A WATER JUMP.
It will be interesting to hear exactly what so great an authority has to say on this subject. After remarking that the bar should not be covered with anything to diminish its hardness, he proceeds: “I let two men hold the bare bar at six inches above the ground. The rider advances towards it at a walk, and at the moment when the horse, aided by the rider, takes the leap, the two men raise the bar six inches.” The horse naturally strikes his feet against it. “I make him begin again, until he clears the bar without touching, notwithstanding the repeated raising of it at each leap. Then I have the bar held at a foot above the ground, and, as before, it will be raised six inches at the moment of the leap. When the horse is accustomed to clear this new elevation, I have the bar gradually held six inches higher, still continuing to raise it six inches at each leap, and I thus succeed, after a few lessons given with the regular progression above described, in making all horses jump obstacles of a height that they would otherwise never have been able to clear. This simple proceeding, well applied, will be useful even to exceptional horses, such as steeple-chasers, by teaching them to come more carefully to the point of ‘taking off,’ and will render falls less frequent.” The idea of M. Baucher is to get the horse in the habit of jumping a little higher than he thinks necessary, so as to be on the safe side, and a very good idea it is. It is a practice among experienced riders to hounds in England, instead of leaping a post-and-rail fence midway between the posts, to leap as close to a post as possible, or directly over it when it is not much higher than the rail.
To return to our equine scholar, having practised him for a month or so at an elevation of two feet, his muscles will have adapted themselves to the new strain put upon them, and it will be safe to begin to raise the bar higher, and gradually to go up nearly to the limit of his ability. It is well, however, never to ask too much, as even a willing leaper will be sometimes so disgusted at what he thinks tyrannical exactions as to refuse obstinately ever to try again. The horse should never be allowed to rush at the bar, but should always, if approaching at a gallop, be collected, as much as a hundred feet away, so as to be under perfect control. The higher the leap, the slower the pace at which it should be taken, for the very momentum acquired by a rush, which would be useful in a water leap, would carry the animal against the bar instead of over it. The reins should be held in both hands, and after the horse has been collected with the curb, as may very likely be necessary, the curb should be relaxed, so that on approaching the leap he may feel only the gentle pressure of the snaffle, which will not make him fear to thrust forward his head, a fear which would possibly result in bringing him down on all fours at once, or even with the hind-feet first. As he rises to his leap, keep a steady but very gentle tension on the reins, being ready to support him firmly as his fore-feet touch the earth.
It is now time to experiment with low stone walls and with brooks, being always on your guard against those concealed man-traps in the shape of loose stones, which form one of the chief dangers of leaping in this country.
RISING TO THE LEAP.
All this while we have been assuming the rider to be an accomplished horsewoman, and quite au fait at her fences. If, however, the business is entirely new to her, let her not be at all disheartened, for her own education can be carried on simultaneously with that of the horse, and without the least detriment to it. In this case, keep to the standing leap—that is, the leap taken from a walk—although it is really the most difficult to sit, until you can support the unusual motion without being in the least loosened in the saddle, and do not try the higher ones till you are perfect in the lower. The hands should be held as low as possible above the right knee, and pretty close to the body, so that they may have room to yield, and that the sudden thrusting out of the horse’s head may not jerk you forward in the saddle, in which case the powerful impulsion of the hind-legs might pitch you out altogether. The advice is often given in books to lean forward and then backward in the leap, but the fact is that beginners, if they lean forward intentionally, seldom get back in time to avoid the shock above alluded to, and teachers, therefore, as well as friendly coaches, often call out “lean back” as a lady nears the bar, which results in giving the learner an awkward though perhaps not unsafe manner. The fact is that there is no necessity to try to lean forward, as the rising of the horse will bring you involuntarily into a position perpendicular to the ground, while the play of thigh and waist to prevent being tossed up is of the same kind as that in the gallop, only proportionately increased, and it will become instinctive if leaping is begun moderately and carried on progressively as already recommended. In coming down you can hardly lean too far back. The left foot should not be thrust forward, but kept straight, or drawn a very little back and held close against the horse’s side; the stirrup, into which the foot is pushed to the instep, being one or two holes shorter than for ordinary riding. On approaching the fence, be particular to do nothing to distract the animal’s attention, as, for instance, by ejaculations or nervous movements of the reins and person; and after the leap do not fail to reward him by praises and caresses, for it cannot be too deeply impressed on the mind that he is exceedingly sensitive to them, and will consider them an ample reward for his exertion.
