SALUTATIONS. 217 



useful to the wealthy citizens of London or New York, nor to 

 any one who is within easy reach of a good riding-school, either 

 for themselves or their children ; but as we have, without any 

 such advantage, taught a large family of children to ride a good 

 deal better than their teacher, and some of them to ride in a 

 manner that has distinguished them as huntsmen, and successful 

 steeplechase riders, in more than one part of the world, where 

 good riders are not scarce, we hope that it may be useful to 

 record the simple unskilled, and inexpensive means that we 

 adopted for that purpose. Our plan will have at least the merit 

 of being within the reach of any one who keeps a horse, and a 

 source of pleasure rather than of trouble to any father who is 

 fond of his children. 



508. — We have often been asked at what age our children 

 began to ride : we reply, six months old, but their first horse was 

 their father. Their first mount was astride of our shoulders, and 

 whilst we held on to one foot, they held on to our hair. At first 

 we were very steady, and never went out of a walk, but it was 

 never long before we were ordered to trot, gallop, rear, kick, 

 plunge, jump, and buck a great deal more than we felt inclined 

 to do. In this way all fear of the elevation, or rough motion, 

 was got over, and the little muscles began to adapt themselves to 

 hold on in any direction. 



50 J. — Whenever we came home from a ride we expected to 

 be met a quarter of a mile from home, by about three children, 

 ranging from two to six years old, two of whom went on to our 

 saddle, and one on to our shoulder. 



510. — At about six years old, the teaching began in earnest. 

 AVe found that the best way to teach the use of the reins was 

 from a gig, or some one horse vehicle. We fixed the pupil 

 securely between our knees, so that either he or she should have 

 no need to attend to their own security, and putting a rein in 

 each hand, we left the little one to steer, and on a very fine 

 mouthed horse, to see the eil'ect of his riglit or wrong movements. 

 After a good many journeys had been taken in this w-ay, the 

 child, sometimes driving and sometimes watching us, was 

 generally fit to be trusted with the reins on horseback, supposing 



