i. Look at his shoulders and fore feet: the shoulder and

foot of the leading leg should be the most advanced. ii. Look at his hind legs. The leading one of these should be on the same side as the leading fore leg. The horse’s croup will be slightly turned towards the side of the leading legs.

If “_disunited_,” the movement felt in the seat will be a jolting and twisting motion.

9. _To change from off fore and off hind to near fore and near hind at the canter._--Close both legs to the horse and turn his head slightly to the right; prevent him from turning his body to the right by the pressure of the left leg, put the weight of the body slightly backwards and cause him to change by a stronger pressure of the drawn back right leg.

_To change from near fore and near hind to off fore and off hind, at the canter_.--Reverse the above aids.

10. _To circle right at canter_ (from the halt, walk, or trot).--Apply the aids described for the “_Canter, off fore and off hind leading_,” and guide the horse round to the right.

_To circle left at the canter._--Apply the aids described for the “_Canter, near fore and near hind leading_,” and guide the horse round to the left.

=44.= _Bending._

1. Bending affords the advanced recruit a lesson in applying the “_aids_.” It is tiring exercise for the horse and should be practised with discretion.

In all bending work it is very important to get the horse to yield his jaw slightly as this conduces to lightness of hand.

As a rule, bending should be done on the move.

2. _To bend a horse:_--

i. _On the snaffle._--If to the right, the rider should bend the horse by a gentle pressure on the right rein, at the same time giving to him slightly with the left rein but still retaining a gentle feeling on the left side of his mouth, and using the pressure of the legs as required; as soon as the horse bends to the hands cease bending and make much of him. ii. _On the bit._--The left hand, holding the reins, should have an equal feeling on all four reins. In bending to the right, place the third finger of the right hand between the two right reins and slightly feel the horse’s mouth, using the pressure of the legs as required; when the horse yields to the feeling by relaxing his jaw and bending as required, the hand should immediately yield to him.

The outer rein in bending should always retain a steady feeling to support the inner and to ensure the bend being made at the poll.

3. _Bending lesson._--With beginners it is advisable that this should take place in the riding school or closed-in manège, but as the instruction progresses it should be practised outside.

The following movements should be practised (_see_ Fig. 5):--

_Right shoulder in._ _Left shoulder in._ _Right pass_ } To move across the school or to a flank. _Left pass_ }

In all these movements the horse’s neck should be kept straight from the withers onwards to near the poll, his head itself being turned in the direction in which he is moving.

In the “_shoulder in_” the horse’s body should be inclined at about a half turn to the direction in which he is to move.

In “_right_” or “_left pass_” the horse’s body should be kept approximately at right angles to the direction in which he is moving, being inclined only just sufficiently in that direction to enable him to cross his legs.

These movements should all be made in the same way. Thus in “_right shoulder in_,” the left rein bends and leads the horse assisted by the right rein. The pressure of the rider’s right leg makes the horse cross his legs (except in the case of the half passage) whilst the rider’s left leg keeps him up to the hand and prevents him from swerving.

Horses should not be turned at the corners when in the position of “_shoulder in_.” On reaching a corner each horse should be walked on and again “_shoulder in_” after passing it.

To turn to the right when passaging to the right:--Stay the hind quarters with the right leg, lead the forehand round with the right rein, keep the left leg closed to prevent the quarters from flying out.

In working the shoulder in and passages, fore and hind feet should move on four distinct lines parallel to each other.

=45.= _Spurs._

When the recruit has learned to preserve his proper seat and balance, and has a knowledge of the “_aids_” made with hands and legs, he may ride with spurs. In making use of them he must not open his thighs or move his body forward; the leg from the knee downwards only should move. Spurs with sharp rowels should only be allowed in exceptional circumstances.

The spurs should be used as little as possible, but when they are necessary the horse should be made to feel them; a continual light touch will either make the horse kick or cause him to become insensible to them; a jogging motion of the leg with the heel drawn up should, therefore, never be allowed.

=46.= _Various exercises._

1. _General principles._--The recruit’s course should proceed by degrees according to the progress made, and any or all of the following exercises may be found useful.

Others which suggest themselves to the instructor may be added. Each exercise or game, however, should have some definite object, and should be looked on merely as a means to an end.

