RIDING. 53 



an involuntary check to the curb, may put any well- 

 mouthed animal entirely out of his own way, preventing 

 his jumping safely and confidently, and probably caus- 

 ing accidents. One of several reasons why the Irish 

 horses excel in fencing is, that it is very much the cus- 

 tom in that country to use snaffles in cross-country rid- 

 ing. The curb-rein may be taken up, if necessary, after 

 the jump is over. (Some horses, however, are such vio- 

 lent pullers, that, in the full tilt of going to hounds, where 

 the country is close and fencing frequent, it is almost 

 impossible to avoid using the curb-rein occasionally in 

 the act of jumping.) 



"While touching on cross-country riding, it may be 

 observed that many men who ought to know better, 

 often make a serious mistake in not leaving hunters 

 more to themselves than they do when going at and 

 taking their fences. Horses vary in their mode of pro- 

 gression ; and whether the gait be slow or fast, any- 

 thing of a trained animal, when interfered with under 

 these circumstances, will be put out of his own way 

 (which is generally best suited to his peculiar temper 

 or ability), in placing his legs advantageously to make 

 his jump with safety.* 



* One can scarcely repress a smile on hearing cross-country mis- 

 fortunes related, as they frequently are, in pretty nearly the fol- 

 lowing terms : — '' I found my horse going sluggishly at his fences, 

 and one place looking rather biggish ; I shook him up with the bit, 

 and put both heels into him to rouse him, but somehow or other 

 the brute took off too soon, caught his fore feet, I suppose, against 

 something, and came such a cropper on the other side ! " or, " The 

 beast kept going at such a bat at his fences that I brought him to 

 book with my hands down, and with a good pull steadied him, but 

 the brute with his 'awkwardness missed his footing on landing, 

 dropped his hind legs into the brook somehow, and fell back on me, 

 giving me a regular sousing !" 



