LEAPING. 61 



gallop. The class being drawn up in line, the teacher 

 will proceed to explain to them the animal mechanism 

 of the leap. 



If a horse is at a walk, and wishes to jump over 

 an obstacle, he draws his hind legs under him to 

 support his weight, pauses for an instant, then lifts 

 his fore legs from the ground, thus throwing all his 

 weight upon his hind legs; whereupon, by a power- 

 ful contraction of the muscles, these latter project 

 his body forward and upward, and it describes a 

 curve through the air, alighting on the fore legs, 

 braced to receive the shock, the hind legs dropping 

 on the ground in their turn, only to contract again 

 sufficiently to form a forward motion. 



The pause before a leap is more noticeable at a 

 walk than at a trot, and least of all at a gallop. The 

 most favorable gait for leaping is what is known as 

 a hand-gallop, which is an intermediate pace be- 

 tween a riding-school canter and the full gallop of 

 the race-track, as, while he is at this gait, the horse 

 is impelled forward with his hind legs constantly 

 under him. 



In order to aid and support her horse at a leap, 

 the rider should bring him straight up to the obstacle 

 at a slow and regular gait, and should put her own 

 right foot very far back, that she may make her seat 

 as firm as possible ; at the moment when he pauses 

 she should lean back and lift both of her hands a 

 little, in order to enter into the slight approach to 

 rearing, without encouraging it too much ; then, as 



