292 EESTIVENESS : ITS PREVENTION AND CURE. 



fashion, reverting, when the time comes, to the school 

 position as a matter of necessity. A certain portion 

 of the work of getting the horse's head and neck into 

 position may be very advantageously done whilst the 

 animal stands still, but no real progress can be made 

 in getting it to carry its burden in the desired manner 

 unless these bending lessons, as they are called, be im- 

 mediately followed up by brisk trotting ones ; and, for 

 the same reason, it is of great importance, when prac- 

 ticable, to take the horse out of the school occasionally, 

 and let it have a good straight-ahead go after the Eng- 

 lish fashion. 



The dumb-jockey being much used in this 'country, 

 it becomes necessary to say a word on the subject. 

 This instrument represents a pair of hands without 

 legs, and therefore can at best only perform just one- 

 half of the work we have now under consideration, and 

 even this imperfectly. We must therefore call the 

 whip to our aid in order to supply the want of the legs, 

 which the whip will do, but then we can never attain 

 the alternately graduated pull on each rein successively, 

 nor vary the pressure so readily. Moreover, the pro- 

 blem to be solved being the distribution of weight, 

 with the dumb-jockey we can only adjust that of the 

 animal itself, the whole of whose equilibrium being over- 

 thrown when the rider once gets on its back, we are 

 then compelled to begin the entire process de novo. 

 The judgment, tact, and power of appreciation of a 

 really good rider will produce far better results, and, 

 on the whole, in a shorter time than the dumb-jockey 

 ever can do, except perhaps as a triumph of art in the 

 circus, or for the purpose of combating some special 

 form of vice ; nevertheless it is evident, from what has 



