THE HORSEMAN'S MANUAL. 33 



must he be kept too long at one thing, or he will become 

 disgusted with his work. The judicious rider will gain almost 

 imperceptibly a little more every day, by changing the les- 

 son from the walk to the trot, and from the trot to the 

 walk again, seeking compliance by gentle aids alone, 

 which are to keep him well up to the hand by the pressure 

 of both legs, and retaining him sufficiently, but lightly, 

 with the hands. The whip and spur, as I said before, 

 must be used as a last resource, when other and kinder 

 means have failed. Attention must be paid to work all 

 lessons till the horse goes as well to one hand as to the 

 other. The trot being a most important and useful lesson, 

 care must be taken to obtain a free and extended action. 



The pace should be moderate at first, and always exactly 

 cadenced. ' Cadence,' means an even and distinctly marked 

 time, which the horse must be made to observe in all his 

 paces, if we wish him to be pleasant to ride. Much de- 

 pends on how he is, or has been, ridden; for if the rider has 

 an uneven bearing on his mouth, that is, feels one rein 

 more strongly than the other, it is not likely the horse 

 can maintain anything like a steady and uniform action. 

 It may now and then happen, that a well -trained horse will 

 do this, in spite of all that a bad rider, with uneven hands 

 and unsteady legs, may do to disturb him ; but such cases 

 are rare, as most horses are sure to abandon themselves, as 

 it is called, unless properly retained by the hand, and, at 

 the same time, urged on by the pressure of the legs. 



To give a just idea of a cadenced action, we will suppose 

 we have a well-trained horse, and on his back a good rider ; 

 we shall then be able to mark a distinct and even interval, as 

 the horse's feet come to the ground ; and no one can appre- 

 ciate the luxury of a good trot who cannot obtain this even- 

 ness and uniformity of step. 



As the horse improves, he should be made to extend his 



pace, or as rough riders term it, to trot out. The aids for 



this are, lightly to raise the horse's head and neck, thus 



relieving his forehand, and at the same time, urging him 



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