A LESSON IN LEAPING. 151 



a fence ; let him stretch his neck to see what it is ; keep a 

 light, very light, feeling upon the snaffle when he makes 

 his effort ; and, as he lands, but not till then, give him a 

 gentle support with both hands — especially if the jump is 

 a very big one, in order that he may not " peck." Bear in 

 mind, however, that if you attempt this support too soon — 

 when he is in the air, for instance, or in fact until he needs 

 it — you will undoubtedly throw him down. Practice will 

 teach you all these things far better than anything else, but a 

 careful study of them should not on any account be despised. 



Horses do not as a rule like schooling. I believe they 

 abhor it ; there is not any kind of excitement about it — 

 no emulation, no company, nothing, in short, to keep up 

 the " go," — therefore I maintain that more falls are to be 

 had when practising in this way (owing to the fact that 

 animals will not jump so generously as when actually going 

 the pace), than are ever to be met with in the hunting-field. 

 Still, it must occasionally be done, especially where young 

 hunters are to be kept in practice — and I strongly advise 

 you to undertake the doing of it yourself, rather than 

 entrust your favourites to a heavy-handed groom, who will 

 rattle the lives half out of them, and cram them at their 

 fences in a manner calculated to spoil them utterly for your 

 own subsequent use. 



Never believe anybody who tells you that the best eques- 

 trians sit forward when their horses jump, and backward 

 when they land. Such is really not the case at all. In 

 some instances they may have begun by doing so — taught 

 probably by a military riding-master to think it the proper 



