42 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER, 



he blunders. Vegetius, in describing the horsemanship 

 of the Parthians in the time of Xerxes, states that in 

 order to make their horses sure-footed over rough, broken 

 ground, they placed on a space of level ground a number 

 of wooden troughs of different heights, filled with earth, 

 over which in galloping they had many falls. 



Under similar treatment, the strength, activity, intelli- 

 gence, and eyesight of the animal will, as in a wild state, 

 cordially be combined by him to protect himself from the 

 degradation as well as punishment of falling ; and so 

 ample and sufficient are these powers, that the rider will 

 soon find, that instead of having to hold his horse up, it 

 has become out of his power to throw him down. In fact, 

 under the guidance of nature, rather than of man, " the 

 hack" in a very short period, and without going over a 

 fence of any sort or kind, may thus be made competent to 

 follow hounds across any country in the United Kingdom ; 

 while, on the other hand, the nag that had only been 

 taught in a riding-school or in a dealer's yard to jump 

 neatly over bars, gates, and hurdles, would, most parti- 

 cularly to the neck of his rider, prove to be infinitely 

 worse than useless. 



Of course a horse is not a perfect hunter until he has 

 had a small amount (for he does not require much) 

 of experience in leaping; but as, with the exception of 

 water, every horse is able, willing, and eager to jump, 



