A FEW HINTS 201 



horse requires. Then the centre of gravity of the 

 rider is disturbed by the violent exertion of 

 flinging his arm back, and the balance of both 

 horse and rider is disturbed. Ground is thereby 

 lost if the horse is in the hunting field or in a 

 steeplechase and it has to be made up at the 

 expense of the horse. Indeed no trainer of 

 steeplechase horses will put up the man ' who 

 hails a hansom ' if he has his own way. 



My own experience tells me how easily the bad 

 habit is acquired, and with what difficulty it 

 is got rid of. After riding two or three pullers I 

 v\^as put on a thoroughbred horse with a very 

 light mouth who would scarcely allow one to 

 touch him with the bridle when going at his 

 fences. He held his head right up as he jumped 

 and he jumped big. So having been used to 

 horses that took hold a bit at their fences it was 

 not to be wondered at that I occasionally got a 

 little nearer the horse's neck than was pleasant or 

 elegant when he jumped extra big. So up went 

 the arm, and it was a confirmed habit before I 

 was fully conscious that I had acquired it. Some 

 very sarcastic comments were made on it from 

 time to time, and though I was at that stage 

 when I considered that everything in the riding 

 line was acquired by practice and by practice 

 alone, and that practice being interpreted meant 

 being as near hounds as your horse could get 

 you, I was very anxious to get rid of the bad 

 habit about which I had so much chaff. I tried 

 hard but it stuck to me for years and it had 



