i88 Modern Riding and Horse Education 



sary if the horse is well balanced and carries his 

 head properly; if he does not answer to this descrip- 

 tion it is just as likely as not that you will have to 

 lower your hands to make him pull up. 



A very knowledgeable man on matters equine, 

 and a fine man to hounds, remarked after reading 

 through the above : '' Why give the indications for 

 cantering first on one leg and then on the other? 

 Nobody cares when they are in the field which leg a 

 horse is leading wath ; all they care about is that the 

 animal should know how to change legs if he turns 

 quickly and finds himself leading with the outward 

 one. Why not simply say, * To make a horse 

 canter, catch him by the head and press him hard 

 with the legs ' ? This is what any self-taught rider 

 does." There is truth enough in this, and every 

 rider does not want to be a horse trainer, but the 

 answer to it is as follows : Unless a horse canters 

 round the school or manege with his inward leg 

 leading he is liable to come down at the corners, 

 and therefore for the learner's sake certain simple 

 indications must be laid down for making the animal 

 start on the inward leg. No ordinary rider will 

 bother his head either to remember or to apply 



