It is while riding at the walk that the rider may best obtain the seat and that ease and pliancy which is so greatly to be desired. It also gives him a better opportunity of practising the various applications of his hands and heels than would be practicable in more vigorous movements. A story is told of a certain master of the art, who, in reply to the question how long it would take for a man to acquire a good seat, replied, "Fifteen years at the walk." If the rider pays strict attention to every detail, maintains, with occasional guarded relaxations, his position, and studies the effects of his application of the aids, a liberal deduction might be made from the above estimate of the time required to acquire proficiency in the most important feature of horsemanship. It is true that a man should, and probably will, learn something nearly every time he mounts a horse, for "art is long," but an apt pupil should become a very good horseman, without confining himself to the walk, in two or three years, and be able to ride fairly in a much shorter time.
It is not to be understood that a proficient should never let his horse go out of hand, for occasionally it will be a relief to horse and man to be free from all constraint; but this liberty should never be given to a leg-weary animal or upon rough or slippery ground, or in descending steep slopes. The Italian riders, in taking their horses down precipitous hillsides, put the animals straight, the horses closely united.
In the walk the rider will proceed in straight lines, in circles and curves of varying diameters, and in turns to either hand. The pace should be even and regular, and the impulses from the croup kept up so that the horse will not become heavy in hand. The forehand will be kept light and the jaw pliant by light tensions upon the reins, with occasional vibrations made by a play of the fingers upon the reins. A very little practice will show what these vibrations should be.
In turning to the right the movement will be directed by the right rein, its effects measured and restrained by the left rein, while the outside or left leg of the rider will give an increased pressure against the side of the horse to keep the croup from swaying out. The whole body of the horse should conform to the arc of the path followed. In making short turns, the horse should first be collected a little more closely, and as soon as the animal enters upon the new direction it should be put straight and be ridden in exactly the same form as it had before the turn was made. The turn to the left will be made in the same manner,—the left rein, guarded in its effects by the right, demanding the turn, the right leg of the rider keeping the croup upon the path.
In bringing the horse to a halt from the walk, the rider should close his legs against the animal's sides, lean back slightly, and raise the bridle-hand. This will bring the horse to a stop in a finished manner, with its hind legs under the mass, ready to furnish impulses for further movements. The tension upon the reins should then be relaxed and the legs of the rider withdrawn.
FIG. 63.—UNITED HALT