e same time being on
her guard, so as to be able to effect any of her defences in an instant,
should occasion render them needful.

There is scarcely any difference between soothings and encouragements;
except that, in the latter, it is advisable to _pat_, and, as it were,
caress the horse with the right hand, holding the whip in the left. A
shy or timid horse may often be encouraged to pass an object that alarms
him, to cross a bridge, enter a gateway, or take a leap, when force and
correction would only add to his fear, and, perhaps, render him
incorrigibly obstinate.

Animations are intended to produce greater speed, or, to render the
horse more lively and on the alert, without increasing his pace. Some
animals scarcely ever require animations; while others are so dull and
deficient in mettle as to call them frequently into use. The slightest
movement of the body, the hand, or the leg, is enough to rouse the
well-bred and thoroughly-trained animal; but it is necessary for the
animations to be so spirited and united, with sluggish horses, as almost
to become corrections: in fact, what is a mere animation to one horse,
would be a positive correction to another.

The aids of the hand, the whip, the leg, and the body, which we have
before described, are animations; so, also, are _pattings_ with the
hand, the tones of the voice, &c. Animations should be used in all
cases, when the horse, contrary to the rider's inclination, either
decreases his speed, droops his head, bears heavily and languidly on the
bit, or, begins to be lazy or slovenly in the performance of his paces.
A good rider foresees the necessity of an animation before the horse
actually abates his speed, or loses the _ensemble_ of his action, and
the grace and spirit of his deportment. It is much easier to keep up,
than to restore, a horse's animation: therefore, the whip, the leg, the
hand, or the tongue, should do its office a few moments before, rather
than at, the moment when its movements are indispensable.

A slight motion of the fingers of the bridle-hand serves as an excellent
animation: it reminds the horse of his duty, awakens the sensibility of
his mouth, and preserves a proper correspondence between that and the
hand.

[Illustration]

CORRECTIONS.

Ladies certainly ought not to ride horses which require extraordinary
correction. For numerous reasons, which must occur to our readers, a
lady should never be seen in the act of positi