24 o GUIDANCE AND CONTROL. 



other fore leg, is amply proved by the fact that a sound horse 

 ridden in this way will not trot quite " level." Although an 

 experienced man would not be apt to mistake for unsoundness 

 such irregularity of gait ; no careful veterinary surgeon would 

 test a horse for lameness when mounted, by having him 

 ridden at a trot by a man who rose in the saddle. In such 

 a case, the rider should of course bump in the saddle in 

 military style, so as not to favour one leg more than the other. 

 Although the trot is a diagonal pace of two time (near fore 



\g. 19*4. Rising at the trot. 



and off hind, and off fore and near hind), more weight falls 

 on the fore legs than on their respective hind fellows. 



As a rule, the body should be slightly bent forward when 

 sitting down at the trot (Fig. 197), so as to be ready for the 

 rise; and should be held upright when standing in the stirrups 

 (Fig. 198). If the horse pulls hard, the rider may lean a little 

 back, so as to use his strength to more advantage. The 

 majority of fast trotters are hard pullers ; though some of 

 them will slacken speed the moment the rider lets the reins 



