238 HORSEMANSHIP. 



attended with fracture of limbs, if not loss of life, 

 chiefly, perhaps, from the hard nature of the ground 

 on which the horse and his rider are thrown ; for, 

 if a twentieth part of the falls sportsmen get in the 

 field, their horses so frequently falling upon them, 

 were to occur upon hard ground, the danger in 

 hunting would put a stop to it. Falls from horses 

 starting, only happen to persons who have a loose 

 seat, and such should ride none but horses free 

 from that fault. But the greatest safeguard on 

 the road, next to a firm seat, is derived from the 

 hand of the rider, who should never trust himself 

 entirely to his horse, however safe he may consider 

 him. He may tread on a rolling stone ; the ground 

 may give way from under him ; he may step into a 

 hole ; or, by the efiect of sudden alarm, he may 

 lose the centre of gravity, and then, in all or either 

 of these cases, the fall is worse, by reason of his 

 o:ettino^ no assistance from the rider, which he mav 

 have looked for, until past recovery, when he 

 comes to the ground with a crash. We therefore 

 recommend persons who ride the road, always to 

 feel their horses' mouths lightly, by which means 

 not only will the proper equilibrium be sustained, 

 and they will be carried better for it, (for, observe, 

 a horse with a weight upon his back, and one with- 

 out a weight upon his back, are by no means in 

 relative positions,) but, should a false step be made, 

 the aid of the rider being instantly at hand, is nearly 

 certain to recover him. By which rein the mouth 

 should be felt, supposing the bridle to consist of a 

 bit and a bridoon, must depend on the sensibility 



