154 RWING FOR LADIES. 



he cannot do if at all pumped out, and the consequence is 

 that he hits it with his knees, or chest, and gives himself 

 and his rider a terrific fall. There are fences that may be 

 taken at a swing, others that can be scrambled over, and 

 others again that must be negotiated deliberately, requiring 

 more coolness than courage to accomplish the doing of them 

 safely — but timber must be got over in thoroughly hunter- 

 like fashion, or a terrific crash will be the result. High 

 stiff rails, or gates, have more perils for riders than any other 

 obstacle that can be met with in the hunting-field, not even 

 excepting walls ; for many hunters will go collectedly and 

 steadily at these latter, when a four or five-barred gate, with 

 the daylight showing through and letting them see what is 

 on the other side will be either refused, or done in decidedly 

 slovenly fashion, in which case the latter state is infinitely 

 worse than the first. 



In taking an up-jump, throw your head and shoulders 

 well back, so that you may escape being struck in the face, 

 and leave your horse unlimited headroom, for the danger of 

 a leap of this description is, that the animal may not get his 

 quarters sufficiently under him to land safely on his legs, 

 and may in consequence be in danger of going back : in 

 such case, if he is in the slightest degree trammelled about 

 the mouth, he will be unable to stretch his neck or make 

 the necessary struggle to recover himself 



Many ladies have a horror of going over water, the dread 

 of immersion being no doubt the paramount cause of it ; 

 but I have always thought that a good wide brook, or 

 a narrow branch of a river, was about the safest of all 



