of the legs. At first we must limit ourselves to the short trot, and, above all things, we should make the animal do it in a correct and cadenced manner, that is to say, the foot-falls should be equal as regards time. As the horse is supple, and has been trained to obey the " aids," he will soon do what we require.

At first it is well to allow the horse to be as free as possible, in order that we may see if he trots level naturally. If at first we keep him in hand when trotting, he will not go freely, and if there is an inequality in his gait, it will be difficult to judge whether it is due to a fault of conformation, unsoundness, or bad horsemanship, namely, erroneous effects produced by the " aids." The reins, especially those of the curb, ought to be only very slightly felt. If the horse carries his head too high, we should use the curb reins. The fact of the head being carried too high and in a backward direction, crushes the hind quarters. If, on the contrary, the head is too low, we should use the snaffle reins ; but should not draw them to the rear, because that would stop the propulsion. We should give light quick pulls to these reins alternately, without jerking them, while taking care always to keep the hands high. We had best trot the horse only twice round the school, stop him, bring him into hand, and do the same things over again several times.

When we have got the horse into a good position at the trot, with his neck high,^[1] and the line of his face nearly perpendicular, but a little farther advanced than the vertical line, we can keep up this pace for a longer time. We should gradually work up to this, because the more tired a horse becomes, the lower will he carry his head. If we prolong the work, he will become heavy in hand, in which case we should stop him by strongly closing the legs, and, having got him completely in hand, should set off again.