RIDING RECOLLECTIONS 



slow," replies discretion. And, sure enough, we 

 calm the free, generous horse into a trot, causing 

 him to put his very nose over the obstacle before 

 taking off; when bucking into the air, like a deer, 

 he leaves it behind him with little more effort 

 than a girl puts to her skipping-rope. The height 

 an experienced wall -jumper will clear seems 

 scarcely credible. A fence of this description, 

 which measurement proves to be fully six feet, 

 was jumped by the well-known Colonel Miles 

 three or four years ago in the Badminton country 

 without displacing a stone, and although the rider's 

 consummate horsemanship afforded every chance 

 of success, great credit is due to the good hunter 

 that could make such an effort with so heavy a 

 man on its back. 



The knack of wall-jumping, however, is soon 

 learned even by the most inexperienced animals, 

 and I may here observe that I have often been 

 surprised at the discretion shown by young horses, 

 when ridden close to hounds, in negotiating 

 fences requiring sagacity and common-sense. I 

 am aware that my opinion is singular, and I only 

 give it as the result, perhaps exceptional, of my 

 own limited experience ; but I must admit that I 

 have been carried by a pupil, on his first day, 

 over awkward places, up and down banks, in and 

 out of ravines, or under trees, with a docility and 

 circumspection I have looked for from the veterans 



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