REINING BACK. 247 



otherwise manipulated on that side than on the off side. Of 

 all silly things, the rider should avoid striking a horse on 

 any part of his fore-hand with the object of straightening him, 

 because that would be an attempt to turn the heavy end of 

 the animal round the lighter end. 



TO REIN BACK. 



Even on the race-course, it is well for a jockey to be 

 able at times to rein his^ horse back at the start, instead of 

 having to go round and come up again, in doing which he 

 might easily lose a good position. Also, among a crowd 

 of horses in the hunting field, when waiting for one's turn 

 to go through a gate or at the only practicable part of 

 a fence, especially when close behind a tail adorned with 

 a red bow, a like command over one's horse is to be 

 appreciated. I may explain that there are two forms of 

 the rein back : one, in which the preponderance of weight 

 is placed on the hind legs ; the other, in which it is put 

 on the fore-hand. We see the former when the carter tries 

 to make his draught animal push back a heavy load 

 by raising the horse's head and forcing him to throw all 

 his weight into the breeching. In the latter, which is 

 alone applicable to saddle work, the horse increases the 

 proportion of weight on his fore-hand by lowering his 

 head, and consequently gives freedom and lightness to his 

 hind legs in the backward movement. If it be right for 

 a horse to be light in front when going forward, it is surely 

 correct for him to be light behind when reining back. Ex- 

 perience tells us that the best way for a saddle horse to rein 

 back is in diagonal two time (that of the trot), namely, 

 near fore and off hind, and off fore and near hind. It 

 is reasonable to assume that we should begin the rein back 

 with the diagonal which is more advanced than the other 

 diagonal, and that the fore foot of the former will, as a rule, 



