RIDING TO HOUNDS 175 



tries to see the depth or width of ditch 

 or stream. When such are in sight, it 

 is well to quicken the horse's pace, that 

 he may reach the place before he sees 

 any horse refusing, or before the banks 

 have been made unsound by the jump- 

 ing of the others. Each horse will prob- 

 ably widen the distance as the ground 

 gives way beneath him, so a woman 

 must use her own judgment in decid- 

 ing where she will jump, instead of 

 following some one else. 



A bog or swamp is a most disagree- 

 able place in which to be caught, and 

 calls for calmness to get out without a 

 wetting or fall. To quiet the horse is 

 the first thing, and prevent his plung- 

 ing into it deeper and deeper, as he 

 will with every struggle. Should he be 

 sinking, his rider must get off, keep- 

 ing hold of the reins, for, although their 

 combined weight would cause the bog 



