36 ORDINARY RIDING. 



During the first two or three lessons, I let the horse go at 

 any pace he likes, provided that it is fast and that he keeps 

 to the wall. I make him trot in the subsequent lessons. 



It is so easy to make a horse trot, that one ought to do 

 so with any horse in the third or fourth lesson without an 

 assistant. The old custom, recommended in almost every 

 book on the subject, of having two men to lunge a horse 

 is faulty, because it is impossible to have perfect harmony 

 in the movements of these men. It often happens that the 

 man with the whip touches up the horse when he ought not 

 to do so, and that the man who is holding the lunging rein, 

 stops the animal at the moment when his comrade is making 

 him go on. Of course, such a discord could not happen if 

 the breaker was by himself. 



Supposing that the horse is at the wall, and going to the 

 left ; the breaker, who is at the centre of the school, ought 

 always remain facing the horse and at a line with his 

 shoulder, thus keeping him enclosed in the angle made by 

 the lunging rein and whip, the former held in the left hand, 

 the latter in the right hand. The breaker should always 

 accompany the horse, but should not follow him, and should 

 place himself so as always to keep the horse between the 

 lunging rein in front and the whip behind. 



In order to accompany a horse without following him, 

 while constantly remaining in a line with his shoulder, we 

 need only follow the diagonal, while alternately extending 

 and drawing back the arm. This precaution is essential, 

 because if we describe the circle, when following the horse 

 round the school, we shall get giddy and become unable to 

 carry out the work properly. By moving diagonally we can 

 accompany the horse as long as we like. 



To make the horse trot, I touch him lightly behind with 

 the whip. It is better to touch the shoulder, but we should 

 not try to do so, especially with a young horse, unless we 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



