230 MOUNTED BREAKING. 



horse ; for it detracts from the beauty of his action in the 

 paces in question, and interferes with his handiness and 

 speed. The more a horse, at the canter or gallop, carries 

 his head to the side opposite to that of the leading fore 

 leg, the more will he be inclined to bring his hind-quarters 

 round to the other side. Hence, to obviate this objection- 

 able tendency, we should bend the animal's head slightly 

 to the side of the leading fore leg. The best means for 

 correcting this fault, if for instance it is apparent when 

 he leads with the near fore, is frequent practice at turning 

 on the forehand (see page 212) to the left, and passaging 

 (see page 273) to the right ; and vice versa. 



I may repeat that, when mounted, we should handle the 

 reins as nearly as possible in the same manner as we did 

 the long reins, while circling the horse on foot. 



THE HALT. 



If we examine the anatomy of the horse, we shall find that 

 the fore legs, being connected to the body by muscles, 

 are far better able to bear the shock of weight suddenly 

 imposed on them than the hind limbs, which are attached 

 to the body by ligaments. We see that the fore pastern 

 is more oblique than the hind, and that the bones from 

 elbow to fetlock are practically straight when bearing 

 the weight of the body, while the analogous column of 

 bones of the hind extremity, from stifle to fetlock, are more 

 or less bent at the hock under similar conditions. In normal 

 jumping, the weight of horse and rider is received by both 

 of the fore legs before either of the hind limbs come to the 

 ground. The attempt of the rider to interfere with this 

 natural sequence by means of a severe bit will often be 

 followed by sprain of one or both of the hind legs. Horses 

 which are moving at liberty in the open, will, if they 



