52 Modern Riding and Horse Education 



and assisted by photographic experiments, has led 

 me to the conclusion that in landing over a fence at a 

 canter the rider depicted in Plate VIII has got his 

 body as far back as possible with due regard to 

 safety, and that this poise can only be assumed at a 

 slow pace and on a horse which dwells on landing. 

 If the animal is very quick away after jumping at a 

 canter the rider is apt to be left if his body is not 

 slightly on the forward side of the perpendicular 

 with the ground. I must here impress upon the 

 reader that for the rider to get behind the perpen- 

 dicular when landing over a big fence he must lean 

 back to a considerable degree from his hips. The 

 Italians say that the body should be in front of the 

 perpendicular to the horse on the downward plane 

 and when landing; this is a necessary corollary to 

 their method of riding, and they hold their reins 

 shorter than we do in England. The objections to 

 this practice, excepting perhaps for steeplechasing, 

 will be referred to later on in the section on the 

 '* Use and Misuse of the Hands." 



Any amateur who has ridden a gallop at a 

 trainer's will have experienced to his discomfiture 

 how quickly a well-schooled horse gets away on 



