154 Modern Riding and Horse Education 



going to fall, he stiffens himself all over, and thereby 

 loses all chance of keeping his balance. With a 

 short experience of the strap comes confidence, and 

 the pupil allows his muscles to relax. The impor- 

 tance of this result cannot be exaggerated. Asshe- 

 ton Smith's famous maxim that no man can be 

 called a horseman until he knows how to fall is 

 hardly one for a beginner. 



During instruction in jumping this strap is more 

 than useful, as the confidence it gives the pupil 

 enables him to center his attention on the instructor 

 and attend to his directions. After his first few 

 jumps he loses his nervousness and begins to take 

 pleasure in the exercise. It is now possible to give 

 him early and continual practice in jumping low 

 obstacles without danger of over-fatigue, which is 

 the real secret of getting a man quickly settled into 

 his saddle, and is the best of lessons in balance. 



In France they train horses to rear and kick at 

 the bidding of the instructor. The horse, who is 

 called a " sauteur," is tied by the head between two 

 padded " piliers," and the pupils mount, in turn, at 

 the end of the lesson. The object of this is to teach 

 the man to adjust his body to the fore-and-aft move- 

 ment of the horse : side-balance does not, of course, 

 Qome into play because of the horse not advancing. 



