To turn her horse to the right, the pupil should draw her right hand back and to the right, incline her body also to the right, turning her head in the same direction, and use her whip lightly, without stopping the pressure of her left leg. When her horse has turned far enough, she will cease pressure on the right side, and carry her horse straight forward.
In the beginning, regularity of movement is not so important as that the pupil should understand the means by which she executes it; that is to say, that she disturbs the equilibrium of her horse by carrying the weight of her body to the right; and, while her hand and whip combine on that side, the left leg prevents him from stopping or straggling over the ground.
Riders in a school are said to be on the right hand when the right side of the body is toward the middle of the ring; and this is the easier way for inexperienced pupils, because they are less shaken when their horses move to the right, as they sit on the left side of their saddles.
It follows, naturally, that to be on the left hand is to have the left side toward the middle; and, when riding on the right hand, all movements are executed to the right, and _vice versâ_.
The teacher must watch carefully that pupils do not allow their horses to turn the corners of their own accord, as a regular movement to the right should be executed by the pupil at each corner when riding on the right hand, and to the left when going the other way.
If left to guide himself around a school, the horse will describe a sort of oval, rounding the corners, instead of going into them, and thus much valuable practice is lost to the rider.
The pupil being at a walk, and on the right hand, the teacher will give the word of command:
To make her horse trot, she must advance her wrists, lean the body forward, and use the leg and whip, resuming the normal position as soon as her horse obeys her.
In order not to fatigue the pupil, the teacher will only allow her to trot a short distance, and will remind her to keep her right foot well back and close to the saddle, and to sit close without stiffness. He will also take care that she passes from the walk to the trot gradually, by making her horse walk faster and faster until he breaks into a slow trot.