The Halt from the Gallop, 1 1 1 



slow united pace. As the forehand is about 

 to take the weight in some stride, he should 

 quickly press both heels against the sides of 

 the horse, lean back in the saddle, and raise 

 the bridle-hand. The result of these move- 

 ments will be that the hind legs will be carried 

 under the mass, and be planted so that they 

 will receive the shock of the sudden halt; and 

 when the fore legs again reach the ground the 

 horse will be stationary. The rider should then 

 lower the bridle-hand and withdraw his heels 

 from the flanks, and the horse will be at rest. 

 By gradual lessons he may teach the horse to 

 come to a halt from higher rates of speed, and 

 even to come to a half-halt or to a finished halt 

 in any stride by the pressure of the heels and 

 the bending back of the body, without making 

 any use of the reins.^ It was by a combination 

 of this exercise, and of that of the preceding 

 chapter, that I was able to make my horses 

 perform the gallop changes without the use 

 of the reins. 



1 " He went at a gallop straight at the wall, only stopping 

 when the rider brought him up with the spurs just as his nose 

 would have touched the bricks." — Account of the Training of 

 Alidor. London Times, June i, 1883. 



