326 POLO 



give him confidence in meeting an opposing force and teach 

 him not to shy away from another pony. The first time you 

 play him, however, take matters very easily, and do not force 

 him in any way or pull him about unnecessarily. The best 

 plan to carry out this part of the programme will be to play 

 him in a game which by mutual consent it has been decided 

 shall be a mere cantering game. Do not play him in a match 

 until he has participated in at least a dozen cantering games. 

 These hints, of course, only apply generally, as every pony has 

 a different character ; no two ponies train alike in fact, some 

 it is impossible to train at all. 



It will be seen from the above remarks that the training of 

 ponies is a comparatively easy task, and one which needs only 

 time, good temper, light hands, and patience things very easy 

 to write or talk about, but perhaps not always so easy to bring 

 into practice. Still, it must be borne in mind that if you cannot 

 exercise them you had better relegate the task of training your 

 pony to some one who can. 



Polo ponies are very apt to suffer from sore backs, particu- 

 larly when you first begin to train them. This arises from the 

 constant shifting and swaying of the rider's body. A pony 

 should, therefore, never be practised if he shows the slightest 

 symptom of a sore back ; if he is, he will associate the pain 

 with the strokes, and will hate the game accordingly. A good 

 plan is to line the saddle with glazed lining, the shiny part 

 being next the pony's skin, and of course the saddle should be 

 left on for nearly an hour after play or practice, the girths 

 merely being loosened. 



We now come to the vexed question of bits and bridles. 

 Formerly snaffle bridles and a very short single rope rein were 

 much in vogue, and ponies used to be lugged about by main 

 force i.e. the system of a sharp bit and a sharp pair of spurs 

 turning clumsily and entirely on their shoulders. The cur- 

 rent of opinion has, however, now set in favour of double 

 bridles and long reins. A horse that you can ride in a snaffle 

 bridle, be he hunter or hack, is the most charming of mounts, 



