102 RIDING 



awkwardly than the general run of young horses, that he gets 

 a great deal too much restraint from the hand for the simple 

 reason that his awkward loose way of going makes him a little 

 difficult to sit on, and the rider is apt in consequence to put too 

 much weight on his horse's mouth to assist himself in keeping 

 his seat. After a few lessons the reins may be gradually 

 shortened, the horse's forehand more raised, and the pace 

 made a little slower by degrees, until it becomes suitable to the 

 particular purpose to serve which the animal may be intended. 

 If he is to be hunted it is not necessary to collect him too 

 much, but if he is to be made into a hack or charger he can 

 hardly be got too much collected, although the pace should 

 not be so short as to at all interfere with the natural spring of 

 the horse and give him what is called a wooden sort of action. 

 Notwithstanding that the canter is the easiest pace the 

 horse goes at, that is to say, after he has been taught and 

 properly collected, there is no other pace in which he is more 

 likely to shirk his work and get behind the hand, and this 

 generally comes from the rider thinking, because his horse goes 

 pretty well and evenly at this pace, that he is all right and so 

 takes it easy himself ; but it will be found in most cases that 

 horses which seem to an inexperienced rider to be the best at 

 this pace are in reality the worst, and want more leg than others 

 to make them do their work and keep them up to the hand. 



When the horse canters fairly well on the circle to both 

 hands he should be taken round the house at the same pace, 

 and the change tried by making a long incline across the 

 school. The rider here must be careful not to ask his horse to 

 make the change too abruptly, but on arriving at the opposite 

 side should at first quietly pull him up to a trot, and put him 

 on the circle to the other hand before asking him to canter to 

 that hand. Some horses, after a little practice in this part of 

 their cantering lesson, get into the way of changing too soon so 

 as to escape from the application of the. rider's aid. This of 

 course should not be allowed. The horse must not be per- 

 mitted to change even when he comes on to the other rein 



