I40 RIDING FOR LADIES. 



I was able to get a pull at him, turned him round and 

 round from one side to the other, until both he and I were 

 pretty tired of the work. All things considered, I cannot 

 conscientiously recommend a buck-jumper for a lady's use. 



Rearing is a very dangerous vice for a horsewoman to 

 have to contend against, owing to the side position which 

 she occupies in the saddle. If ever you are unlucky 

 enough to have to mount a rearer, do not touch him with 

 a curb at all ; ride him on the snaffle only, and when 

 he attempts to rise up with you, lean well forward and 

 clutch his mane firmly with your hands, holding the bridle 

 very loosely all the while, and touching him sharply with 

 your heel. Do not on any account lay your whip upon 

 him, be it ever so lightly. I myself have found the butt 

 end of such an article, brought down briskly between the 

 ears of a rearer, a very efficient mode of bringing him to 

 his senses, — but please bear in mind that I do not either 

 advocate or recommend it : in fact, rather than do so, I 

 should prefer to warn you against it, for once, when, 

 flushed with my own success, I chanced to say something 

 in favour of the system, my temerity brought thirty-two 

 letters down upon me (most of them from horrified old 

 gentlemen who declared that their daughters were prac- 

 tising on the carriage horses !), and the columns of more 

 than one sporting paper were inundated for a month or 

 two with an inane correspondence. 



I have found a rearing bit most useful at times ; but, if 

 taken aback when riding without one, it will be well to 

 follow the practice of holding on to the mane with one 



