The trot is not a fatiguing pace to the horse. He can go a long distance continuously at a fair rate of speed at this gait, because both fore and hind legs, respectively, have the same amount of work to do, and the body can be easily maintained in a state of equilibrium, as it is supported by diagonal supports.
The rider, if in the flat saddle, except at slow gaits, should rise to the trot during this exercise. The diagonal on which the rise is made should frequently be changed.
The lightness of the horse only comes with further training. The rider up to this point tries little by little to bring the horse under control by the following exercises:
1. Moving to the front at a walk, then a trot.
2. Increasing and decreasing gaits.
3. Halting.
To Halt.—To execute this movement, lean back slightly and gradually increase the pressure of the bit on the mouth until the movement slows down and gradually stops. Both legs should at the same time be carried back to assist the horse in bringing the haunches up under him. The horse should neither raise nor lower his head. The whole mass of the neck should move toward the withers.
Halting the horse should often be practiced with horses possessing a high, powerful croup and with those inclined to forge ahead at all times. Those inclined to fret, those whose legs are well set up under them, and those that are difficult to keep up into the bit should seldom be halted.
Especially during these lessons must the rider pay strict attention to the even tension of the rein. At first the rider must do all the work—that is, must tighten the reins; but later the horse, having become accustomed to the pressure of the bit and always having the idea of going straight ahead, will of his own accord keep the reins taut.