ii8 TRAINING THE POLO PONY. [Chap. V. 



REINING BACK. 



The rider should lean forward, in order to lighten 

 the hind quarters ; and should gently feel the 

 reins alternately, according to the fore foot which is 

 in advance. For instance, if the off fore is farther 

 in front than the near fore, the right rein should 

 be felt ; and vice Versa, At the same time, the leg of 

 the side opposite to that of the rein should be drawn 

 back and applied ; the hands should be kept low on 

 each side of the withers; and the word "back" 

 should be used in a drawling monotonous tone of 

 voice. Too much should not be tried at once ; for 

 it sometimes takes several days to make a pony rein 

 back even a couple of yards. As soon as an animal 

 goes back kindly, he will as a rule give no further 

 trouble. 



I do not believe in any pony being first-class at 

 polo, if he w^ill not rein back, which is a practice that 

 balances ponies to an extraordinary extent. It teaches 

 them to use their hocks, to turn on them, and to stop 

 more quickly at fast paces, than they would otherwise 

 be able to do. 



To make our pupil a perfect polo pony, we must try 

 to teach him all the following evolutions, especially the 

 first two, because a pony cannot be good unless he 

 will quickly start and stop. Most polo players turn 

 their ponies to the right-about or left-about on a more 

 or less big circle ; whereas a first-class player stops his 

 pony, turns him round on his hocks, gallops back 

 on his own track, and thus takes the lead of an 

 antagonist who turns on a circle. 



