upon the haunches ; when rising, only feel 

 the reins so as to prevent them becoming 

 slack ; when the horse springs forward, 

 yield them without reserve ; when the 

 horse's hind feet come to the ground, again 

 collect him moving on at the same pace ; 

 checking the horse after he has made the 

 leap must be particularly avoided, as he 

 takes it as a punishment, when he ought 

 to be encouraged, and becomes shy of the 

 leap next time. 



Open ditch. 



The horse should be brought up to an 

 animated pace, and kept steady and straight 

 to the jump ; the rider must depend upon 

 ±he judgment of the horse for the distance 

 lie will take to make the spring, taking 

 ■care to keep his body back, and legs close 

 to the horse's side, bridle hand firm, 

 ^nd the spur ready to be applied if ne- 

 cessary at the moment of the spring. 



[The body need not be leaned back in 

 any great degree, at an open ditch or long 

 leap, but the above instruction may be 

 useful in counteracting the natural ten- 

 dency of a young rider to lean forward. 

 In point of fact, the preferable position is 

 upright, leaning neither back nor forward. 



