84 ANGLO-FRENCH HORSEMANSHIP 



on to the seat of the saddle, so as to press the spine 

 down and cause the horse to throw out his chest, and to 

 give the long rein which shows off the horse's forehand. 



Whilst working his horse the rider should be careful 

 to keep his own chin in and his head erect ; not to press 

 the horse with any part of the legs unnecessarily and 

 without a definite object ; to keep his waist supple and 

 his seat pressed Avell into the saddle. 



We have now thoroughly trained our horse as a 

 hack ; he is well balanced, moves freely, and takes 

 strong pressure from the legs and spurs without his 

 brain becoming excited or confused ; the time has 

 therefore arrived, if we want to advance his education 

 and balance still further, to develop the extension of 

 the fore legs in what is called the Spanish walk ; a 

 pace in which the horse places his weight, say, on the 

 near fore leg ; raises the point of his off shoulder, 

 extends the leg horizontally, and puts the foot to the 

 ground gently as far in front as possible ; the leg 

 remaining straight. This is an excellent exercise for 

 the shoulders ; it strengthens the fore legs and much 

 improves the pace of the horse ; it also brings him 

 under the control of the hand and leg, provided the 

 rider always insists on the horse raising the leg that the 

 aids indicate ; this is of great importance, as the main 

 object in any exercise is to bring the horse under the 

 control of the rider. 



To teach the Spanish Walk most trainers recommend 

 preparatory education on foot ; they place the horse 

 in the pillar reins, fasten a stirrup leather round the 

 pastern by making a loop through the buckle, and 

 getting a help to hold the end of the leather, they tell 

 him to pull upwards, whilst they touch the cannon 

 bone or back of the knee with a whip, until the horse 



