THE LEAP. 265 



broken, in order to prevent any accident should 

 the horse, in passing over with her weight upon 

 his back, strike it with either his fore or hind 

 feet. Once mounted, she should teach him to 

 clear the bar in a deliberate manner, not allow- 

 ing him to rush at it and jump from all four 

 feet at once. She will have to collect him, cause 

 him to place his hind-legs under him so that, as 

 he rises, his weight will be thrown upon his 

 haunches, and, as he leaps over, she must be 

 exceedingly careful not to restrain him in the 

 least, as any thoughtless act or awkwardness on 

 her part may give him a great distaste for an 

 exercise which, otherwise, he would have no 

 reluctance in performing. 



With regard to teaching a young horse to 

 leap, the author is much gratified to know that 

 her views are sustained by several eminent 

 equestrians, and among them Mr. E. Mayhew 

 of England, who states that a horse should 

 never be allowed to leap until he has attained 

 at least his fifth year, and who in his excellent 

 work, entitled " The Illustrated Horse Manage- 

 ment," etc., remarks : " To place a rider upon 

 an animal's back and then to expect a bar to be 

 cleared is very like loading a young lady with 

 a sack of flour, as preparatory to a dancing les- 

 son being received. This folly is, however, uni- 



