S6 ANGLO-FRENCH HORSEMANSHIP 



bit. and ease his feelings ; if in his excitement he throws 

 his quarters out, it is advisable to bring the shoulders 

 into line with them, using the pressure of the outside 

 reins against the middle of the neek, and not to force 

 the quarters back with the leg ; an excitable horse 

 should in fact be managed almost entirely with the reins, 

 and the legs should be kept perfectly still. 



Captain Caubert maintains that the secret of light 

 hands and a good mouth lies in the position of the 

 rider's body, the upper part of which should be inclined 

 slight!}^ forward of the v^ertical so that he can keep his 

 balance and " follow " the mouth, should the horse 

 make an unexpected movement. When resisting a 

 horse by closing the fingers on the reins I certainly 

 find it better to tuck the seat bones under and drop the 

 upper part of the body over the hands, than to throw 

 the shoulders back as generally recommended, but we 

 must be careful to keep the eyes up when curling over 

 the hands. Generally, I think, we may say that good 

 hands are shown by the opportune and right combina- 

 tion of the aids of the legs, hands, body and seat ; 

 not by weakly yielding to every solicitation on the part 

 of the horse for fear of upsetting his temper. A man 

 who wishes to become a good horseman and to give his 

 horse good manners will risk this, and firmly check 

 every effort of the horse to gain the upper hand, whilst 

 yielding to him the moment he shows inclination to obey. 



When the rider wishes to stop his horse or reduce 

 the pace, he should raise the hands, close the fingers 

 on the reins (the right hand, if necessary, being placed 

 in front of the left and gripping the bit reins strongly), 

 press the horse against the bit with the turned in knees, 

 instead of pulling the bit against the mouth : the reins 

 should only act through the impulsion stimulated by the 



