EQUITATION AND HORSE TRAINING, 67 



to free the right shoulder; carry the body to the rear, 

 throwing more weight on the left buttock; close the left 

 leg to make the haunches yield to the right and to bring 

 the right hind leg in advance. 



(b) The horse having been set in this manner, close the 

 right leg in order to add its effect to that of the left leg 

 and to thus obtain, b}'' the action of both legs, the forward 

 impulse necessary to bring about the gallop. 



(4) Talcing the gallop from the walk. — A horse that takes 

 the gallop readily from the slow trot will also take this 

 gait without difficulty from the walk. The method of 

 procedure is the same; that is, first set the horse and then 

 push him into the gallop. 



With horses that hesitate or fret, this last lesson should 

 be subdivided by passing through the trot; that is to say, 

 the horse will be set for the gallop while at a walk, from 

 this set he will be urged into the trot, and from the trot 

 into the gallop. Little by little this intermediate trot will 

 diminish in duration until the horse takes the gallop im- 

 mediately from the w^alk. 



In this progressive method of obtaining the gallop lead 

 on either foot, v/e began by increasing the gait from the trot 

 and finished by taking the gallop from the walk because 

 we are convinced that taking the gallop is easier in pro- 

 portion to the speed of advancing. In our opinion, taking 

 the gallop from the walk is the most difficult exercise and 

 if insisted upon too early wall result in horses that back or 

 stand and resist. Our method appears, perhaps, rather 

 long, but it has the advantage of producing horses that 

 act smoothly, that take the gallop without fretting and 

 without losing touch with the rider's hand. 



