148 MODERN HORSEMANSHIP. 



Aveight, in landing, upon the left fore-foot, otherwise 

 the gallop will be false after the jump has been 

 made. This objectionable change in the forehand 

 IS produced by the unsteady hand of the rider, and 

 many of the disasters that occur in jumping are due 

 to the fact that the horse is prevented from landing 

 upon the fore-leg with which it has intended to take 

 the weight, and the other fore-leg is not quite pre- 

 pared for the shock. 



The more united the form in which the horse ap- 

 proaches the obstacle, the greater will be the security 

 of horse and rider, and the less assistance will the 

 animal require when it alights. I constantly rode 

 Alidor over obstacles without touching the reins, and 

 he never made a mistake. In a wide leap the horse 

 must have more liberty, and the speed must be 

 greater than in the high jump, so that the momentum 

 will carry the mass through the required distance ; 

 but the weights should not be too far forward, and 

 the horse should not be permitted to hang upon the 

 hand, for there must be something like a balance 

 between the shiftinof weio^hts of the extremities to 

 enable the horse to land safely. 



