448 



CHAPTER XXL 



MILITARY RIDING. 



A CAVALRY soldier requires all the firmness of seat needed 

 in hunting ; for although in peace he will have to ride chiefly 

 in the school and on parade, he may have to cross various 

 forms of difficult country on service. As he is taught on the 

 supposition that he has only his left hand on the reins, he 

 ought to acquire a high degree of expertness in using the 

 other aids (Chapters X. and XL). In obtaining the necessary 

 control and precision, he will have to carefully avoid allow- 

 ing his horse on any occasion to keep behind the bridle ; 

 for an animal which does not go up to the bit, will be 

 lacking in forward impulsion, and as a rule will be ready 

 to jib and rear as a "defence." Also, school instruc- 

 tion should be made strictly subservient to outside work. 

 Hence, in order to prevent a horse becoming a slave to school 

 routine {routine, as the French call it), he should be made to 

 devote his entire attention to the aids, and should not be 

 permitted to give any part of it to landmarks inside the 

 school. For instance, when a horse is going round the school 

 (" going large "), it ought to be immaterial to him whether 

 he is kept on the track or a yard or two away from it. Also, 

 he ought to do the passage as well in any direction, as when 

 his head is comparatively close to the wall, or is carried 

 parallel to the track, supposing that the school is an open one. 

 I have already indicated (pp. 165, 225 and 226) that the 

 plan of holding the reins crossed in one hand, as in Figs. 159 



