70 CAVALRY HORSEMANSHIP 



First lessons in the canter. — If special courses of 

 grass or sand are not available, in the case of young 

 horses, work at the canter should be given in the school. 

 In the case of horses from the south, which canter 

 naturally, the simj)le pressure of the legs ordinarily 

 suffices to bring about the disturbance of balance 

 which determines the pace desired. It is not the same 

 with horses from the north-west, often underbred or 

 descended from the trotting strains. The start of the 

 canter by extending the trot is difficult, and ought to 

 be severely discouraged as a cause of disorder and of 

 accident. It is, on the contrary, by starting, from the 

 slow trot on the circle, or when turning the corners of 

 the school, that the horse is got to break into a canter 

 on the desired leg. In every case the aids to use are 

 the action of the outside rein drawn behind and across 

 the withers — diagonal effect — and the pressure of both 

 legs. These aids, by restraining the action of the 

 outside shoulder, push the horse to the other side, 

 disturb the balance towards the side of movement, 

 and force the horse to strike off at a canter. A few 

 clicks of the tongue help the first starts. 



The riders in adapting themselves to the rhythm of 

 the canter, by continuing the action of the legs, and by 

 accompanying the movement of the neck with the 

 hands, help the maintenance of the pace. After a few 

 lessons the starts become more and more calm, but 

 one should not ask a young horse to make too many of 

 them. It is periods of cantering, and not starting the 

 canter, which are of importance. Out of doors, as in 

 the school, the instructor only gives this lesson to a few 

 horses at a time ; he regulates the number and length 

 of the canters in accordance with the temperament, 

 character, and breeding of the horses. Those which 



