Cross- Country Riding. 45 



Light hands are the most necessary and hard- 

 est qualification for a rider to acquire. A Hght 

 hand is one that feels a horse's mouth as deli- 

 cately as a physician feels one's pulse, putting no 

 more pressure upon it than is absolutely neces- 

 sary. 



The necessity for, and importance of, this 

 can not well be overestimated, as a horse's dis- 

 position, action, and manners in the field are en- 

 tirely governed and controlled by it. A good 

 rider with good hands can rectify and cure many 

 bad faults in a horse. 



The seat of the rider has more to do with 

 the lightness and heaviness of a rider's hands 

 than any other thing, the stability of seat exert- 

 ing great influence upon the mouth. In other 

 words, a rider with bad seat can never hope to 

 acquire good hands. 



Never take it for granted that the groom has 

 attended to all the details of arranging bits and 

 curb, girths and stirrup bars — the fact that it is 

 his duty to do so is very good reason why he has 

 not done so — therefore never mount until you 

 have verified all these details and know they have 

 received proper attention; that is, if you respect 

 your life and limb, as the possibility of an acci- 

 dent is a feature of hunting we can not ignore, 

 for there are times when neither nerve nor skill 

 avail against it. 



In mounting, approach the horse's he^d on 



