XII 



RIDING SCHOOLS v. THE OPEN 



" Both are good at proper seasons, and either will do very well if 

 the Riding-Master is good." Pembroke. 



TTAVING briefly discussed what is to be taught, 

 we may now consider how best to teach it. 

 Shall the instruction be commenced in a riding 

 school if one is available, or shall it be in the open? 

 Shall the pupil be given a saddle with stirrups, or a 

 numnah without them? Shall he begin his lessons 

 without reins? In answering these questions we 

 must remember to aim, above all things, at establish- 

 ing confidence in the beginner as quickly as possible. 

 Outside the Army, riding schools in England are 

 few and- far between, but an open-air manege can 

 soon be made, and if it be only an oblong marked 

 out with flags or stones, horses soon learn to follow 

 the track. The school offers great advantages in the 

 early stages ; the pupil can at once be treated as what 

 he is — a mere passenger — and the fact that he is 



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