The Horse, as Comrade and Friend 



learn the meaning of this new word "jump," 

 and as soon as he does so, leave off the taps 

 with the whip and use the word each time. 

 On the second or third day of doing this, you 

 will find Disciple will want to leave the road 

 as soon as he comes to the grass and little 

 grips, just for the pleasure of hopping over 

 them. 



If you have the luck to live near forest or 

 common, it is always possible to select a num- 

 ber of quite little jumps to begin with — ditches 

 of all kinds, little gorse growths and the like. 

 If there is an object in getting across them which 

 Disciple can understand, such as getting out 

 of undergrowth into an open space of grass, 

 so much the better for him, as it gives point 

 to your order to " jump," and, if the jump is a 

 little bigger than what he has previously been 

 accustomed to, he will the more wiUingly 

 make the greater effort. This question of 

 object becomes quite an important one when 

 you begin to negotiate larger obstacles, such 

 as a water-ditch, a gap in a fence between two 

 fields, and the horse will wilUngly tackle a 

 greater width or height than he has attempted 

 before, because he understands that you want 

 to get him into the next field, which he will be 

 quite keen to do as he would Uke to explore it 

 himself. Before you start your run, point out 

 the ditch or gap to him, and in a conversational 

 voice repeat the word " jump " three or four 



I. 149 



