212 HANDS AND LEGS (AIDS). 



of the body upon which pain is inflicted, should evidently 

 be the same as that stimulated by the spurs, namely, the 

 portion of the sides close behind the girths. I am at pre- 

 sent considering only extreme forward stimulation ; because 

 all ordinary and comparatively painless forward stimulation 

 is much better obtained by the legs than by either whip 

 or stick, the action of which in this case is one-sided, 

 and is more or less distracting to the attention of the 

 horse, by the flourishing of the whip or stick in the air. 



To obtain the best result in the regulation of the lateral 

 movements of the hind quarters, the whip or stick should 

 be held point down and the hand on the rein, so that its 

 effect may be aided by the action of the rein. For the 

 purpose in question, the whip or stick should not be less than 

 37 or 38 inches long. Its action will then be much more 

 effective than that of the drawn-back foot, because it can be 

 applied farther back. 



The ordinary varieties of riding whips are : the hunting 

 whip, the cutting whip, and the crook-handled cutting 

 whip. 



The hunting whip or hunting crop has a handle set at 

 right angles to the crop ; a loop or keeper for the attachment 

 of the thong ; and a lash at the end of the thong. The 

 crop is generally about two feet three inches long ; although 

 an addition of nine inches to this length would make it much 

 more useful for obtaining command over a horse's hind 

 quarters ; keeping a closing gate in check ; or reaching very 

 low latches. I see nothing out of place in the use of a crop of 

 this sensible length when hunting. Stiff cane is probably the 

 best material for a crop, although whalebone covered with gut 

 is greatly in vogue, probably because it is expensive. The 

 handle is usually of horn and notched on the upper surface, so 

 that it might not slip when applied in opening or shutting a 

 gate. With the same object, a small stud is generally put on 



