78 ORDINARY RIDING. 



have not taught obedience to the whip, how can we straighten 

 the hind quarters ? 



HORSE MOUNTED — FIRST DEFENCES — MEANS FOR 

 OVERCOMING THEM. 



In the preceding chapter I have taken for granted that 

 when I am mounted, the horse will go forward, if I want him 

 to do so. As the animal will not always be obedient, it is 

 well to be forearmed against any probable or even possible 

 resistance which he may make. It is therefore necessary to 

 keep the legs close to his sides, in order to avoid being taken 

 off our guard by an abrupt movement, and, above all, to lean 

 the body well back, so as to put the weight on our seat. We 

 are then ready for anything that may happen. 



If the horse tries to buck, we should press him forward with 

 the legs and hold his head high. It is not hard to sit a for- 

 ward plunge when the head is kept high.* But the rider is 

 easily displaced if the horse bucks without going forward, 

 places his head between his fore legs, and arches his back. In 

 this case, as the rider is not able to make the horse go for- 

 ward, he should turn him to the right or left by means of the 

 snaffle. Each time he tries to stop by lowering his head, he 

 should be turned afresh ; but it is not necessary to insist on 

 turning him more to one side than to the other side. 



All horses have a soft and a hard side to their mouths. At 

 first, if the horse resists when we try to turn him to the right, 

 we should content ourselves by trying to turn him to the left. 

 The great thing is to prevent him from bucking without going 

 forward, his bucks being made in order to get rid of his 

 rider. 



Later on, when the horse has made some progress in his 



* Bucking without going forward is the most difficult of all movements to sit. 

 If the horse cannot be made to go on and if he continues to buck without 

 advancing, it will be impossible to sit him. 



