236 ON TRAINING GROOMS 



horses in front of him commencing their gallop, be- 

 comes anxious to get away with them, and he is very 

 likely to kick up, or make a bound or two just before 

 he settles in his stride. If he does not give the boy a 

 calf the first time of his riding him, he will not in all 

 probability do it at all ; but he will certainly give his 

 rider to understand that he requires some attention paid 

 him, or, more properly speaking, the boy finds he 

 must be on his guard with him, that he must keep a 

 firm seat, or occasionally be very quick in seizing 

 one. 



As the groom sees the boy has confidence in himself, 

 and that he can manage the horse I have just described, 

 he should take an opportunity, whenever it is his inten- 

 tion to give three or four horses a good brushing gallop 

 together (perhaps the day before sweating), of putting 

 up this boy to ride one of them, just to give him an idea 

 of pace ; or whenever there are a number of horses 

 going a gentle sweat together, then, with a view to get 

 some length of riding into the boy, he should be put 

 up, for a few times, to ride any one of the horses at 

 the tail of the string, that will not want much persever- 

 ing with to keep him up with the others in going over 

 the sweating ground. This young boy, being light 

 of weight, and thus far forwarded in his riding, the 

 groom is now supposed to put him to ride such of the 

 young ones as may be going into strong work, and he 

 thinks him best capable of holding. 



The boy having now been taught a certain portion 



