^62 Modern Riding and Horse Education 



the work on to the horse's other hind leg, which will 

 greatly relieve the animal and enable him to travel 

 further without distress. 



Opinions differ as to when a horse should be 

 taught to rein back. The exercise forms part of 

 every trainer's curriculum, but Fillis, and de Lisle 

 (who follows his methods), would leave it until the 

 rest of the training is completed, whilst other ex- 

 perts would commence with it. Fillis says that 

 backing a horse has the effect of putting his hind 

 legs further away from him, but this is not the fact 

 if the animal is made to rein back with his head up. 

 De Lisle says that reining back may make a horse 

 chary of facing the bit, but many masters of the 

 " great saddle," who rode in terribly severe bits, 

 and demanded great flexion at the poll, do not seem 

 to have been troubled in this respect. Doubtless 

 the horse can be " made " whichever course the 

 reader may wish to pursue; the following advan- 

 tages, however, are derived from early instruction 

 in this exercise. It is the best lesson for teaching 

 a horse to get back on his hocks, and to turn on 

 them, which cannot be done without weighting the 

 pivot; the retrograde movements of the hind legs 



