THE horse's paces. 43 



Tlie hand must be constantly at work to retain the 

 head and neck in tlieir proper position, without coun- 

 teracting the forward impulse communicated by the 

 leg ; and thus the horse placed between two powers 

 (hand and leg), which only oj^pose his bad qualities, 

 will soon develop his good ones, and acquire regu- 

 larity of pace, increased speed, and that safety which 

 is natural to a horse well balanced and light in hand. 

 In speaking here of increased speed combined with 

 obedience to hand and leg, no reference is made to 

 the speed obtained for trotting matches, which is 

 done by making the horse throw his weight forward 

 and bore on the hand. 



A horse out of hand, when trotting fast, seldom 

 moves evenly with his hind-legs ; he struggles and 

 drags them after the fore. "We should find it very 

 difficult to hold such a horse together ; but a horse 

 that had been properly reined in would be easily 

 managed ; the hand would bring his head home, 

 whilst the jDressare of the legs brought his hind- 

 quarters under him, and thus we should maintain his 

 balance, whilst the limbs in action j)assed from the 

 bend to the extension before the weight of the body 

 required their support. 



Canter. — Is a repetition of bounds, during which 

 the forehand rises first, and higher than the hind- 

 • quarters. 



The horse being properly placed, light in hand and 

 well balanced, throw his weight from the forehand 



