LESSONS IN RIDING 383 



the horse's mouth instead of keeping his seat by the grip of the 

 knee and thigh and the balance of the body. He will soon 

 get into the way of keeping his seat at this pace. The mam 

 thing is not to keep him at a canter too long at a time, but 

 frequently sit at ease for a few minutes, and then try a few steps- 

 more. 



LESSON XV 



The cantering part of the lesson should now be begun a 



little earlier, the object being to give the pupil a little more 



of it and to vary the lesson. About twenty minutes' work at a 



walk and trot should be gone through, getting the rider to use 



his snaffle and legs to collect his horse and then begin the 



canter. If he has done fairly well on the circle order him 



to * go large ' round the house, giving the word soon enough 



so that he may have time to prepare himself for it. He 



should be told beforehand what 'to do, otherwise the horse 



will get halfway across the school, on the circle, and the rider 



will grow confused and upset his horse. On the command ' Go 



large ' (which, as before stated, should be given in good time), 



the rider should begin to feel the outward rein a little stronger, 



and work his horse up a little more with the legs, and before 



coming to the part of the school where the horse leaves the 



side to come across the centre, close the inward leg and feel 



the outward rein strongly enough to keep him going on by the 



side at the same pace. After about once round the school, 



' Trot ' should be ordered, and if the rider is steady, the pace 



may be increased by the word ' Trot out,' then ' Trot short,' 



'Walk,' 'Halt,' and 'Sit at ease.' After cantering, the pace of 



the horse at a trot feels rougher than at any other time ; great 



attention should therefore be paid to the steadiness of seat and 



hands at this part of the lesson. 



LESSON XVI 



If the previous lessons have been fairly well done, the pupil 

 .may now be taught when at a trot to rise in his stirrups, but a 



