Year: 1861

| H1Orscma anship.


Ir An interesting article on fox.huntine
the London Quarterly Review gives som
excellent hints on craftsmanship, one o
two of which will not come amiss to rider
who are not fox-hunters.


Four fifths of the art Of horscmanshit
depends on attaining a proper seat, ant
one-fifth on possessing a light pair Of hands
The generality of riders are apt to sit or
their horses in bent attitude, and when q
man rides in this toadlike position he trav
els always ready, at a moments notice to
describe a parabolic curve over his horse S
head, should the animal take notion to
stumble and fall, and the result is likely to
be a concusson of his brain or a disloc;.
ton of his neck the horse standing by
unnjurcd On the other hand when a
man sits upright, evenly balanced on his
saddle, any sudden jerk or movement for
ward throws his shoulders backward II
the horse falls the animal is the sole suffer
er; the fore part of his body becomes a
buffer, preventing the concussion from in
juring, in the smallest degree, the driver.
II a horse only trips, rider justly poised
in his saddle can easily recover himself
The instant he is down, however, the rider
should vacate his saddle, as the momentum
of the animal will probably cause him to
rolL over. In lcaping fence, too, if the
rider sits properly on his saddle, the horse
and not he receives the conclusion of any
fall that may ensuc, simply because the
spring OF the animal, in taking the leap,
had thrown his shoulders backward, an,
his head out Of danger; whereas, if the
rider had assumed beut attitude his nose
would have been seen plonghing mother
earth the moment the muZzle Of his horse
impinged upon it. In the year 1913 Major
General William York Moore. of the British
army, rode over Il precipiece Of two hun
dred and thirty-seven feet perpendicular
height on the island of Dominica, and es-
capped with his life, although every bone in
his horses body WAS broken. Three men
had previously been dashed to pieces at
the same place, and fourth met similar
fate subsequently, when the Colonial AS
scmbly took measures to prevent such cat
astrophcs. Had not the General preserved
an erect position and c!ung to his horse,
his life would have paid the forfeit. His
recovery from the shock Of the fall was
nearly as miraculous as his escape from in
slant death. If horse be but properly
dealt with he can galiop down a turf hill
with as much rapidity as along race
course. He should be encouraged by a
loose rein to carry his head as low as pos
sible to enable him to take care of his feet,
and in case Of treading on rolling stone
to recover his balance by throwing it up.
If the rider, following the instinct and ex-
ample of the horse, throws his light back
ward, the descent can be made at consider
able pyed without the smallest danger.-
The horse must not be allowed to attempt
to descend diagonally, as he will inevitably
slip upon his side His head must be
guided straight onward, but care taken not
to induce him to raise it up. Seated in the
attitude described, Jack Shirley, whipper.
IN to the Todworth hunt, was one day ob.
served fixing piece Of whip-cord to his
lash while following his hounds at a slap
ping pace, down hiI with large open
clasp-knite in his mouth, his reins lying
nearly loose on his horses neck. Another
advantage of riding in an upright position
is that after a awhile the muscles Of rider
lose their obstinacy by getting tired, and it





body undulating, to the Infinite relief OF
both parties, with every movement of the
horse ; whereas if, like an English jockey,
he rides like frog on shovel, he intlicts
upon his whole frame, as Well as upon the
poor animal that carries him, an amount of
unnecessary fatigue which prematurely
tires both. Another qualification of a
good horSeman-eSpecially in fox hunting,
when fields and pastures are be ridden
ovrr-is to allow the horse to carry his
head at its natural level, and not to rein it
up, as the general custom, SO that he will
lose the habit Of using his eyes to ascer
tain the character Of the ground over which
he is travelling. If given free scope in this
respect the horse will easily avoid holes,
stones, and other dangerous distractions
even in fields and woods, and if not reined
up at Il cha ce stumble will learn to depend
on himself, and rarely fall if he happens to
maxi misstep.