BREAKING THE PONY. 127 



and ride the pony right up to the spot from which we 

 can hit the ball without shifting our seat ; for if we lean 

 to the right and forward, the displacement of weight 

 will have a greater or less tendency to cause the hind- 

 quarters to revolve round the forehand to the left. It 

 is most important to observe this precaution in training 

 a pony, so that afterwards, in a game, he may not be 

 inclined to shy off, no matter how much the rider's 

 weight gets shifted in the saddle. 



After hitting a back-hander, we should be careful to 

 turn right about and left about alternately, so that the 

 pony will learn to turn equally well both ways, and will 

 not acquire the bad habit of beginning to stop and turn 

 before the ball is hit. This practically constitutes an 

 elongated figure 8 ; the turns being made at the 

 extremities of the loops, where the back-hander is 

 struck. 



Ponies which have been previously handled and 

 ridden, generally turn more readily to the left than to 

 the right, on account of the custom of handling and 

 leading horses on the near side, and of riding them 

 more with the left hand than with the right. No 

 matter how good a pony may otherwise be, he cannot 

 be considered first-class at polo unless he will turn 

 equally well on both sides. The best method of 

 making a pony turn well to the right on the ball, is to 

 canter him in small circles to the right, while the rider 

 keeps gently tapping the ball in the same direction. 

 If we happen to miss the ball, which we cannot help 

 doing sometimes, especially in a rough field, we should 

 take the pony a little way past it, before halting and 

 turning him ; for if we pull him suddenly over it, we 

 will get him into the habit of slowing up and stopping 



