THE LEAP. 259 



cibly wrested from lier hands by the horse's 

 movements. At the moment of the spring and 

 the advance of the arms, the rider's body mnst 

 be indined backward, the erect position of the 

 waist and shoulders being, however, maintained. 

 As the animal's fore-feet touch the ground, the 

 hands must be gently drawn in toward the 

 waist in order to support him, as such support 

 will be expected by the horse, and must be con- 

 tinued even after his hind-legs rest upon the 

 ground, so that the animal will not become dis- 

 united, but will move onward in a collected 

 manner. (Fig. 34.) 



Many riding-teachers instruct their pupils to 

 incline the body well forward as the horse rises, 

 while others require their pupils to lean well 

 back. The advocates of the former method say 

 that this forward inclination conforms to the 

 position of the horse at the time, and so places 

 the weight of the body as to assist the horse in 

 his spring. They who adopt the other method 

 maintain that if the body be inclined forward 

 in the rise, it will be almost, if not quite, im- 

 possible for the rider, from^ the rapidity with 

 which the horse extends himself, to make the 

 backward inclination in time to enable her to 

 regain her balance quickly. A happy medium 

 will prove the best. If the rider be seated cor- 



