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is generally caused by pushing- horses above their 

 paces. Scarcely anything will accomplish it sooner 

 than by tr\'ing to make a horse cover twelve miles 

 an hour when Nature has only fashioned him to 

 cover eight. A horse may be pushed up to his 

 natural paces, but whenever he is pushed beyond 

 them he will break his steps every few yards, the 

 result being, as already mentioned, a disagreeable 

 combination of paces at the same time. 



HOW TO RIDE A HORSE AT A WALK. 



In walking a horse the rider should sit squarely 



in the saddle with the feet 

 directly under the knees. The 

 ball of the foot should rest in 

 the stirrup, with the heel a 

 little more sunk than the toe. 

 In ordinary hacking the feet 

 should never be driven home 

 in the stirrups, although, of 

 course, in hunting and similar 

 rough riding a good foothold 

 is essential. The hands should 

 be kept low, which will give 

 the rider greater command 

 over the horse. When the 

 hands are unduly elevated with 

 the thumbs vertical the pres- 

 sure of the bit comes against 

 the corners of the horse's m-outh instead of against 



Fig. 22.— How to Hold 

 Double Reins. 

 S S Snaffle Rein. 

 C C Curb Rein. 



