124 The Practical Stud Groom. 



lesson, two men to hold the lungeing rein, and one the whip. 

 The latter starts the yearling going and follows him up, 

 while the two former hang on and keep him from darting oft 

 at right angles. Although a whip is carried, it is not neces- 

 sary to use it except occasionally to crack it at a lazy 

 yearling. Usually the yearling dashes round faster than is 

 desirable, but this is a fault which soon corrects itself, 

 especially when the going is as soft and tiring as it should 

 be. The duration of the lesson must be regulated by the 

 condition of the yearling and the state of the weather. For 

 instance, a prolonged spell of violent exercise on a broiling 

 hot day would not be beneficial to a soft, fat yearling. The 

 first day's lesson in lungeing should be confined to a 

 thorough grounding in the simple act of travelling in a 

 circle without fighting the restraining rein. When this is 

 thoroughly learnt, the next step is "reversing/' i.e., 

 circling from left to right, and then from right to left. In 

 galloping in a circle from left to right, the yearling's body 

 is canted over at an angle which throws a larger proportion 

 ol the bodily weight on to the off-side shoulder and limbs, 

 than on to those of the near side. By frequently reversing 

 the direction, the risk of over-straining one side is removed. 

 The pupil may be a little dense and awkward in grasping 

 what is required when first asked to " reverse," but a little 

 patience will soon put things right. The best time to intro- 

 duce the " reverse " to his notice is when he has been 

 circling to the left long enough to be getting tired and is 

 showing a desire to stop. Let him do so, the man with the 

 whip then steps round and threatens him in front, which 

 makes him turn with his face to the right. A sharp crack 

 of the whip, and a threatening dart at him, starts him off 

 in the desired direction, with the " whipper-in " close at his 

 heels to prevent him changing his mind and his course. 



