OBJECTS OBTAINED BY DIRECT FLEXION. 51 



principle of riding, we must first know what is the desired 

 result to be obtained from making it. 



OBJECTS TO BE OBTAINED BY DIRECT FLEXION. 

 I. To balance the horse by the height of his neck. It is very 

 rare that horses are naturally well balanced. On account of 



Fig. 5. — Muzzle on a line with upper part of shoulder. 



their conformation, all horses have a tendency to be heavy in 

 front, and the majority of them have this defect ; the cause 

 being the distance which the head is removed from the base 

 of support. The further the head is away from the centre of 

 gravity the lower it is, and the more weight is on the 

 shoulders. The result of raising the neck, so as to bring the 

 head near to the centre of gravity, is to more or less equalise 

 the distribution of weight. As good horsemanship depends 



