RIDING AND TRAINING. I 5 I 



reins, an assistant standing by to tap the horse 

 upon the fore-legs with a whip as the forehand goes 

 into air, to give that peculiar bending of the knees 

 which the critics demand in the true pesade. 



I have never employed, and do not recommend, 

 ' the pillars,' but as they are still used on the Con- 

 tinent, even in some of the military schools, I may 

 describe them. Two stout upright posts are firmly 

 fixed in the ground, so that they will stand six feet 

 high and be five feet apart. On the inner side of 

 each pillar and near the top, a ring is let into the 

 wood through which the long reins are to be passed. 

 The horse, in a snaffle bridle and with a cavesson on, 

 is placed between the pillars, and the cavesson lines 

 are fastened about the posts so that the horse can- 

 not pass his croup beyond the pillars. Long reins, 

 fastened to the snaffle bit, are passed through the 

 rings in the pillars and held in the hand of the 

 trainer, who stands at a safe distance in rear and 

 slightly to one side of the horse. With whip and 

 voice, the first used with great discretion, the trainer 

 induces the horse to carry its hind-legs under its 

 body, so that the forehand will be lightened, re- 

 warding the animal by a rest and caress whenever 

 it shows any sign of obedience. 



By means of the reins and the stimulation of the 

 whip, the trainer unites the horse closely, proceed- 



