210 THE COMPLETE HORSEMAN 



galloped on as if nothing had happened. Occa- 

 sionally too in a stone wall country some big 

 stones may be found lying at the landing side. 

 I have had more than one nasty fall and once 

 cut my horse badly through these loose stones. 

 So in a stone wall country you don't know you 

 may certainly *' look ere you leap." And as 

 walls should be ridden at at a slow pace it is 

 generally possible to see whether all is plain 

 sailing without stopping entirely. 



The common theory that it is necessary to 

 ride very fast at water is not exactly accurate. 

 It is a pretty well-established theory that a 

 hunter can jump standing the same width that 

 he stands over when fairly set up. I am certain 

 I never had a hunter that could not. And a 

 very little impetus will serve to cover a bit more 

 than that. The average drain or brook which 

 is met with out hunting is seldom very wide. 

 There is an old saying which perhaps contains 

 a trifle of exaggeration in it, which tells how 

 8 ft. will stop many, lo ft. will stop most, and 

 only a choice few will look at 12 ft. At any rate 

 I think I am not overstating the case when I say 

 that more people will go round than will jump 

 10 feet of water. It is the bad take off and the 

 bad landing which is the real difficulty with 

 brooks and drains. 



It is no uncommon thing when a big brook is 

 encountered to see young and inexperienced 

 riders — and for the matter of that many older 

 men who ought to know better — put on full steam 



