FALLING. 173 



arm, or any other portion of your body, do so, but never 

 drag at the rein when in such a position. Strive if possible, 

 however, to retain a Hght hold of it, in order that, in the 

 event of the animal managing to regain his feet without 

 mischief, he may not get altogether away from you. Cool- 

 ness and courage will be the best companions upon so 

 trying an occasion. 



When a thoroughly practised horsewoman gets a fall of 

 this description, it is generally through riding a beaten horse 

 at a place that is too big for his exhausted powers to carry 

 him safely over — an error into which almost all enthusiastic 

 riders are apt to be led ; or it may occur through the 

 landing-ground being rotten, or broken away. When this 

 latter is the case, the horse's hind legs slip from beneath 

 him, and he hangs for a dreadful moment, half-in, half-out 

 of the ravine, beating a frantic tattoo with his fore-feet 

 upon the brink, while the hinder ones struggle to find 

 something that may serve as an assistance against the 

 otherwise inevitable going back. A moment like this is 

 supremely dreadful for both horse and rider. The latter, if 

 a man, may swing himself off in the twinkling of an eye, 

 and jump on to the bank, keeping a hold of the bridle all 

 the while, and by it may assist his mount to regain terra 

 firma when he is safely landed there himself; I have seen 

 it done by smart horsemen over and over again, — but no 

 lady that ever entered a hunting-field can possibly do it 

 without a hand being stretched from the bank to assist her. 



I recall instances, and think of them with horror, of 

 finding myself hanging over an abyss — for such it always 



