RIDING 85 



to follow the hounds. Never frighten a 

 boy by making him ride a horse he 

 seems shy of, or making him ride bare- 

 back or without stirrups. Encourage 

 him, but don't force him. Make things 

 as comfortable as you can for him ; you 

 can quickly alter his style after a while, 

 when he becomes accustomed to the 

 sensation of riding and has confidence in 

 himself, because this time we are deal- 

 ing with an " animal " we can instruct by 

 talk and without curbs and martingales. 

 What a job I had to get Frank to 

 bump the saddle, till one day I tied his 

 pony behind a butcher's cart going a 

 twenty-mile round in the country, and 

 told him to "help himself!" 



A few hours later, his mother was 

 going up the street, and saw Frank 

 coming back, trotting behind the cart, 

 his face beaming with smiles, and 



