6 BEGINNING TO RIDE. 



cannot tell whether he was right or wrong ; although I am 

 certain that the " spills " I had made me all the more keen. 

 I believe that a few falls, provided that they are not too 

 severe, do a strong, stout-hearted boy a great deal of good 

 when he is learning to ride ; but if the beginner be a man, 

 or a delicate youth, they are apt to destroy his confidence, 

 without which no one can ride well. A bad fall, on the 

 contrary, will in all cases have a bad effect. This fact is 

 well recognised among jockeys, some of whom I have heard 

 remark about poor Fred Archer, when alluding to his ex- 

 traordinary pluck, that he retained it because he had not 

 met with a severe accident. 



In order to give a grown-up beginner confidence, I would 

 strongly advise that, to commence with, he should be put on 

 a very quiet, easy-paced horse ; that he should be allowed 

 to ride with stirrups ; and that he should have a comfortable, 

 broad-seated saddle, covered with buckskin, or, if necessary, 

 a buckjumping saddle (Fig. I2i). After a time he might 

 try an ordinary pigskin saddle, and might have a change of 

 horses ; but he should hasten slowly. In order to become a 

 fine horseman, it is imperative for a man to practise on a 

 large variety of animals. He should above all things avoid, 

 from the very first, depending on the reins for support ; for 

 that trick once learned, will be difficult, if not impossible, to 

 discontinue. It is also incompatible with strength of seat 

 and goodness of hands. A man who " holds on by the 

 reins " will always be liable, when in the saddle, to be 

 pulled on to the horse's neck, in the event of the animal 

 putting down his head to buck, or stretching out his head 

 and neck when making a mistake, as for instance, in 

 jumping. The method of teaching to ride without reins, 

 ^\■hich I shall presently describe, is admirably calculated 

 to make the pupil independent of their help for 

 " sticking on." He should try to learn to ride by balance. 



