246 PRECEPT AND PEACTICE. 



cise moment will be often found to have them, as in 

 his gallop, stretched out behind him. He to a cer- 

 tain degree gallops over his fences, only raising his 

 body and limbs high enough to clear the obstacle. 

 He, to speak figuratively, glides over his fences as 

 we could imagine an eel would do over an obstacle 

 six inches in height. This makes the English horse 

 easier to sit on when fen cing than the Irish horse 

 — at least, with a few exceptions, I have found 

 them so. 



Another thing that may lead to the supposition of 

 Irish horses being buck-jumpers is this — they mostly 

 give themselves an additional impetus forwards by 

 striking the wall or bank, or in fact anything that 

 affords & point d'appiii to the hind leg. The doing 

 this, and finding the advantage of so doing, is the 

 reason that Irish horses bring (as I have said) their 

 hind legs under them quicker than EngHsh ones. 

 An English horse, unaccustomed to walls, jumps 

 them as he does gates ; the Irish horse, at times, 

 absolutely " dogs them " — that is, in a momentary 

 way, he places his fore-feet on the wall, like a dog, 



