GENERAL RULES. 299 



whether the first lesson should be further extended or 

 not. After a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes it 

 will be time to reward the horse by loosing all the 

 straps, leaving it to the groom to lead it about for exer- 

 cise, and then home. Better take the trouble of giving 

 two short lessons each day, after which all parties 

 remain on more friendly terms, than one long one end- 

 ing in a fight. 



Having explained at length the method of proceeding, 

 it will now suffice to indicate briefly the successive steps 

 to be taken. When the horse has learned to stretch 

 itself willingly, the next object will be to get it to move 

 in obedience. If it refuses to go forwards, by edging 

 over its head and neck in the proper position, it will 

 step side wise to save itself from falling ; reward it again. 

 In a day or two it will follow your hand forwards for 

 the sake of the oats you show it ; then by degrees it 

 will learn to circle with the croup round the forehand ; 

 you will " unfix " the feet and flatten the back by de- 

 grees, taking care always to stop each movement and 

 limit its extent with the cavesson ; real obedience is 

 thereby established, and the horse will soon follow you 

 in a wide circle, when, the assistant taking your place 

 at its head, you at length arrive at lounging, and proceed 

 as already described. 



A horse that backs and .some will actually trot back- 

 wards must be somewhat differently handled, but still 

 on the same principle : there is even less difficulty than 

 in the cases just now alluded to, because the animal 

 does move somehow. The position assumed by a back- 

 ing horse is that described above ; the remedy is there- 

 fore to alter the carriage of the head and neck, getting 

 these up as high as possible without violence, and the 



