THE APPROACH 87 



seasons, and each year I became more and more 

 convinced that that was not the way to negotiate 

 those or any other fences. A broken back would 

 be impossible as long as the rider kept his body 

 forward, and if the horse was properly " put" at 

 the ditch, he would clear it much more easily and 

 with far more satisfaction to the rider, than in the 

 manner advocated, which was to push his fore legs 

 partly down the side of the ditch, and then make 

 him lurch forward on to the opposite slope, from a 

 standing position, and get him to clamber up as 

 best he can. 



Every one knows the great capacity horses have 

 for jumping, but it is not generally recognized 

 why it is so much more difficult to jump a big 

 fence properly than a small one. To jump a rail 

 three foot high is within the capacity of nearly 

 every rider. But four feet, although still quite a 

 small jump, is another matter, and five feet is 

 usually considered to be quite outside the question 

 in the himting field. The reason for this is, that 

 as the fence increases in height, so the difficulty 

 of " putting " the horse at it increases in proportion. 



Looking at diagram IX, a horse, it will be 

 seen, can clear the lower rail easily if he takes 

 off anywhere between the points A B. If he is 

 beyond B he would be too close, if not up to 

 A, he would be too far away to clear it. But 

 anywhere between those two points are quite 

 within his capacity. Now look at the higher rail. 

 The points A B are here much closer together, so 

 that to clear this with any certainty the rider has to 



