LESSON V. 



ON FOX-HUNTING. 



Bking the horse to the covert side as fresh and as 

 comfortable as possible. Keep free from the crowd, 

 and give the led horses plenty of kicking room. Place 

 the saddle one hand's breadth from the outer edge of 

 the shoulder blade, and tighten the girths, so that the 

 saddle be likelj to retain its position, without impeding 

 the freedom of circulation and respiration. Shorten 

 the stirrup-leathers one hole each, and keep the horse 

 in quiet action until the hounds be thrown into cover. 



The hunting seat is formed by the length of the 

 stirrup-leathers, and the perfect flexibility of the 

 person. There can be no determinate length of stirrup 

 prescribed, because the rider must be guided in a great 

 measure by his own peculiar taste. If he ride with 

 too great a length, he will the more frequently lose his 

 foot-hold of the stirrups ; and if he ride with too short a 

 length, his legs will become cramped, his power of 



