282 RIDING OVER A COUNTRY. 



requisite " nerve," we may be able to make him extend or 

 collect himself, so that he may take off correctly. This 

 interference should be attempted only by a man who is a 

 sufficiently fine horseman not to make a mistake, which is a 

 dangerous affair at this critical moment. Usually, the best 

 way to make a horse jump " big," is to pull him together, on 

 nearing a fence, and make him bring his hindquarters under 

 him, by the pressure of the legs and, if need be, a touch of the 

 whip. 



When a horse is going at a fence, the rider should have 



Fig. 212. Taking oft. 



both hands on the reins, so as to prevent a refusal, or to " pull 

 the horse together," if required. As a horse, when taking off, 

 has to raise his forehand off the ground (Fig. 212), and as the 

 ordinary seat of a rider puts an unduly large proportion 

 of weight on the forehand, the rider should try to rectify 

 the faulty distribution of weight, by leaning back, which he 

 should do only by the play of the hips, and without any 

 shifting of the seat from what it was at the canter or gallop. 

 On this subject, my friend Mr. E. M. Owen, the well-known 

 G.R., remarks : "The body should --go with the horse, and 



