no Modern Riding and Horse Education 



The self-taught rider very generally straightens 

 his leg and lets the lower part go right out to the 

 front when landing over a fence; as already men- 

 tioned in the section on seats, the most important 

 reason why this should not be done is that straight- 

 ening the leg causes the gripping muscles to become 

 round instead of flat; another disadvantage is that 

 it makes the rider liable to spur the horse on the 

 shoulder as he lands. A third and most cogent ar- 

 gument against the practice, from the rider's point 

 of view, is that (unless his leathers are very long) 

 if he happens to arrive over the fence with his 

 whole weight on the stirrups, the shock of landing 

 w^ill be transmitted from his feet to his body, and 

 he will be liable to fall off. 



The question of stumbling has been dealt with 

 already, and the evil effects of interference with the 

 horse's mouth explained, but I can see no reason 

 why a sliarp application of the legs can do anything 

 but good to a tripper. Mr. Charles Thompson 

 gives this as the only course to pursue. He was 

 the author of a treatise entitled " Rules for Bad 

 Horsemen" (1775), and naively complained, in 

 the " Advertisement of the Fourth Edition," that 

 the title had spoiled the sale of the work. 



