REINING BACK. 217 



command of a horse's hind quarters by the pressure of 

 his legs, especially when the feet are drawn back. As 

 horses very much dislike reining back, I w^ould caution 

 the rider not to disgust her animal by continuing it 

 for too long a time. He should be occasionally reined 

 back a couple of times for four or five paces, and after 

 each rein back should be allowed to go forward, and 

 he should be rewarded for his obedience by a few pats 

 on the neck and some words of encouragement. If 

 the animal's temper be upset by too much reining 

 back, he will probably adopt the dangerous habit of 

 running back, when he would be very liable to fall, or 

 he may rear. As inconsiderate people will persist in 

 taking kickers into the hunting field, every lady who 

 desires to hunt should be able to rein back her horse, 

 in order to remove him, if possible, from the dangerous 

 vicinity of an animal whose tail is adorned with a red 

 bow, which is a sign that he is a kicker, and not that 

 he has been recently vaccinated. 



Her next lessons should be devoted to obtaining 

 practice in jumping various kinds of fences, and in riding 

 up and down hill, over ridge and furrow and difficult 

 ground, which we will deal with in another chapter. 

 A lady should remember to always keep an eye on her 

 mount, and never let her attention be diverted from 

 the order of his going, however much she may be 

 otherwise occupied. To people who have had much 

 practice in riding various horses, this forward outlook 

 becomes almost automatic. 



I would advise my imaginary pupil to learn the 



