HINTS ON RIDING 111 



leg, after which it should be slackened a little and the 

 other rein pulled on. This alternating pressure on the 

 reins is necessary in order to prevent a horse from at- 

 tempting to rear should he be dragged backward by 

 an equal pull on both reins. The voice and a gentle 

 pressure of leg and stick help in backing, and enable 

 the hindquarters of the horse to be kept straight. 



At a walk a horse may be allowed a free head, pro- 

 viding that he does not shuffle, amble, or jiggle. Noth- 

 ing is so much admired as a good, fast, flat-footed 

 walk. At all other gaits the horse must be up in his 

 bridle, and a fine rider never allows his mount either 

 to increase his pace without an order, to change his 

 gait without a command, or to exceed the limit of 

 speed at which he can go collectedly. The trot should 

 never be allowed to degenerate into a rocking move- 

 ment, and if it does the horse should be steadied at 

 once. Unity of speed should always be maintained 

 by a more or less fixed length of rein, and "niggling" 

 a horse's mouth or shifting the hands about should 

 never be indulged in. The steadier the hands, the 

 better. 



The proper use of the reins is undoubtedly one of the 

 first requisites of finished horsemanship, but it is not 

 until a rider is also able to use properly the aids of 

 leg, whip, or spur, and the correct distribution of the 

 body's weight that he or she can rightly be called a 

 .finished horseman or horsewoman. In racing or polo 

 it is not so necessary that a horse be collected as in 

 hacking, or even in jumping, but the success of a 

 show rider of saddle horses depends on his ability to 

 flex a horse's neck, make him pick up his feet and go 

 collectedly. 



Owing to the fact that the muscle which draws the 



