STARTING THE HORSE INTO HIS VARIOUS PACES 331 



is as follows : — Take hold of both the reins of the snaffle, and bear firmly, 

 but steadil}', upon the mouth, lean slightly forwards in the saddle, press the 

 legs against the horse's sides, and use the peculiar click of the tongue, which 

 serves as an encouragement to the horse on all occasions. If properly 

 trained, he will now fall at once into the trot, but if he breaks into a canter 

 or gallop, he must be checked, and restrained into a walk, or a " jog-trot." 

 Where the horse has been much used to canter, and can go at that pace as 

 slowly as he walks, there is often great difficulty in making him trot, for no 

 restraint, short of a total halt, will prevent the canter. In such cases, lay- 

 ing hold of an ear will often succeed, by making the animal drop his head, 

 which movement interferes with the canter, and generally leads to a trot. 

 The rising in the stirrups is generally practised in civil life, as being far less 

 fatiguing to both horse and rider ; but in the military schools the opposite 

 style is inculcated, because among a troop of horse it has a very bad effect 

 if a number of men are bobbing up and down, out of all time. If it were 

 possible for all to rise together, perhaps the offence against military precision 

 might be pardoned ; but as horses will not all step together, so men cannot 

 all rise at the same moment, and the consequence is that they are doomed 

 to bump upon the sheep-skins in a very tiresome manner, fatiguing alike to 

 man and horse. This rising in the saddle of itself encourages horses which 

 have been accustomed to it to trot in preference to any other pace, and they 

 understand the faintest indication of it as a sign that this particular pace is 

 to be commenced, and trot accordingly. The civilian's mode of riding the 

 trot is as follows : — At the precise moment when the hind and fore-legs are 

 making their effort to throw the horse forward in progression, the body of 

 the rider is thrown forcibly into the air, in some horses to so great an extent 

 as to make a young rider feel as if he never should come down again. After 

 reaching the utmost height, however, the body falls, and reaches the saddle 

 just in time to catch the next effort, and so on as long as the trot lasts. In 

 this way the horse absolutely carries no weight at all during half his time, 

 and the action and reaction are of such a nature that the trot is accelerated 

 rather than retarded by the weight. No horse can fairly trot above 

 twelve miles or thirteen miles an hour without this rising, though he may 

 run or pace in the American style, so that it is not only to save the rider's 

 bones but also to ease the horse that this practice has been introduced, and 

 holds its ground in spite of the want of military sanction. It is here as 

 with the seat ; utility is sacrificed to appearances ; and whenever the long 

 and w«;ak seat of the barrack-yard is supplanted by the firm seat of the 

 civilian, I shall expect to see the risiiig in the trot abandoned, but certainly 

 not till then. The military length is not now what it was formerly ; and 

 perhaps some time or other soldiers may adopt the rise, but I am afi^aid not 

 until they have produced many thousands more sore backs than they need 

 have done if they had never practised it.^ In the trot, the foot should bear 

 strongly on the stirrup, with the heel well down, and the ball of the foot 

 pressing on the foot-piece of the stirrup, so that the elasticity of the ankle 

 takes off the jar, and prevents the double rise, which in some rough horses 

 is very apt to be produced. The knees should always be maintained exactly 

 in the same place, without that shifting motion which is so common with 



1 Sore backs ai'e no*^ nearly so frequent in the army now, as the saddling is quite 

 changed — more adapted to the i.iilitary seat or style of riding. — Editor. 



