252 



against the sides should be about equal, and the trainer 

 should bear in mind that their office is to turn the horse 

 between them, much as one would turn a stick held be- 

 tween the fingers ; that is, by pressing against different 

 points of the opposite sides. This lesson should be pro- 

 ceeded with slowljr, and so gradually as not to discourage 

 the horse. While it is yet in its early stages, the side-long 

 movement, which the French call the manage de deux 

 'pistes^ may be practiced as a variety. This may be accom- 

 plished after a week's practice, while the old military 

 school did not attempt it until after several years. 



BACKING. — This is an exercise which has not, until Bau- 

 cher's time, been sufficiently appreciated, but which has a 

 very great influence i]Jjfhe education of the horse. The 

 trainer should first assure himself that the croup is exactly 

 on a line with the shoulder, and that the horse is light in 

 hand. The legs should be pressed gently against the two 

 sides in such a way as to cause the horse to lift one of his 

 hind legs, the snaffle being held sufficiently to prevent his 

 advancing. An immediate pressure on the curb will cause* 

 the horse to replace his foot, slightly to the rear of its 

 natural position. If the horse shall have turned to the 

 right or to the left, he may be brought into place by the 

 aid of the snaffle and the leg, and the movement of the 

 hind parts may be repeated. This should be practiced for 

 a time without trying to make the pupil recede to any ex- 

 tent, the first object being to teach him to use his bind 

 legs with facility, while he retains his general lightness. 

 Tills object being accomplished, it will soon be possible to 



* •' Lapiste is an imaginary line upon which the horse is made to walk 

 When the hind legs follow the same line as the fore ones, the horse is said 

 to go d'unepi^te, or on one line. He goes de deux pistes, or on two lines* 

 when his hind legs pass along a line parallel to that traced by the fore 

 legs' '* — Baiicher's Dictionnaire d^ Equitation . 



