228 MOUNTED BREAKING. 



this pace (see Points of the Horse) will show us that when 

 circling or turning to the left at the canter or gallop, 

 the horse to preserve his balance will have to incline his 

 body inwards, with a corresponding displacement, in that 

 direction, of the centre of gravity. As the weight of 

 the horse and rider has to be borne at one period of 

 each stride by the leading fore leg (see Fig. no) ; it 

 follows that the inward fore leg (in this case the near 

 fore), which is more nearly under the centre of gravity 

 than the off fore, is the proper one with which to lead. 

 Besides, by leading with the off fore whilst circling or 

 turning to the left, the horse will be obliged to more or 

 less cross his fore legs, and will consequently move in 

 an awkward and mechanically disadvantageous manner ; 

 to say nothing of the chance of an accident by the near 

 fore striking the off fore, if the turn be made sharply. As 

 the leading fore leg at either the canter or gallop has to do 

 far more work than the non-leading fore leg, the judicious 

 horseman will have his saddle animals broken to lead indif- 

 ferently with either fore leg, so that one of the two may 

 not become prematurely worn out. 



To meet the exigencies of practical work in the field 

 and the requirements of different kinds of riders, I think 

 it is well to provide, as far as possible, against mistakes 

 being made by the horse on receiving imperfect signals. 

 For instance, the horse which has been trained according 

 to the precepts of the " high school," will simply turn his 

 head round to the side on which he feels the pull of the 

 rein. Agreeably to the principles of breaking for every- 

 day use, which I am trying to explain in this chapter, I 

 maintain that the fact of the horse answering the lateral 

 feeling of the rein only with his head and neck serves no 

 useful purpose ; but that the habit of his obeying it with 

 his hind-quarters as well as with his head and neck is most 



