Publisher's Synopsis
The "Common Sense of Riding," which formed the title under which these writings were first furnished to the public in the columns of a London journal, supplied a fitting heading for the articles at the time, very little concerning stable or general horse management being appended to the instructions offered to equestrians. The expediency of adding to the work formed a necessity for altering the title; but the original one, if used here, would set forth precisely the manner in which I am about to deal with the subject that I have taken in hand. To discard preamble, and plunge at once in medias res, is usually the wisest and most common-sense manner of coming at and coping with the difficulties surrounding crotchety questions: and surely one of the foremost in the category of such is the often-heard inquiry, "How shall I best learn to ride?"
