124 CAVALRY HORSEMANSHIP 



firmly according to the pace he wishes the horse to 

 take, and the rapidity with which he wishes the change 

 to be made, it being borne in mind that, whilst the 

 legs remove their pressure, they should nevertheless 

 remain in contact with the sides, ready to close in 

 again to maintain the forward movement as soon as 

 the horse has taken up the new pace. 



Jumping when mounted. — The horse should be 

 regularly exercised v/ith the object of making him 

 clever over rough ground and free at his jumps. 

 Calmness is also an indispensable quality in a riding 

 horse, and the trainer should endeavour to obtain it 

 by every means in his power, especially by developing 

 calmness in himself. 



The work on the lunge, carried out either in the 

 school or out of doors, is an assistance too important 

 in this part of the training to be neglected. It should 

 be frequently resorted to during training, but one of 

 the best means of obtaining freedom and calm, when 

 a horse is ridden at an obstacle, is to regulate the 

 pace according to the size of the jump and the nature 

 of the difficulties. To ride at a pace too fast is to 

 waste energy and to invite disaster, but towards the 

 end of the training the horse should be brought to 

 jump the obstacles, large or small, that he meets, at 

 the fast paces, without getting excited, and without 

 checking his speed. 



As in the case of the young horse ; it is skill and 

 willingness, rather than power in jumping, that ought 

 to be developed during the training. Consequently, 

 this instruction has the most useful application in the 

 open, over natural and fixed obstacles. 



To give a young horse his first lessons in the school 

 over movable jumps is to teach him to despise that 



