Style in Trotting. 



289 



Between the walk and trot is what is called the jog or shog trot. No trick can be 

 more vile in a pleasure, park, or lady's horse, but it is a valuable pace for a tired hunter or 

 roadster ; easier to them than walking evenly or regularly trotting. There is no long road 

 travelling in this country now, but the shog trot is practised on the way home by every 

 huntsman, every whip, and every hunting man, after a long day, if he has any consideration for 

 his horse. 



Trotting and walking are the paces which, if attained at all in great perfection, are im- 

 proved as the animal grows older, as long as he retains full possession of his powers. In 

 America, where they understand trotting as well as we do flat racing, steeplechasing, and 

 hunting, they do not consider that a horse gets his best pace as a trotter until he is at least 

 nine years old. 



^-5^ri^ 



RIDING TO COVER. 



It is rare that a horse is equally pleasant in both trotting and cantering, especially if the 

 trot reaches more than nine miles within the hour, that is, less than half the rate of American 

 racing trotters. The pupil should practise trotting assiduously to attain a good style, watching 

 the manner of the best masters of the art, and taking an occasional glance at his own per- 

 formance in the reflection of plate-glass windows. In that pace particularly it is important 

 to attain the peculiar graces of the modern English style — the ars eclair artcin — correct, with- 

 out being rigid ; easy, without being slovenly ; upright, not poking . toward the horse's ears 

 in the old English style ; legs, feet, hands, all in their proper places ; rising to ease your 

 horse in the trot not from the stirrups but the knees, not to show your seat, but to ease 

 yourself and the horse with the least possible daylight between your seat -bones and the 

 saddle. 



A horse trotting fast should be stopped slowly, by gradually shortening the reins, sitting down 

 and speaking softly the language the horse so soon learns to understand. 

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