2 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 



in all cases that happy admixture of courage, prompt 

 decision, patience, and perseverance, that constitute the 

 rider's temperament, and which arrive at their greatest 

 perfection when coupled with an unselfish love of that 

 noblest and most beautiful animal the horse. It is only 

 necessary to put a man of this sort into the saddle and 

 he becomes at once a rider ; just as another becomes a 

 good shot, and a third an expert angler, almost from 

 the moment a gun or a rod is placed in their hands. 



But all men are not so gifted ; whole nations, indeed, 

 have been at various periods of the world's history 

 characterised as born riders ; but it will be found, on 

 examination, that in these instances unmixed race, 

 resulting in great uniformity of stature, build, and tem- 

 perament, combined with what we are pleased to term 

 a low degree of civilization, prevailed to a much greater 

 dxtent than amongst ourselves. It would be invidious, 

 and moreover unnecessary, for the object we have in 

 view, to enter into a minute comparison in this respect 

 of our own population with others of ancient or modern 

 times. As regards most, if not all, of those moral 

 qualities that we have stated to be typical of the rider 

 temperament, we stand confessedly very high in the 

 scale, leaving altogether aside all that England has done 

 for the breeding of horses : moreover, we have amongst 

 us a much greater proportion of men who can ride tant 

 bien que mal than any other civilized nation ; in fact, 

 the class of men that ride for pleasure or convenience is 

 with us very large, whereas everywhere else it is very 

 small, almost minute ; for the equestrian nations that 

 still exist in different parts of the world mount their 

 horses as a means of gaining and maintaining their 

 existence much more frequently than for mere pleasure. 



