142 CAVALRY HORSEMANSHIP 



If the horse has constantly fear of the same object, it 

 is preferable to get off and familiarize him with the 

 object, rather than force him up to it with the spurs. 

 If the horse tries to turn round the rider should keep 

 him on his right road by opposing the shoulders to the 

 quarters. 



Badly shaped horses. — The badly made horse 

 naturally suffers the consequences of having inherited 

 weak organs, and refuses to execute movements which 

 throw sj^ecial strain on these organs. The rider should 

 avoid immoderate demands, which will but provoke 

 resistance if the horse is weak, or ruin still further the 

 defective parts if he tries to carry them out. 



Restive horses. — To master a horse with a difficult 

 character, the rider should prove himself the stronger, 

 and never let pass an act of disobedience or yield to 

 a whim. It is, however, rare that one can get him to 

 yield without using force ; on the other hand, cwery 

 concession on the part of the horse should be im- 

 mediately recompensed. With the horse who no 

 longer obeys the pressure of both legs, the instructor 

 is obliged to return to the lesson of the legs given with 

 the lunge and the long whip. 



Horses which rear. — To put up this defence a 

 horse must first stop or hang back. The first thing 

 to do is, therefore, to prevent this hanging back, by 

 pressing the horse forward and bringing the weight 

 on to the forehand. 



If the horse refuses to go forward, one should turn 

 him round, so as to relax the muscles which arc 

 necessary for the rear. By mobilizing the hindquarters, 

 by moving them to one side, one relaxes all parts of 

 the horse, and prevents him from placing his weight 

 on to his hindquarters. 