2. _To circle._--The ride being told off by fours, on the command “Nos. 1 CIRCLE RIGHT (or LEFT),” each No. 1 will ride his horse in a circle and fall-in the rear of his section of fours, Nos. 2, 3 and 4 doing the same when ordered by the instructor.

“ODD (or EVEN) NUMBERS CIRCLE RIGHT (or LEFT).”--Each odd (or even) number will ride in a small circle and fall-in behind the even (or odd) number immediately behind him.

“HEADS OF FOURS CIRCLE RIGHT (or LEFT).”--The leading man of each fours will ride in a circle followed by 2, 3, 4, and will continue in the circle until he gets the command “GO LARGE,” when he will cease circling and resume his original direction; or the rein may be changed by the word of command “HEADS OF FOURS--CHANGE.”

3. _Figure of 8._--For preliminary training in this movement the horse should be cantered quietly on a large circle or an oblong of about the same length as the school.

i. _In the riding school or manège._

The change of rein and leading legs should be made as soon as the new circle is commenced at X. (_See_ Fig. 6.)

ii. _Outside._--First start off at a canter on a moderate sized circle on either rein. As soon as the horse is moving correctly and collectedly, turn inwards and describe a small circle still on the same rein, but about half the size of the first, when this is completed change the bend of the horse and the leading legs, and make a similar circle on the other rein, the two circles describing the figure of 8 within the original circle. (_See_ Fig. 7.)

In changing the bend, jerking the horse’s head across from one side to the other should not be allowed; to compel the horse to change legs it is necessary to turn his head slightly outwards, the rider at the same time inclining his weight to the side to which he wishes the horse to change, and pressing with his outer leg; these movements should be made gently, and as soon as the horse has changed the leading legs, both fore and hind, his neck and head should be turned to look the way he is going.

4. The “_Ladies Chain_” is a useful practice for both man and horse. The leading file turns about, and rides a slightly zig-zag course through the remainder of the ride (who will be at three or four horse-lengths distance from each other), passing on their right and left hands alternately. When each man in succession has done this, the rear file, at increased pace, will zig-zag through the ride from the rear, and the remainder will follow in succession.

5. Practice in crossing a big V-shaped ditch, about 18 feet wide and 10 feet deep, _i.e._, large enough to compel the horses to go down one side and up the other, is a particularly valuable exercise, as no horse will face the opposite bank unless his head is left absolutely alone.

=47.= _Paying compliments mounted without arms._

When riding with both hands on the reins a soldier passing an officer turns his head and eyes in the direction of the officer without moving his hands. When holding the reins in one hand only he should drop the right hand to the full extent of the arm behind the right thigh, fingers half closed, back of the hand to the right, and turn his head in the direction of the officer.

=48.= _Leading horses._

1. When riding one horse and leading another, the led horse should be on the near side, so that when meeting or being overtaken by traffic the man, by keeping on the left of the road, will have the ridden horse between the led horse and the traffic. The end of the led horse’s rein should be held in the left hand lying flat against the reins of the ride horse. If the led horse is fresh his rein should be held short, about 1 foot from his head. If he tries to break away, the man should circle the two horses to the left.

2. When leading two horses one should be on each side.

3. When leading three horses one should be on the near side and two on the off side. When leading two horses on the same side the reins of the outer horse should be passed between the jaw and the jowl piece of the head collar of the inner horse before being gathered up.

=49.= _Securing horses._

1. _Tying up a horse._--The chief considerations in securing a horse by the reins or head rope are to prevent him injuring himself (wire fences or spiked iron railings should obviously not be used) or breaking his reins by treading on them. The knot used should be capable of being quickly tied and untied and should not be likely to come unfastened through the horse fidgetting about.

Fig. 8 shows how a horse may be secured to a suitable branch by first placing the loop of the reins under and round it, and then doubling back the end of the branch and passing it through the reins. A piece of stick will answer the same purpose. The more the horse pulls the tighter the knot becomes.

2. Single horses can also be kept from straying as follows:--

i. By knee-haltering. One end of a rope is made fast above the knee by a clove hitch, fairly tight, with a keeper knot (half-hitch) round the rope to prevent it from coming loose. The other end is then carried back to the head collar and so secured that the horse cannot tread on it. The rope should be from 1 foot to 1 foot 6 inches from the knee to lower ring of jowl piece of head-collar.