STARTING THE TROT. 293 
motions of the horse, but not to waddle from side to side, as is sometimes 
seen. Some horses do not stir the rider at all, while others throw him 
about and fatigue him greatly ; and this may generally be foretold when 
the tail sways much from side to side in the walk, which is caused by the 
over-long stride of the horse, a very desirable accomplishment in the race- 
horse or hunter, but not in the hack. 
THE JOG TROT is a pace that there is seldom any difficulty in effecting, 
and on the contrary, as I have just observed, the rider is often engaged 
for hours or days in breaking the young horse of it. 
THE REGULAR TROT is generally easy to produce, but sometimes when 
the canter has been much adopted, it is not so readily effected. The 
best plan is as follows :—Take hold of both the reins of the snafile, and 
bear firmly, but steadily, upon the mouth, lean slightly forwards in the 
saddle, press the legs against the horse’s sides, and use the peculiar click 
ofsthe tongue, which serves as an encouragement to the horse on all occa- 
sions. 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 diffi- 
culty in making him trot, for no restraint, short of a total halt, will pre- 
vent the canter. In such cases, laying 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 gene- 
rally 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 par- 
doned ; 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 fecl 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. Itis here as with the seat ; utilityis sacrificed to appear- 
ances; and whenever the long and weak seat of the barrack-yard is sup- 
planted by the firm seat of the civilian, I shall expect to see the rising in 
the trot abandoned, but certainly not till then. The military length is not 
now what it was thirty years ago; and perhaps some time or otker soldiers 
may adopt the rise, but I am afraid not until they have prodaced many 
