326 HIGH-SCHOOL RIDING. 



obtain and preserve forward impulsion for the extended leg, 

 while the other three are going back* 



It is, of course, understood that all these movements are 

 done by means of the " aids '' I have described. A repetition 

 of this would be useless to anyone who has attentively read 

 the preceding chapters. 



SCHOOL HORSE FOR LADIES. 



A high-school horse which is required for a lady, ought to 

 be particularly supple, and should work from right to left with 

 more ease than from left to right, because a lady rider does 

 the movements from left to right as easily as a man, for she 

 has on the left side the same " aids " as he has, namely, leg 

 and spur. But in the movements from right to left, her whip, 

 which is far less powerful than a leg armed with a spur, re- 

 places the right leg of a horseman. If the horse is not very 

 clever in movements from right to left, the action of the whip 

 will be insufficient. This fact holds good in all kinds of work. 

 Especially in the " two tracks," the lady's horse does not hold 

 himself so well, and is not so completely in hand from right to 

 left as from left to right. The changes of leg are also more 

 difficult from right to left. In the Spanish walk, the near leg 

 is not raised so high, and is not so well extended as the off leg. 

 Increased severity in the application of the whip will cause 



* Figs. 69 and 70. — Germinal at the canter to the right on three legs to the rear. 

 Fig. 6g, second time. The off hind has just come down after the near hind. 

 For obtaining the extension of the off fore, the spur gives the impulse that pre- 

 serves the seat, which makes the horse rein back. We can see that the horse's 

 head is a little beyond the perpendicular, and that the reins are slack. 



Fig. 70, third time. The near fore has just been put down behind its point of 

 departure, and the off fore, which would be in support during the fourth time, 

 remains in the air. 



The bringing together of the three legs in support shows the extent of ground 

 which has been gained to the rear. The seat is continuously drawn back. The 

 reins, especially the off snaffle rein, are drawn up a little, in order to keep the 

 off fore in the air. 



These illustrations enable us to appreciate the delicacy of the "aids." 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



