TRAINING A HORSE 



When riding at a jump the rider should keep 

 his back supple, press his seat forwards, and 

 stimulate his horse with the legs to collect himself 

 and jump with his hind legs well under the body. 

 When jumping open water or a wide ditch 

 most horses prefer to lower their necks and 

 stretch out their noses, so as to enable them to 

 get their hind legs particularly well under them, 

 and it is as well not to check this extension. 



"To make the horse resolute we should in 

 the first instance be resolute ourselves. If our 

 pluck gives way, our aids will be vacillating ; 

 but if we harden our heart, we shall transmit 

 confidence to the horse by means of the ' aids/ 

 which in this case should act with vigour and 

 precision. " * The French have a good plan of 

 teaching a horse to jump timber : as the horse 

 jumps over a bar, two men each holding an 

 end of a smaller bar alongside the one that is 

 being jumped, raise it so as to rap the horses 

 shins and make him raise his knees, and tuck 

 up his feet ; the hind legs are treated in the 

 same way, and horses soon learn to jump clean. 

 With regard to the holding of the reins, they 

 should be long but not loose, so that the horse 

 has the free use of his head and neck, the little 



* James Fillis. 



6 9 



