48 HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP 



when the body was thro"WTi back at every fence. 

 But for those of us who have decided not to lean 

 back when landing over a fence they are unneces- 

 sarily long, and I think it will be found generally 

 more comfortable for ordinary work, hunting, etc., 

 if they are shortened by about a foot. If we ride 

 according to modern principles, it will be found 

 we never require the full length, or, indeed, any- 

 thing like it, and the less slack there is, to get 

 imder our knees, or work in under the saddle, the 

 better. 



The chief difficulty in keeping our reins the 

 proper length is that unless horses " bridle " well, 

 they require great length of rein when walking, 

 and also when trotting, if they (as many do) trot 

 with their noses stuck out. So that this gives us 

 another reason why we should teach our hunters 

 to bridle whenever possible. There are, of course, 

 many horses with bad mouths and bad necks who 

 can never be got to bridle properly. But that is 

 a matter which can't be helped as long as one 

 has to ride horses of that description. If a horse 

 is bridling properly at the walk the requisite 

 shortening of the reins is a simple matter, and if 

 he should happen to shy suddenly, or give any 

 other unexpected display, the reins, if not quite 

 short enough, are sufficiently so for the dealing 

 with the matter in most cases. 



Another reason why riders often have their reins 

 too long is because it is often inconvenient and 

 imcomfortable to have them the proper length. 

 This is particularly noticeable when riders are 



