Many authorities on riding tell us that a horse's jump is simply a higher stride of his gallop; from this notion I beg entirely to dissent. In leaping, a horse first raises his forehand upwards with a half rear, both feet quitting the ground at the same instant, the height he rises corresponding to the angle at which he takes off. Secondly, from his hind legs he propels himself forwards, both hind legs moving together, and, if he is a good jumper, well under him. If leaping, therefore, is to be compared to any other action of a horse, it must resemble a plunge gaining ground to the front. There is no possible gain in teaching, however, by comparing a horse's leap to his any other movement. Instinct tells him what to do in order to clear his legs of the obstacle, and, like walking or galloping, the action is by no means artificial, inasmuch as a thoroughly unbroken young horse loose in a paddock will jump through a gap on an ill-kept farm (if his dam makes the running) with precisely the same action as a finished hunter; and, therefore, in one sense I endorse the dictum once expressed to me by an Irish farmer when I asked his opinion as to the natural paces of a horse. His reply was, "Sure some of 'em goes no way natural, but just the way you don't want thim to go; and there's some of thim that nothing's so natural to as to ate a lot of good oats a man never sees the price of again. Thim's bad ones. But if you're spaking of a good maning, rale Irish horse, the most natural pace he has is to jump well." I quite agree, bar the word pace, that jumping to a horse is as natural as any other instinctive action. The weight, however, to be carried, and the mode in which that weight is distributed at the critical moment, makes a material difference to both horse and rider. Therefore, the early leaping lessons should be confined to causing the pupil to do as little as possible to impede the action of the horse, while she preserves her due balance. Like the breaking of a young colt in the case of a pupil learning to ride over a fence, if you ask too much at once or confuse the learner, you obtain nothing but discomfiture.
As regards this portion of the course of equitation, it is specially necessary to bear in mind the old French maxim, C'est ne pas le première pas qui coûte. At the same time it is quite possible, if the first step is injudiciously taken, to spoil the whole of your previous work. Special care should be taken that the horse does not take off too soon; and if, from any unevenness of the rider's hands or legs, he attempts this, the instructor should be quickly at his head again, and compel him to do his work coolly and collectedly. "The standing leap," as this is technically called, is considerably more difficult as regards catching the precise moment at which to throw the weight of the body back than the "flying leap," because in the standing leap the horse, being nearer to the obstacle, pitches himself forward with a much rougher action, and does not land so far on the other side of the fence; whereas when he canters freely at it, the difference in the shock to the rider is as great as that experienced in the pitch of a boat in a short chopping sea, and the boat's rise and fall in a long swell, the pace also causing the horse to take more freely hold of the rider's hand.
Complete confidence, however, must be established before a lady should be asked to ride her horse at a fence out of a walk; and nearly as much time should be expended over this new step in the series of lessons as were occupied in trotting.
I have not, however, to define the principle upon which, in either standing or flying leap, security of seat must be sought. Some say that in leaping it is by muscular grasp only that a lady can retain her true equilibrium in the saddle; others adhere to the notion that it is all done by balance. Now the truth lies midway between these two theories. It is quite possible for a man to ride over a fence by balance only. Witness what one sees frequently in a circus, where some talented equestrian maintains his footing on a bare-backed steed, while the latter jumps a succession of bars. Here there is nothing to keep the rider on the horse but sheer balance; and, of course, if this can be done by one man standing up, it can be much more easily done by another sitting down in the saddle, although very few men ride across country in such form, nor indeed is it either safe or desirable to do so. The thing, nevertheless, is quite easy. It is not so easy with a lady, because her position on the saddle is altogether an artificial one; and, moreover, the weight of the skirt is sufficient to render riding by balance alone most difficult. It is by a combination of firm grasp on the crutches, seized just before the horse arrives at his fence, and a true balancing of the body from the waist upwards, that security of seat in jumping is obtained. A most necessary adjunct to the above, however, is firmness of the arms, because, if the latter are allowed to fly out from the sides, the whole figure becomes, as it were, disconnected, and the proper aplomb is lost. By taking a firm hold of the upper crutch of the saddle with the right leg, the rider is enabled to balance her body as the horse rises, while the pressure of the left leg against the third crutch prevents the concussion of his landing from throwing her forward, provided always she throws back her weight at precisely the right moment. This requires practice, and well-timed assistance from the instructor, thus:
As soon as the pupil acquires sufficient confidence to ride her horse fairly up to the fence, and keep his head straight to it, the master should stand far enough from her to obtain a good view of the whole contour of figure of horse and rider. He should place the hands of the latter well apart, cause her to shut her fingers firmly on the reins, which give firmness to the body; keep her hands well down and her figure well drawn up, ready on the instant to throw the weight back. He should then caution her to execute the last-named movement on his giving the single sharp word "Now." The pupil should then press her horse well up against her hand, and keep his head steady and straight to the bar. The instant he rises the instructor should give his word sharply, and the rider will then catch the true time at which to act upon it. This requires only close attention and watching by instructor and pupil, both being "vif" and thoroughly on the alert. After a few efforts the lady is then sure to find out the time without any word. I have taught a great many very young ladies as well as gentlemen to ride over a fence by the aid of the word given in the above form, and have found it always of the greatest assistance both to myself and pupils. Special attention is necessary to keeping the hands well down and well apart, and the shoulders quite square, because there is a natural tendency on the part of most ladies in the first leaping lessons to throw the right shoulder forward, which not only destroys her balance but causes her to pull the horse's head to the near side. The hands cannot be kept too quiet at first, for any effort to give and take to the action of the horse is nearly certain to result in the pupil checking him at the very moment he springs forward, and pulling him upon his fence.
A well-broken horse, when put up to his bridle, will take a good hold of the rider's hand, and if sufficient length of rein is given him will clear the bar without the necessity of the rider moving her hands a hair's breadth. Subsequently, when she has had sufficient practice to feel quite at home, she can be taught how to assist him when he does a long striding leap over water or a strong double fence with ditches on both sides.
After the standing leap is executed neatly, and in good form by rider and horse, the flying leap should at once be practised.
The pupil should put her horse into a steady canter, going to the left round the school; and for this purpose the hurdle or bar should for the time be removed, so as to enable the lady to get her horse into a good free stride. When the instructor sees that she has her horse in proper form, the hurdle should be put up again and well sloped, because, even so, the horse will jump considerably higher in all probability than the rider expects.
This is the moment at which the master requires to be thoroughly on the alert. He should caution the lady not to let her horse hurry when he turns the corner and sees the hurdle, which many horses are very apt to do. "Hands down," "Sit back," "Press him against your hand," and the "Now!" at the right moment should be the concise words, given in a tone at once lively and encouraging. The result will be a clean, clever jump, well done by horse and rider, when the former should be "made much of."
A couple or three leaps so executed are quite enough in a school, because nothing so worries most horses as to keep them continually jumping at the same place, and if the leap is too often repeated, they are apt to sulk or blunder at it.