GOING LEVEL. 51 



The rule, taught by experience, of holding the 

 hands, when riding, and especially when galloping, 

 just below the withers, is in entire agreement with 

 this fact. 



If the rider's hands be unduly raised, so as to 

 make the horse carry his head too high, there will 

 be too much weight put on the hind-quarters. 



As a point of interest, I may state that, under 

 ordinary circumstances, when a horse begins to tire 

 in his gallop, he will, instead of " going level," 

 throw increased weight on his forehand, and his 

 croup, when his hind-quarters make their stroke, 

 will become more and more raised. To accurately 

 express this " dwelling on his stride," we may say, 

 that as the horse becomes fatigued, the forward 

 motion becomes, proportionately, converted into one 

 of rotation, the chief cause of this being that the 

 weight of the rider falls principally on the forehand. 

 Hence, we find that, at the finish of a race, a good 

 jockey "sits down" in his saddle, "catches a good 

 hold " of the animal's head, and holds his hands a 



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