RIDING AND DRIVING 99 



others, and a blow that would drive another mad 

 falls unheeded on their callous hides. You will 

 see, therefore, that it is impossible to make any 

 rule, and that the man who has the control 

 of horses must exercise considerable discretion. 

 Thoroughbred horses require more persuasion and 

 less whip, whilst their phlegmatic brethren with the 

 tinge of the hairy heel will take a hiding without 

 resentment. 



In ordinary riding on well-broken animals there 

 are not many probabilities of getting falls, but if 

 you ride to hounds across country you must expect 

 to get down occasionally. The most unpleasant 

 kind of tumble is, however, to be kicked off, and 

 though we may all be subject to this indignity at 

 some period of our lives, we never expect it to 

 happen after we have passed the first rudiments 

 of riding. Some people can see no difference 

 between the humiliating ^'voluntary" and the 

 honourable fall when the rider comes to the ground 

 with his horse. Some one in the hunting-field may 

 have been taking on an extra large-sized bit of 

 timber, over which he comes to grief, and the 

 next day we read in the paper, Mr. So-and-so was 

 '^ thrown " from his horse. 



If you fall with your horse over a fence, you 

 may take no more hurt than if knocked over 

 in the football-field. Stick to the saddle as long 

 as you can, and when you find the position no 

 longer tenable, roll yourself smartly out of the 

 way. Don't lose your head or lose your hold of 



