l6 INTRODUCTION. 



taught ; but the fact is that nearly every- 

 thing he knows about riding is derived 

 from imitatinor those who have in some 

 way gained a knowledge of proper usages, 

 and afterwards by deducing natural se- 

 quences from these established rules. 



If the pupil is fortunate enough to 

 have the personal instruction of a skilled 

 master, he will, perhaps, learn more rapidly 

 than by following the precepts of a book. 

 But he is much more apt to find a proper 

 system in some work that has received the 

 approbation of the authorities upon the 

 subject than in the instruction he receives 

 from grooms and self-styled masters. The 

 instructions given to the recruits in the 

 military riding-schools are, for the greater 

 part, a repetition by the instructor of the 

 printed rules, which he must learn by rote. 



