ACCIDENTS TO AUTHOR 13 



This invariably stopped a horse's rearing- propensity 

 at once and for ever. He certainly carried the art of 

 getting- clear from a falling horse to the greatest perfec- 

 tion. It is a pity that young people do not more 

 generally practise this, for I maintain that it is in- 

 valuable, despite the opinions of many well-known 

 horsemen to the contrary. Rough-riding, with little 

 or no judgment, is far too frequently the 'order of the 

 day.' Doubtless there are many such hard-riding men 

 who get through many a ' good thing ' without harm, 

 but such chance-work must sooner or later end in woe. 

 How very few there are of these who escape a really 

 serious fall now and again! If, however, the subject 

 of falling is treated scientifically, anything like serious 

 damage may be prevented. I speak from my own ex- 

 perience, which extends over a great number of years, 

 and I can only remember getting but two bad falls, 

 both of which I can account for. One was due to 

 riding a blind horse, and the other (a somewhat 

 singular case) from riding a horse which turned out 

 to be a 'fool'; i.e., the horse was actually wrong in 

 the head from a malformation, and this was not dis- 

 covered until several professional jockeys and others 

 had been also damaged in the same unaccountable 

 way, as the horse had a habit of at times falling over 

 the most trivial fences. 



' Practice makes perfect,' and I should be only too 

 happy to give my support to a school where falling- 

 could be taught on scientific principles to the young 

 and active. Quiet cobs or ponies could be used over 

 low hurdles and every sort of fence. With such 

 practice, it is wonderful how instinctively a rider learns 

 to know what sort of a fall he is in for, and he is ready 



