24 THE TROT. 



toes down and turned outward very much, with plenty of 

 space between the knee and saddle, at the same time not 

 forgetting to pull with sudden jerks on the reins. Such 

 riders even declare afterwards that " it was just too lov^ely 

 for anything." 



Now all the above faults can be prevented if the pupil 

 has a good teacher and will take pains to learn how to 

 ride. When trotting the rider must not depend on the 

 stirrup alone, but must rise from the right knee, the right 

 toe kept down close to the horse, keep the left heel down, 

 with the stirrup on the ball of the foot, care must be taken 

 that the left foot is not draw^n back or thrust forward, but 

 held straight down, the toe nearly in line with the left 

 knee. If the foot is drawn back, the rider will be thrown 

 forward, and if it is thrust forward, the pupil will rise in a 

 stiff and unnatural way. It should always be remembered 

 that the limbs support the upper part of the body. The 

 rise and fall in the saddle should be straight, easy and 

 graceful, without bending the body forward, and in per- 

 fect time with your horse ; bear in mind that it is entirely 

 wrong to attempt to rise when the horse is walking, jog 

 trotting or cantering, and the rider must keep a close seat 

 until the horse trots fast enough to assist the pupil to rise. 

 If pupils try and attempt to rise before the horse attains 

 the rate of speed that is required, it gives any one an im- 

 pression that the rider desires to lift his or her horse up 

 from the ground, which is not only wrong, but very fool- 

 ish. A lady when riding, must try at first to get a good 



