i.] FIT FOR COMMON RIDING. 13 



receives no aid from a pull in the mouth with a piece of 

 iron, or a blow with a whip, or a kick in the side with an 

 armed heel, however these may indicate to him the 

 wishes or commands of his rider. I have also used the 

 term bearing on the horse's mouth instead of appui, since 

 to those who do not understand French appui will convey 

 no meaning at all, and to those who do understand 

 French it will convey the false ideas of the necessity 

 and power of the rider to support his horse. I promise 

 my pupil every aid and support from his horse. But I 

 beg him not to think of offering either aid or support 

 to his horse. I beg him to believe that the horse carries 

 the rider, and not the rider the horse. But this we will 

 discuss in another chapter. That the horse supports 

 the rider is common sense : that the rider supports the 

 horse is the common error. 



