SHORTENING THE STRIDE. 249 



If, therefore, it is allowed to me that horses do sp 

 change their mode of going in one way, they will in 

 another ; and if we begin early enough, and have 

 patience enough, a bad style may be made into a good 

 one, and by very simple means (generally speaking). 



We will say a colt is a good galloper, but goes with 

 too long a stride for a general hunter. No undue 

 severity, no severe labour, or cleverness on the part 

 of his master is required to cure this : the horse need 

 not even be rode : put a cavesson on him, a mouthing 

 bit in his mouth, and bear him up to either a cross or 

 his saddle or surcingle : get him into an amphitheatre 

 circle if you can ; if not, into a riding school ; or, if 

 neither are near, a rick-yard or any small inclosed 

 place : let your leading or ringing rein be about 25 

 feet long : begin by thus forming a lunge of 50 feet 

 diameter : have an assistant with you : force your 

 colt or horse into a canter : it is pretty clear that a 

 horse cannot stride very long round such a circle, 

 which you may daily decrease till it comes to, say 40 

 feet. Now, what is the simple effect of this ? The 

 only severity we use, if severity it can be called, is 

 forcing the colt to canter and then gallop in a space 

 that is awkward to him at first, but the result will be 

 he finds he cannot do this (in the situation we have 

 placed him) with a long stride ; he has therefore, no 

 alternative but to take a short one. By this simple 

 process you might bring him to canter round a dining 

 room, if such a thing was wanted. 



Let us now reverse the case, and suppose a colt 

 strikes short, goes too high, and, technically speaking, 

 fio-hts in his gallop. Ringing such a colt would of 

 course make him ten times worse : he must be ridden, 

 unaccompanied by any other horse, and in a place 



