238 THE HORSE. 



not till then. The military length is not now what it was thirty 

 years ago; and perhaps some time or other soldiers may adopt the 

 rise, but I am afraid not until they have produced many thousands 

 more sore backs than they need have done if they had never prac- 

 tised it. In the trot, the foot should bear strongly on the stirrup, 

 with the heel well down, and the ball of the foot pressing on the 

 foot-piece of the stirrup, so that the elasticity of the ankle takes off 

 the jar, and prevents the double rise, which in some rough horses 

 is very apt to be produced. The knees should always be main- 

 tained exactly in the same place, without that shifting motion which 

 is so common with bad riders, and the legs should be held perpen- 

 dicularly from the knee downwards. The chest should be well 

 forward, and the waist in, the rise nearly upright, but slightly 

 forward, and as easily as can be effected without effort on the part 

 of the rider, and rather restraining than adding to the throw of 

 the horse. 



Good hands and a quiet seat only, with the aid of a curb bit 

 properly adapted to the mouth, are required to develop the canter, 

 lay restraining the gallop ; but to make a horse start off at once, 

 with a lead of either leg as desired, is altogether another matter. 

 To do this, the canter with either leg leading must first be com- 

 pletely taught, so that there is no difficulty in making the horse 

 display that particular pace at any time. Then just at the moment 

 before starting, pull the rein, and press the heel on the side oppo- 

 site to the leg which it is desired the horse should lead. The rea- 

 son of this is obvious enough ; every horse in starting to canter 

 (and many even in the canter itself) turns himself slightly across 

 his line of progress, in order to enable him to lead with that leg 

 which he thereby advances. Thus supposing a horse is going to 

 lead off with the off-foreleg, he turns his head to the left and his 

 croup to the right, and then easily gets his off-leg before and his 

 near-leg behind into the line which is being taken. Now, to com- 

 pel him to repeat this action, it is only necessary to turn him in 

 the same way, by pulling his head to the left, and by touching 

 him with the left heel, after which he is made to canter by excit- 

 ing him with the voice or whip, whilst at the same moment he is 

 restrained by the curb. When once this lead is commenced, the 

 hold on the curb and pressure on the legs may be quite equal ; but 

 if, while the canter is maintained, it is desired to change the lead- 

 ing leg, the horse must be collected and roused by the bit and voice, 

 and then reversing the pull of the reins and the leg-pressure, from 

 that previously practised, so as to turn the horse in the opposite 

 way to that in which he was started, he will generally be compelled 

 to change his lead, which is called " changing his leg." The seat 

 in this space is a very easy one, the knees taking a very gentle hold 

 of the saddle, the feet not bearing si rongly upon the stirrups, and 



