214 Restiveness : its Prevention and Cure, 



one with somewhat slack reins. The being too lazy to 

 take the trouble of altering the gear often causes double 

 work, and a horse will bear more pressure, on the whole, 

 with good temper, if you reward it by occasional spells 

 of relaxation. 



It will not be out of place here to remark, that if your 

 horse be weak in the hind quarters or legs — that you 

 cannot go so far with the bearing up, in fact — you must 

 incline more to the English system ; whereas if it has 

 suffered only in its fore legs, you may carry the process 

 to the utmost extent that is compatible with clean trot- 

 ting ; and this is precisely the reason why many an 

 English horse, with ruined fore legs, may be rendered 

 capable of doing good and safe service as an officer's 

 charger for many a year, if handled judiciously, after 

 this fashion. 



We now come to the period when the young horse has 

 been saddled and backed. The animal will, during the 

 process of lounging, have been accustomed to the saddle 

 being placed on the centre of its back and the girths 

 round its proper waist, instead of round its chest. 

 During the first lesson under the rider, the horse will 

 continue on the lounge, the great object being to make 

 the transition as gradual as possible, for which reason 

 the assistant with the whip will continue his services, 

 whilst tlie trainer also continues to direct the animal's 

 movement with the line. The rider, therefore, will at 

 first remain nearly passive, avoiding, on the one hand, 

 interfering too much with the reins, and, on the other, 

 pressing too closely his legs against the horse's body ; in 

 fact, his seat will be very much like that of the English 

 trainer in the first instance, but by degrees he will take 

 the direction of the horse's movements over from the 

 trainer into his own hands^ and with his legs do the 

 duty hitherto performed by the assistant with the whip. 

 For this reason he will then change his seat, bringing 



