 

 thread. 



Runaway horses are most frequently made so by 

 bad and timid riders, who make use of a whip and 

 spurs without having z>firm seat Such persons are 

 easily unseated on the horse shying, or jumping 

 about in a playful mood ; then, in their endeavours 

 to recover themselves, they slacken their reins, and 

 at the same time unintentionally goad him with their 

 spurs, or strike liim with their whip. In clutching 

 at the reins, the horse becoming frightened, naturally 

 increases his speed, until, from the continued irrita- 

 tion of whip and spur, in the terrified horseman's 

 futile attempts to subdue him, the horse becomes 

 maddened with terror and excitement, and ultimately 

 throws his rider. 



