THE TROT, 71 



may incline his body from the loins just a little forward, 

 bringing his hands inwards towards his waist. The hands — 

 wrists rounded so that the nails are towards the body — remain 

 stationary, the body, as it rises and falls, approaching and then 

 retiring from them — the greatest distance between the hands 

 and the waist being, as the body seeks the saddle, say four 

 inches. At the extreme of the rise the lower waistcoat button 

 will touch the hands without disturbing them. This is an 

 essentially quiet style of riding ; the rise and fall is minimised 

 so as to be almost imperceptible; it gives spring to the 

 shoulders, elbows and wrists, and favours light, sensitive 

 handling. 



In seeking to catch the cadence of the rise the rider 

 should be up in his stirrups when the off fore leg is down ; 

 the time being taken from this foot. The rise must not 

 be made suddenly, or with a jerk ; the impetus must come 

 from the horse. It is far more elegant to underdo than 

 overdo movement. A man jumping up and down in his 

 saddle, like a stamp in an ore crusher, must be a most 

 uncomfortable load for the poor beast whose vertebrse he is 

 pounding. A horse at the trot must not be permitted to 

 hang on the rider's hand, or to dawdle in his pace ; the pace 

 must be true. Should he go "unconnected," i.e. half 

 cantering and half trotting, it is impossible to keep even 

 motion with him. If urged beyond his pace he will what is 

 termed " break up," and go all abroad, perhaps break into 

 a gallop. In such case he must be pulled up, steadied, and 

 once more, with his head in, made to step clean, light and 

 evenly. He must not on any account be rated or punished, 

 the fault was not his ; he was asked to go faster than his legs 

 could carry him. A few caresses and kind words will 

 *' gentle" him. In this little island eight-and-a-half miles 

 an hour is as fast as a common hack or park trot need be, 



