62 SYSTEM FOR TRAINING CAVALRY HORSES. 



leg," " half-passage," accustoming tliem to " siglits 

 and sounds," &c., &c. 



Be careful to shorten the walking and trotting les- 

 sons in proportion as you increase the cantering. 

 Trot for a few minutes ; then the Bending Lessons, 

 short but not hurried ; and at once to the Cantering, 

 which is now the chief object. 



Of course, it is unnecessary to remind the Instruc- 

 tor, that " reining back " and the " use of the sj^ur," 

 as well as going about on the '' forehand " and 

 " haunches," should be practised, as opportunity of- 

 fers, during the whole lesson. 



When cantering, never cease making the men work 

 to collect the pace ; the more collected it is, the better. 

 The " leading files," are the men to look to. Never 

 keep a man at the head of a squad, who cannot col- 

 lect his horse to any pace required of him ; it makes 

 the greatest difference in the bringing on of the 

 horses. 



Look to the position of the men's hands, and their 

 seats on horseback, get their legs close, and 2^1'event 

 them from sticking out stiffly and away from the 

 horse's sides, which is a great though a very common 

 fault, elbows back, liands low, the lower the better, 

 and close to the body, heads up, and heels down ; all 

 this contributes greatly to assist the horse in his work. 



Practise the sabre exercise (attack and defence), 

 first at a walk, until the horses are steady ; and when 

 doing it at a canter, if an}' of them show symptoms 



