THE POSITION OF THE BODY 59 



cartridge," has no further resources, and can only- 

 hope for the best. 



Consequently I will go so far as to say that there 

 are no circumstances under which it is right to throw 

 the body back, although I willingly admit that we 

 often have to, because we have sometimes to rectify 

 mistakes which we have made in the best way we 

 can. Approaching a fence with the reins too 

 long is the most usual error, which once made 

 cannot be rectified until after the leap has been 

 completed. 



People may say that if a horse pecks very badly 

 it is absolutely necessary to lean back to prevent 

 falling off. This is an assertion I cannot accept. 

 It is not necessary, not even when steeplechasing. 

 If the whole shock of landing has been absorbed 

 by the knee joint, as I have previously explained, 

 any further inclination to fall over the horse's 

 head can be overcome by resting both hands on 

 his neck, and then, as the horse recovers from his 

 stumble, the body can be raised and the rider is 

 in a position to collect his mount at the very 

 moment he requires collecting. 



An ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory, 

 so I will tell my readers that I have seen a man 

 who was sitting his horse with his body well for- 

 ward, ride at a high post and rails. The horse 

 pecked so badly on landing that his ears were 

 actually in the mud. But the rider never moved 

 in the saddle, collected him as easily as if nothing 

 had occurred, and was on and away without any 

 difficulty. Such a feat could never have been 



