A hurdle should be well sloped, so as to render the leap a very moderate one. The rider should quit her hold of the reins, which should be knotted and fastened by a thong to the mane. A leading rein should then be attached to the ring of the snaffle, and the horse led quietly up to the fence, and halted. The pupil should then draw her hands back until they are in the same position as she would place them in putting her horse at his jump, with the hands closed firmly, which will give steadiness to the body. She must take a determined hold of the upper pommel with her right knee, and be ready with the figure perfectly poised to throw her weight back at the proper moment; placing her left thigh also firmly against the third crutch, her foot well home in the stirrup and well forward, the shoulders perfectly square, and the waist quite pliant. An assistant should then crack a whip smartly in rear of the horse, without hitting him; this will cause him to spring lightly over the hurdle. If the position of the pupil before the horse takes off is carefully looked to, there will be little derangement of seat. This lesson should be repeated until it is executed with precision. At the same time, two or three jumps of this sort are quite sufficient in one day, because, if repeated too often, the horse, missing the support of the hand, is apt to blunder. When the lady can ride over her fence in the above-named form, she should take up and arrange her reins, so that, while that of the snaffle is not in the horse's way, she feels him on the curb only. She should give him fair length of rein, draw her left hand back to her waist, and place the right hand lightly on the left, just in front of the knuckles; but the reins should be held military fashion--the little finger between them, the leather over the middle joint of the forefinger, the thumb closed firmly on it, the little finger well turned up towards the waist. The horse must be ridden at a smart walk, well up against the curb, until he is close enough to the hurdle to jump. The whip must again be used, and the instructor's word again sharply given, when the pupil should yield both hands freely, turning the little fingers downwards, and slipping the elbows forward. Great firmness and steadiness of seat are necessary to do this lesson well, and considerable practice is necessary to insure complete unity of action in the body and hands, the former being yielded quickly as the latter is actively thrown back. To assist the pupil in her first attempts at this portion of the leaping lesson, the curb chain should be slackened as much as possible, and it should be one that is broad and well padded.