68 JUST DOING IT, AND NO MORE. 



a foot too high at a stiff gate is bad; let him jump 

 three inches too low, probably the rider would be bad, 

 too bad to leave his bed for some time. 1 once had 

 a horse a capital fencer, but he always hit timber 

 with his fore legs or feet, God knows which, and rap 

 rap you always heard as he went over. He never 

 gave me a fall during the two seasons I hunted him, 

 but 1 always expected he would, and that is much 

 worse than a purler or two a season, and at other 

 times feeling the thing done neatl}^ Now as to 

 hurdles : he stood on very little ceremony with them : 

 if gate hurdles, he generally broke the top rail; if 

 wattled ones, he bent them till they made a nice 

 little three-foot jump for him. But he was cunning 

 enough after all never to hit stiff timber hard enough 

 to get a roll, hurt himself, or me : still I could not 

 like him altogether : I liked the price I sold him at 

 much better : he went into Bedfordshire, and there he 

 was tip-top, for he was capital in heavy ground. 



I conceive one of the greatest apprehensions to be 

 dreaded in these bounding leapers is, that, when fresh, 

 they sometimes overleap themselves ; and unless a 

 man has a tolerably firm seat, and firm hold of them, 

 they will come down on landing a regular burster : 

 but then this is generally the rider's fault. Many 

 hold their horse firm enough till he rises and is 

 partly over ; they then seem to think their work is 

 done, and let him land as he can ; whereas his alight- 

 ing is the very moment when a man should throw 

 himself a little back and hold his horse : here most 

 men fail, and from the want of this habit of support- 

 ing your horse at the proper time, numberless serious, 

 nay fatal, accidents occur, and will* ever occur under 

 such circumstances. If on a horse landing after 



