The rider should then mount and bring the horse in hand. By the pressure of the heels he should demand an impulse, and when a hind leg is flexed it should be carried to the rear; the rider's legs should then close against the sides of the horse, the hand give freedom, and the animal should be sent forward a few steps. Gradually the horse should be made to go to the rear for any distance, every step being demanded by hand and heels, the latter preventing too rapid or too irregular a movement, the hand requiring the raised legs to be carried back.
To turn to the right, the left leg of the rider should give an increased pressure, and the right rein, its effects measured by the left rein, should give an increased tension upon the horse's jaw, so that the forehand will follow the croup. The turns to the left will be made in the same manner, the right heel of the rider and the left rein exerting the greater influence. In going backward in the walk, the legs of the horse should follow in regular order, but the first step to the rear should be made by a hind leg, because the movement begins with an impulse from the croup; and to insure this the animal should be collected before the movement is begun. The horse should not be permitted to become heavy, but, by demanding a close collection, every step should be light and easy, and the balance should be such that the animal will be capable of going forward at any moment.
CHAPTER XV
JUMPING
A very useful apparatus for teaching the horse to jump cleanly and willingly is a little gate or hurdle, about three feet wide, made with three bars; the lower one fixed at eighteen inches from the ground to bind the uprights, which should be about three feet in height; the other two bars being removable, one to fit in slots two and a half feet from the ground, the other to fit on the top of the uprights. But of course any bar will answer the purpose.
With the upper two bars removed, the hurdle should be placed on a bit of level ground and the horse led over the lower bar two or three times, the trainer holding the snaffle-reins near the bit. When the horse has been accustomed to walk over the bar, the man should take the ends of the reins and let the horse cross in a slow trot; this the animal will probably do in a leap, when the man should bring it to a halt and reward it with caresses. Then the next bar should be placed between the uprights, and the horse, held by the length of the reins, be brought up at a trot to jump the hurdle and rewarded for its obedience. After a few lessons given with the two bars, the third bar should be placed on the uprights and the horse be made to take the jump of three feet in the same manner, being rewarded after each leap.
