io6 RIDING 



hand to which the half passage is to be made, and he is got to 

 understand a little of what he is required to do, the rider should 

 be satisfied. A little more may be asked each time of trying, 

 until the horse gets into the proper way of doing it. The mis- 

 take that is most generally made here is, that instead of lead- 

 ing the horse off with the inward rein, the rider is apt to try to 

 get the horse's croup up by feeling the outward rein, instead of 

 waiting until he has got his horse in the new direction, and 

 then trying to get him a little more square by closing the out- 

 ward leg. Of course it stands to reason that if the horse's 

 head be pulled to the right, his croup will go to the left, and 

 inexperienced horsemen often work on this method in begin- 

 ning the half passage; but they make a great mistake, for in 

 most cases a young horse ridden on these lines does not under- 

 stand what is wanted of him, and the rider very often finds 

 after a few attempts that his horse does not do it as well as he 

 did the first time, whereas if he had commenced as before 

 stated from the incline, he would have shown the animal what 

 he wanted done, and would most likely have got him to do it, 

 instead of confusing him and causing him, perhaps, to refuse 

 altogether. If the half passage be correctly made, the horse 

 should gain as much ground to his front as he does to his right 

 or left. He must bend to the hand to which he is working, 

 and he must not be allowed to change on to the other leg until 

 the half passage is finished. He requires to be ridden well up 

 to his work with both legs, the outward the stronger, to make 

 him half cross his legs and keep his croup up so that he goes 

 in an oblique direction, the inward leg to keep him up to the 

 hand. 



LEAPING 



No horse that is to be used for riding purposes can be said 

 to be broken if he has not been taught to jump. 



The riding school is not the best place for such instruction, 

 as the horse does not come across the variety of obstacles to 

 be got over that he would find out of doors in the country, 



