74 



THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



O did we run our better race, 



(Thus may the muse conclude her strain,) 



With half the zeal we give the chase, 

 What endless honours should we gain. 



As a correct knowledge of Horsemanship is necessary 

 to those who pursue the manly and invigorating sport of 

 Fox Hunting, the following hints are selected, which may 

 prove interesting and instructive. 



The great secret, or the very essence, I may say, of 

 the art of riding, consists in assuming or taking a corres- 

 ponding motion to that of the horse ; or, in other words, 

 the rider should accommodate himself, with a pleasant 

 pliability to every motion of the horse : whenever it is 

 otherwise, his seat will be unpleasant, unsafe, and indeed 

 dangerous. This may be regarded, not only as the es- 

 sence of horsemanship (as I have already observed,) but 

 as the fundamental principle, from which subsequent ex- 

 cellence or proficiency must arise; and cannot be too deep- 

 ly impressed on the minds of those who feel any inter- 

 est in the subject. On this account, I would advise those 

 who wish to become excellent horsemen to practice with- 

 out stirrups, which they will find of the greatest possible 

 service in forming a close secure seat. Respecting the 

 close seat, it may not be amiss here to remark, that there 

 are to be found advocates for the loose seat. On this 

 subject, I had, some few years ago, a conversation with a 

 riding master, who seemed to think that a loose seat in 

 hunting was to be preferred: on expressing my surprise 

 at such a notion, he endeavoured to prove the correctness 

 of his position by observing, that, in case of a fall, the 

 horse would not be so likely to roll on the rider, as the 

 latter would most probably be thrown several yards from 

 him. The man who reasoned thus is a good rider in the 

 school, and has an elegant seat on horseback; but, like 

 some others of his fraternity whom I have met with, he is 

 timid; and his remarks on this subject were evidently the 

 offspring of fear rather than philosophy ; nor, when duly 

 considered, can any thing be more remote from truth. 

 Admitting that a loose seat will be the cause of precipitat- 

 ing the rider to a distance in case of the horse falling, 

 the very circumstance itself appears to me more pregnant 

 with danger than the chance of the horse rolling upon his 

 rider. The most imminent danger, I conceive, of a horse 

 rolling upon his rider, is when, in jumping timber, a wall, 

 or other fence with a stiff top, the horse catches it with 

 his fore feet, and goes " bull-neck over,'" to use a very ex- 

 pressive phrase of a sporting friend; and I am in doubt 

 whether in this case the loose rider is not in more danger 

 than the close rider. At all events, a loose rider must 

 calculate on a great number of falls, since, with a seat of 

 this description, he must be liable to be unhorsed on every 



trifling irregularity, circumstances which are constantly 

 occurring, in following hounds across a country. 



But it does not always happen, that a horse comes 

 "bull-neck over," if he tips the top of a gate or style; 

 since one which I at present possess, a good hunter, too, 

 and has carried me many times after hounds, has frequent- 

 ly carried off the top bar of a gate, but kept his legs, ne- 

 vertheless ; indeed such a circumstance, when a strong 

 horse comes thus in contact with a weak or rotten gate or 

 rail, is sure to happen. 



In advising a young sportsman to practice riding with- 

 out stirrups, it must not be understood, that I consider the 

 stirrups as useless: on the contrary, the ease of the sports- 

 man depends mainly upon them, and frequently his safety 

 also. I am aware that riding masters pretend (and Adams 

 among the rest) that the use of the stirrup adds no secu- 

 rity to the seat ; but, if they mean tp apply this maxim 

 to riding after hounds, it is not only untrue, but a positive 

 absurdity. The knee and the calf of the leg are the main 

 holds of the horseman in riding over fences, and, indeed, 

 in riding over a country in general, and these cannot be 

 applied with half their embracing force to the sides of the 

 horse, without the use of the stirrups : the experiment is 

 easily made ; and those who choose to take the trouble of 

 making it will not only perceive the evident utility of the 

 stirrup, but be fully convinced, that a short stirrup rather 

 than a long one, and the foot home in it, is, of all posi- 

 tions, that which enables the rider to embrace his horse 

 most firmly, and consequently is the most conducive to 

 his safety. 



In speaking of short stirrups, it will be necessary to 

 define more particularly what I mean by the term ; and 

 this I will endeavour to do, in language sufficiently clear, 

 so as to avoid, or prevent, even the possibility of miscon- 

 ception. The seat upon horseback may be compared to 

 the seat upon a common chair ; and, therefore, for hunt- 

 ing, I would have the stirrup of that precise length as 

 would allow the rider to sit fairly upon the saddle : if, 

 for instance, it be taken up so short that it pushes or re- 

 moves the rider towards the cantle of the saddle (which 

 he will easily perceive on trying the experiment) it is then 

 too short ; but, while the rider can sit fairly down in the 

 saddle, I am of opinion the stirrup cannot be too short. 



The instructions of riding masters are to keep the body 

 erect, with the shoulders well back, and the chest thrown 

 out : as general directions, these are correct enough ; but, 

 as in hunting, so many incidental or unforeseen circum- 

 stances occur, these instructions, though kept in mind, 

 must be made subservient accordingly. Therefore, upon 

 the incidental irregularities which occur in hunting, I must 

 once more observe, that the rider must make his motions 



