Two very simple exercises will give control of the hind quarters, when the completion of the education of the horse will be a mere matter of repetition and riding, as the discipline necessary for demanding instant and exact obedience will have been put in train.
To make the horse carry its hind legs under the body, the man should stand on its left side facing the saddle; then, taking the snaffle-reins held under the chin of the horse at equal lengths in his left hand, he should give some light taps of a slender whip upon the animal's croup, preventing a forward movement by a tension upon the snaffle-reins. At first the trainer should be satisfied when the horse brings its hind feet forward a few inches, but in time the animal should by gradual steps be induced to carry its hind legs so far under the mass that the four feet might stand upon a handkerchief. To transfer the indications of the whip to the heels, the rider should mount, and, as he taps the horse on the rump with the whip held behind his back, he should apply his heels to the animal's sides until the hind legs are carried forward sufficiently to satisfy his demands, while a forward movement is prohibited by a tension upon the snaffle-reins held in the left hand. Gradually the employment of the whip should cease and the horse be made to carry the hind legs under the mass to any extent by the pressure of the rider's heels. After the horse has carried its hind legs under the mass, the man should release the tension upon the reins, and by permitting the forehand to advance, let the animal take a natural position.
FIG. 79.—CROUP ABOUT FOREHAND, TO THE RIGHT
FIG. 80.—IN HAND IN PLACE
To make the horse carry the croup around the forehand, the trainer should stand at the left side of the horse, facing the saddle, with his left hand he should take a grasp of the snaffle-reins under the chin of the horse and bend the head slightly away from him, and with the whip he should give a light tap or taps on the side of the horse just behind the girth. When the horse makes one step with the croup away from the man, the forehand held in place by the snaffle-reins, the whip taps should cease, and the horse be rewarded by caresses. Another step from the croup will then be demanded, and step by step the croup will be carried to the right completely about the stationary forehand, the left fore leg acting as the pivot, the right fore leg being brought forward to conform to the movement by light taps of the whip, the head of the horse bent toward the advancing croup. The horse must not be permitted to volunteer a step, but every step should be made on the demand of the trainer.