158 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. 



transfer his weight with ease, when neces 

 sary. 



It is easy now to understand where the 

 resistances have their origin ; whether the 

 horse kicks up behind, rears, or runs away, 

 the cause is always the centre of gravity 

 being in the wrong place. This very cause 

 belongs to a defective formation which we 

 cannot change, it is true, but the effects of 

 which we can always modify. If the horse 

 kicks up, the centre of gravity is in the 

 shoulders, in the croup when he rears, and 

 too far forward when he runs away. The 

 principal thought of the rider, then, ought 

 to be to keep the centre of gravity in the 

 middle of the horse s body, since he will 

 thereby prevent him defending himself, and 

 bring back the forces of the badly formed 

 horse to the place which they occupy in the 

 finest organizations. It is this that makes 

 me assert that a well-formed horse will not 



