2IO BREAKING AND RIDING 



be guilty of, or he would not be justly termed a 

 horseman. 



It is very unsightly to have the curb-rein 

 rather loose and to ride the horse entirely on 

 the snaffle. This can be avoided by riding an 

 ordinary horse in a bit, such as is commonly 

 used by polo-players. 



Another flaw is riding with very short reins. 

 I do not wish to convey the idea that the reins 

 themselves are unusually short, but the horse is 

 not given sufficient head by the rider. When he 

 comes up to a jump the poor horse cannot clear 

 enough ground, and is half-strained by being ill- 

 treated in this manner through a nervous rider's 

 cowardice. Now the worst that is likely to 

 happen when a horse jumps "big" is to shoot 

 his rider over his head, and possibly give him 

 a kick when galloping on. This fear of being 

 jumped off, through your mount covering more 

 ground than you desire, must be got rid of. It 

 is impossible to ride well if you are afraid to 

 give your horse sufficient rein to clear the 

 obstacle you put him at. It is also encouraging 

 to would-be sportsmen, who are nervous on this 

 point, to remember that, when a horse covers a 

 lot of ground when jumping a fence at a good 

 pace, it is pretty easy to sit him. And to prove 

 this, take the case of a hurdle race. The horses 

 go at their jumps at such a hot pace, that the 

 motion to their riders is skimming over them, 

 not unlike the sensation of a good swimmer 

 being carried over waves. 



There is a certain amount of excuse to be 



