166 THE HORSE 



to stand well and alertly, and not to rest his legs 

 or go to sleep. Teach him to stop dead at a de- 

 cided " Whoa ! " without any additional signal 

 with the reins, as this habit may prove most use- 

 ful in an emergency and always give him his 

 signal in a firm, decided voice. 



In driving, always go slowly off the top of a 

 hill, and at the summit pull the horse well back 

 into the breeching, so as to get his Aveight off the 

 forehand. If the animal is thoroughly steadied 

 like this, and his head is kept up with a tight 

 rein, he can trot down almost any hill with a 

 good surface in safety. Horses most frequently 

 fall on a slight hill down which they are being 

 driven with a slack rein. If their Aveight had 

 been taken off the forehand, a false step would 

 not have resulted in anything worse than a slight 

 stumble. Therefore the driver must be " didv- 

 ing " all the time, and must not allow himself 

 or his steed to be lulled into a false sense of 

 security. 



It is difficult to define the exact tension at 

 which the reins should be held. It should vary 

 with the gradient of the road and other factors ; 

 at the same time, of the two extremes, a tight 

 rein is much safer than a loose one, for with it 



