THE TROT. 189 



steady feeling, while keeping her hands low. If she 

 has any difficulty in halting with precision, she should 

 practise walking her horse short distances and stopping 

 him at the word "whoa," which should be given to him 

 in a tone that he can understand, for he cannot obey 

 orders unless he knows their meaning. 



THE TROT. 



When learning to ride, ladies should endeavour to be 

 thorough, and should not proceed to study a new pace, 

 before the previous one has been entirely mastered. If 

 the body is nicely balanced at sharp turns at the walk, 

 with the weight evenly distributed on the saddle, and 

 both legs kept perfectly steady and in their right 

 position, a great deal will have been done towards 

 acquiring a firm seat. 



When the pupil is able to ride with ease and grace at 

 the walk, she may receive a lesson in trotting. I think 

 it is best to teach the trot before the canter, because 

 the majority of horses trot a few steps before they 

 strike off into the canter. 



As an ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory, 

 the instructor should first of all show her pupil how the 

 trot is correctly executed, either without a skirt or with 

 one pinned back, so that the position of her legs may 

 be seen. She should try to make her practical demon- 

 strations perfectly clear, and should encourage her pupil 

 to question her concerning any points in this difficult 

 pace which she does not understand. It is a good 

 plan to trot both with and without a stirrup, in order 



