15 



to display, without correction, nearly every 

 fault of which a person on horseback can be 

 guilty. Of course it is better to correct 

 mistakes in private than in public, but it 

 seems unusual to do so at all. Those who 

 will take the trouble to inquire will find 

 that in the majority of civilian riding 

 schools the pupils practise riding, it is true, 

 but receive little or no instruction. 



It has repeatedly been suggested, and 

 not without good reason, that riding- 

 masters should be subjected to an examina- 

 tion before being permitted to practise 

 their calling. Life and limb may be 

 sacrificed in consequence of employing an 

 inefficient riding-master, but the worst of 

 the class is preferable to a coachman or 

 groom. Servants such as these, however 

 good and honest, are, in nearly every 

 instance, utterly incapable of teaching. 



Even if they are themselves able to ride, 

 which is very seldom the case, owing to 

 their heavy hands, they do so less as 

 reasoning beings than from a kind of 

 instinct or habit ; they have no power of 

 imparting knowledge, and are immediately 

 out of their depth when confronted with a 

 ** why and wherefore." 



