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If a horse drops his hind legs in an ordinary ditch or 

 on a fence, it is generally right for a light-weight to 

 sit tight and stay in the saddle; but if he drops his 

 hind legs in a brook, bottom, or very deep ditch, be off 

 him in a flash or he may fall back, and his rider is 

 then in a dangerous position. 



Falling well comes with practice, and a lad who 

 rides all sorts of horses and tries to go on them is 

 sure to get a certain amount of practice; but I fear 

 there are some kind of falls which no skill can soften, 

 and of these, falls over wire are, of course, the worst 

 and most dangerous. Still, a lad who keeps his head 

 and knows exactly what is going on when he falls has the 

 best chance of escaping unhurt. I have heard men dis- 

 pute as to whether it is a good thing to cling to the 

 reins when down or not. I cannot see two sides to this 

 question. If you roll to the end of your reins you are 

 quite far enough away from your horse for safety, and 

 the only argument I ever heard advanced in favour of 

 letting go is that if a man does so, he can get quite 

 clear and his horse cannot tread on him or kick him. 

 While the reasons for holding on are more numerous, there 

 is one conclusive and overwhelming one: if you fall and 

 let go in a really fast, good hunt, you are out of it, 

 utterly and miserably out of it, and only a certain 

 number of such hunts come to each of us in our hunting 

 lives. But if a man keeps a grip of his reins when he 

 falls and is quickly up, he need only lose a few lengths, 

 need not lose his place, much less the hunt. 



I never used patent clips that release the stirrup 

 when you fall, and have been hung up in my stirrups many 

 times without being hurt, as I had the reins. Patent 

 clips are best if you can't be sure of keeping your 

 reins, but they often come open when you do not want 

 them to do so, and your stirrups are sadly apt to remain 

 in a brook after rider and horse have emerged. 



Holding on to the reins when you fall has to be 

 learnt, as the natural instinct is to put out your open 

 hands to break your fall. Still, it can be learnt. 

 I don't know if it comes easily to some men; I know I 

 fell pretty often before I could make certain of holding 

 on every time; but if you have got it well rammed into 



