If, in stopping, a horse toss up his nose, or force the hand, the bridle hand must be kept low and firm, no liberty must be given, his neck must be pressed with the right hand till he has brought down his nose, and immediately all his bridle may be given him. (Plate XXXVIII. fig. 2.) If the horse has not readily obeyed, he should be made to go backwards, as a proper punishment for the fault. _Going Backward in the Walk._ The action of the horse when he goes backward is to bend his haunches, to have always one of his hinder legs under his belly, on which to rest and balance himself, and to push his croupe backward. In performance, the horse’s head must be steady and right, his body gathered up under him, he must be upon his haunches, and his feet be even. To aid him in this, there should be an equal and steady feeling of both reins; the hand must be held centrically, and kept from rising, with the knuckles a little down, inviting the horse to back; the body bent a little forward, with the belly drawn in; and the legs gently pressing the sides of the horse, in order to keep him up to the bridle, and to prevent him from swerving. The instant he yields to the hand, the body and hand yield to the horse, that he may recover his balance; and he may then be pressed to back again. If either the deviation of the hand from its centrical situation, or any other cause, make the croupe go off the line in an opposite direction, the heel must support and direct him. Thus, should the croupe traverse to the right, the right leg must direct; and, to assist, the hand must be carried a little to the right; but this must be done with delicacy, lest the croupe be thrown too much to the left. Here the hand and the heel change their functions; the hand compels the action, and the heel directs it. THE TROT. As to the character of the trot, when we urge the horse to proceed faster than he can by moving one leg after the other in the walk, we oblige him to take up two at a time in the trot. Here the off fore-foot and the near hind-foot give one beat; and the near fore-foot and the off hind-foot give another; so that there are two legs crosswise off the ground, and two legs on; the beats being sharp and quick, in proportion to the degree of animation and extension.