76 RIDING 



your horse to go at a quiet steady trot and to keep him well 

 away from you, as it is very injurious to the horse to be longed 

 on too small a circle, thereby throwing too much weight on to 

 his inward legs. A circle of about forty or fifty yards in cir- 

 cumference, if the size of the school will admit of it, is best ; 

 the man who holds the rein should still walk a small circle, 

 always keeping his attention on the horse and himself in line 

 with his shoulder ; the man with the whip should walk a larger 

 circle, using the whip in the right hand when longeing to the 

 left, and in the left hand when longeing to the right. There is 

 more knack in using a whip properly on the longe than many 

 people imagine. It should be nearly always kept moving, and 

 should be worked lightly without more noise than is necessary. 

 If the horse is inclined to be sluggish and slacken his pace, or 

 to stop, the whip should be shown from the rear so as to keep 

 him up to his work, or if he is getting cunning and does not 

 mind the sight of it, he should be touched lightly behind the 

 girth. If the horse is inclined to cut his circle off he should 

 have the whip shown to him more to the front, so as to keep 

 him out, the man keeping close up to the longeing rein and 

 using the whip over or under as it may be necessary. If 

 the horse is still inclined to hurry his pace, the whip should 

 be kept quiet, allowing the lash to trail along the ground ; 

 but with most horses it will be found necessary after the 

 first few lessons to keep the whip quietly moving nearly the 

 whole time. 



Supposing the horse to be doing his lesson quietly in the 

 roller, he should now be saddled, and the best place to do this 

 is in the school after he has done part of his lesson. Saddling 

 should be gone about in the same manner as the putting on of 

 the roller ; if he has taken to his work kindly with the roller 

 there is not usually much trouble in putting on the saddle. It 

 is a mistake to think that all horses should carry their saddles 

 exactly on the same part of the back. Men are taught in the 

 cavalry that the front part of it should be the breadth of the 

 hand behind the play of the shoulder, and no doubt this is 



