118 THE BARB AND THE BRIDLE. 



hitting him ; this ■will cause him to spring lightly over the hurdle > 

 If the position of the pupil before the horse takes off is carefully 

 looked to, there will be little derangement of seat. 



This lesson should be repeated until it is executed with precision. 

 At the same time, two or three jumps of this sort are quite sufficient 

 in one day, because, if repeated too often, the horse, missing the 

 support of the hand, is apt to blunder. When the lady can ride over 

 her fence in the above-named form, she should take up and arrange 

 her reins, so that, while that of the snaffle is not in the horse's way, 

 she feels him on the curb only. She should give him fair length of 

 rein, draw her left hand back to her waist, and place the right hand 

 lightly on the left, just in front of the knuckles ; but the reins should 

 be held military fashion — the little finger between them, the leather 

 over the middle joint of the forefinger, the thumb closed firmly on it, 

 the little finger well turned up towards the waist. The horse must 

 be riden at a smart walk, well up against the curb, until he is close 

 enough to the hurdle to jump. The whip must again be used, and 

 the instructor's word again sharply given, when the pupil should 

 yield both hands freely, turning the little fingers downwards, and 

 slipping the elbows forward. Great firmness and steadiness of seat 

 are necessary to do this lesson well, and considerable practice is 

 necessary to insure complete unity of action in the body and hands, 

 the former being yielded quickly as the latter is actively thrown 

 back. To assist the pupil in her first attempts at this portion of the- 

 leaping lesson, the curb chain should be slackened as much as pos- 

 sible, and it should be one that is broad and well padded. 



As the lady acquires the requisite lightness of manipulation and 

 additional firmness in the saddle, the cm-b (link by link) may be 

 tightened until it is in its proper place, namely, so that it admits of 

 the play of one finger only between it and the jaw of the horse. But 

 the greatest care on the part of the instructor is necessary in 

 watcliing how both horse and rider behave before this can be 

 accomplished. 



The lesson is called technically "jumping from the hand," and 

 once thoroughly acquired, the pupil has little to learn, as regards 

 indoor work, in the way of riding over her fences. She may in that 



