EMPLOYMENT OF THE TPxAINED HORSE 131 



To lengthen the trot one should press the horse 

 forward and keep him from taking an oblique 

 position, by preventing either of the shoulders pre- 

 ceding the other. The rider will get assistance from 

 holding the veins separated in the two hands, so as to 

 be able to use with greater ease the opposing actions 

 of the reins. 



The horse which, when pressed in the trot, takes 

 the gallop without being asked to do so, is nearly 

 always a lazy horse ; he should be corrected when he 

 makes this fault, pressed forward, allowed to stretch 

 out his neck, and be brought to take a hold on the bit 

 which favours the speed. 



On the other hand, to reduce the speed of the gallop, 

 the trot, and the walk, to change from the gallop to the 

 trot, from the trot to the walk, from the walk to the 

 stop, and to make the horse rein back, the rider fixes 

 his hands and straightens his body, the fingers being 

 lightly closed on reins of a right length. The legs 

 should be ready to resist and even to act, if necessary, 

 that is to say if the effect produced by the reins is 

 greater than the rider desired. They have not, conse- 

 quently, occasion to intervene, till the horse has 

 commenced to yield to the action of the reins. 



To maintain a certain pace and speed. — In the 

 case of wT'll-balanced horses, which, whilst moving 

 forward, are obedient to the aids and respect the rider's 

 hand, it is sufficient, in order to keep them in a pace 

 and speed desired, to maintain a gentle tension on the 

 reins. 



To keep the horse light in hand and to force him 

 to yield the lower jaw to the bit, the pressure of the 

 fingers on the reins should be intermittent, whilst the 

 impulsion is still maintained. 



