RIDING TO HOUNDS 11 



hedges beyond making sure that they are 



not wired and endeavoring to secure a safe Hedges 



landing. Hedge jumping, however, tends 



to make horses careless because they soon 



learn that they can brush through with 



impunity. In England hedges must often 



be "flown" because flanked by ditches or 



ox-rails, but this is seldom the case in this 



country. 



Watch out at all times for wire. Some 

 farmers run a single strand along the Wire 

 top of their fences. Such a wire often 

 escapes notice. If it is below the top rail 

 it can usually be disregarded if you are 

 on a safe hunter. In rare cases where 

 it becomes absolutely necessary to jump 

 wire, dismount and cover the top strands 

 with your coat or some other solid article 

 and jump at this point, after having care- 

 fully shown it to your horse. In Australia 

 where most of the fences are of wire, horses 

 are taught to jump the posts, but with us 

 few animals are sufficiently well trained 

 for this. If caught in wire, dismount at 

 once and quiet your horse, holding down 



