in.] EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. 41 



horse on the proper rein, smoothness of indications, and, 

 in shortening the reins, the power of making your horse 

 collect himself, and the working together of your hands 

 and legs, are the unseen and unappreciated foundation on 

 which good riding stands. These, and not strength or 

 violence, command the horse. With these your horse will 

 rely on your hand, comply to it, and, without force on 

 your part, he will bend to your hand in every articulation. 

 Without these, however unintentionally on your part, you 

 will be perpetually subjecting him to the severest torture, 

 to defend himself against which he will resist your hand, 

 poke his nose, and stiffen his neck, and every other part 

 of his body. The horse can endure no greater torture 

 than that resulting from an uneven hand. This is 

 known to every hack-cabman. Every hack-cabman has 

 hourly experience that a job in the mouth will compel his 

 jaded slave into a trot, when the solicitations of the whip 

 have been long unanswered. 



The single case in which a jerk in the mouth is 

 admissible is when your horse is about to kick, and 



