134 ORDINARY RIDING. 



shoulder, which has more ground to cover than the left one. 

 We require a certain amount of practice to attain this result ; 

 because, as I have already said, the side movement of the 

 horse naturally puts the rider into the opposite position. 

 I never begin to teach the side steps when the horse is going 

 along the wall, which would uselessly increase the difficulty, 

 by the want of impulse resulting from the change in direction. 

 By removing the horse from the wall, I forcibly stop his 

 forward movement, 



I make the horse do the first side steps at the end of a 

 change of hand, from right to left for instance. I am on the 

 track, going to the left, with the wall to the right. On 

 arriving near to the wall which, at the end of the change 

 of hand, will be to my left, I carry both hands to the left, 

 while closing the legs and acting vigorously with the right 

 leg. The near snaffle rein draws to the left, and the off rein 

 applied against the neck, presses the shoulders equally to the 

 left. We can see that these are absolutely the same " aids " 

 as those for the rotation of the shoulders, although the move- 

 ment is made while gaining more ground to the front. If 

 the horse resists the right leg, I have recourse to the off rein, 

 to make him carry his haunches to the left.* Even if the 

 animal makes only two or three side steps, I am content with 

 his progress, I pat him on the neck, and slacken the reins. 



After that, I make the horse do a change of hand from left 

 to right when leaving the wall, which is on my left. While 

 thus going obliquely, I hold him as straight as possible, and 

 when I arrive near to the wall, which will be on my right, 

 I carry my hand to the right and I apply the left leg, while 

 pressing him up to the hand by means of both legs. I may 

 add that the hand ought to profit by the supplemental 



* In other words, I have recourse, as I always do, to lateral equitation, in case 

 of resistance proceeding from the incomplete education of the horse. But at the 

 stage of breaking to which we have arrived, his education ought to be sufficiently 

 advanced for diagonal equitation to give us all its results. 



