CHAPTER XII 



TEACHING HORSES TO JUMP 



The great secret of " making " good jumpers is to begin 

 early enough with them ; for, after a horse has been 

 thoroughly " broken," the sooner he is taught the special 

 work required in leaping, the more accomplished fencer 

 will he become. Too Good, the winner of the Grand 

 Steeplechase de Paris, as a four-year-old, and who was 

 one of the cleverest performers ''between the flags" we 

 have ever seen, received his name from H.I.M. the 

 Empress of Austria, on account of the perfect manner in 

 which he negotiated, as a two-year-old, the difficult 

 country over which his trainer, Mr. Linde, schools his 

 cross-country animals. He was only one of many 

 instances of horses in Ireland, which is the home of 

 steeplechasing, having thoroughly mastered the art of 

 jumping before they were three years old. The action 

 of the muscles of the hind quarters and shoulders in 

 leaping is so different to what it is in galloping, that 

 early instruction, so as to impart the necessary knack, is 

 of the greatest advantage. The fact of getting over the 

 obstacles safely without losing ground is not sufficient for 

 success ; for we often find that the winner of a steeplechase 



