288 RIDING OVER A COUNTRY. 



according to the speed, the faster a horse goes up to a fence, 

 the more difficulty will he have in raising his forehand, so as 

 to obtain the proper " angle of projection." On the other 

 hand, when a horse is going fast, the impetus which the speed 

 at which he is going gives him, will be a useful addition to 

 the effort he makes when trying to clear width. Hence the 

 truth of the old axiom that a man should ride slowly at 

 timber, i.e. any high obstacle ; and fast at water, i.e. any broad 

 place. As a horse when jumping a high obstacle has not 

 only to project his body upwards, but has also to project it 

 forwards ; so that his hind quarters may clear the fence on the 

 other side, he will require to go moderately fast, even when 

 leaping posts and rails. When I write about going slow at 

 height, I mean that it should be done at a steady canter. At 

 steeplechasing, a good deal has to be left to the honour of the 

 horse, while the jockey does his part by sitting still, and keep- 

 ing a nice hold of the animal's head. In such cases, we shall 

 generally see that an accomplished chaser will steady himself, 

 when coming to a high fence. 



If a horse happens to fall, and the rider has the good 

 luck to maintain his seat, he should leave the reins perfectly 

 loose, so as not to interfere with the animal's efforts to get up. 

 If he be unseated, he should try to roll clear, while keeping 

 hold of the reins as long as he can. In a fall, if one brings 

 one's chin as close as possible to one's breast, the neck will be 

 less liable to be broken, than if the head is held straight or 

 carried back. A fisherman, after hooking and landing a 

 salmon, kills him by bending his head back. Practice un- 

 doubtedly enables us to acquire, to some extent, the art of 

 falling softly ; but it is not a sufficiently exact science to be 

 fully discussed in a book. 



RIDING REFUSERS. 

 Horses generally refuse an obstacle, because they are afraid 



