HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP 123 



time he is mounted until he is dismounted, but any horse, be 

 he ever so well broken, if allowed to shirk his work for any 

 length of time, will take advantage of his rider, and give a con- 

 siderable amount of trouble before he is put right again. 



THE GALLOP 



Although the horse has been taught to walk, trot, and can- 

 ter, and to carry himself properly in the riding school, yet 

 nothing so far has been said about extending his pace to a 

 gallop ; but when he has been ridden out of doors for a time, 

 and has got over any shyness, or whatever other faults he may 

 have had, he should occasionally, where the going is good and 

 soft, be put into a gallop. In doing this, the rider is not to 

 give the horse his head, and kick him along as fast as he can 

 get him to go, with the reins full length, and his legs swinging 

 like pendulums, as one often sees. On the contrary, the pace 

 should be gradually increased from a canter, and no matter 

 how fast it is, the horse should be ridden up to the hand with 

 the legs. It will be found that if the horse is ridden up to his 

 work in this way when extended, he will make more progress, 

 that is to say, he will get over more ground in less time than 

 he would if allowed to have the full length of the rein and to 

 go his own way ; besides that, when properly ridden, he is safer 

 and more comfortable to his master. But here again, the rider 

 must not get the idea into his head that he is riding his horse 

 up to his bridle if he is only hanging on by the animal's head, 

 which is often the case. When pulling up after a gallop, the 

 pace should be taken off by degrees, the rider sitting well 

 down in the saddle, the hands kept down (except in the case 

 of a horse that is inclined to get his head down and bore on 

 the hand, when, of course, they should be raised), and the legs 

 closed. A horse that has been properly broken can, of course, 

 always be pulled up shorter than a badly broken one, but, at 

 the same time, it is not advisable when there is no necessity 

 for it to pull him up too short, for let the horse be ever so well 

 balanced, collected, and obedient to the hand, pulling him up 



