106 LADIES ON HORSEBACK. 



any pulling or nervous reining in. Such a 

 one wiU be pretty sure to get safely over. 



Should your horse, in jumping a fence, land 

 badly, and slip his hind legs into a gripe or 

 ditch, do not wait more than an instant to 

 see if he can recover himself ; you will know 

 in that time whether he will be likely to da 

 so. The best advice I can give you is to kick 

 your foot free of the stirrup and jump off 

 before he goes back. You will thus keep your 

 own skin dry ; and, if you have been for- 

 tunate enough to retain a hght hold of the 

 rein, you can rescue your horse without much 

 difficulty ; for an animal, when immersed, 

 makes such intelligent efforts to release him- 

 self, that a very trifling assistance upon your 

 part will enable him to struggle safely to your 

 side, when you can remount him and try 

 your chances of again picking up the hounds. 

 Be cautious, however, in pulling him up, that 

 you do so over smooth ground. I had a 

 valuable young horse badly staked last season 

 through being dragged up over a clump of 

 brushwood after a fall into the Lara river. 



Should your steed peck on landing over a 



