124 TRAINING THE POLO PONY. [Chap. V. 



without flinching. When he is perfect at stick and ball, 

 he should be taught to face other ponies whose riders 

 are waving sticks in his face. 



TO HUSTLE OTHER PONIES. 



This can be taught in a field, simply by making the 

 pony push against another one, at first at a walk, and 

 gradually increasing the pace, until he will do it at full 

 gallop, when he is at a disadvantage (i.e., when the 

 other pony's head is in front of his) ; when he has the 

 advantage ; and when the two ponies are level. 



If what I have written on riding school work is too 

 technical for an ordinary beginner who has never been 

 within the walls of a ^nanige, I would advise him to go 

 through two or three times the instructions I have laid 

 down, so as to get a general idea of the figures, and if 

 no riding school is available, to take his pony into some 

 rectangular place, enclosed by mud walls, if in India, 

 or by fences, if in England, and devote himself to 

 teaching his pony to stop dead at the word " whoa ! " 

 shouted very loudly ; to start at a gallop at the word 

 " hup ! " ; to turn quickly both ways at any pace ; and 

 to turn right and left about, while riding all the time 

 with a loose rein. 



The aids for turning may be briefly summed up as 

 follows : To turn to the right, apply a strong pressure 

 of the drawn-back left leg, feel the right rein, press the 

 left rein against the side of the neck, and shift the 

 weight of the body to the right. To turn to the left 

 the aids are reversed. Ponies soon learn what these 

 aids mean, and will then readily obey them. By 

 carrying out these elementary instructions, the beginner 



