80 ANGLO-FRENCH HORSEMANSHIP 



With regard to the reins, they should be stretched 

 and long— unless the hands are pressed into the horse's 

 neck — so that the horse has the free use of his head and 

 neck, the little finger of the left hand dividing the left 

 snaffle and curb reins, the ends of which are held 

 between the first and second fingers, whilst the two 

 right reins pass between the thumb and first finger and 

 fall through the palm of the hand. The left hand 

 should be near the body, whilst the right hand takes a 

 shorter hold of the reins, if necessary, when riding at 

 the fence, but the rule that the reins should act 

 primarily on the neck alone still applies, and it is 

 easier to keep a horse straight and back on his hocks 

 with a long rein than with a short one. 



With regard to the hunting seat, the rider should 

 have the stirrup leathers of such a length that he can 

 clear the pommel of the saddle when standing up in the 

 stirrups, and he should as much as possible avoid 

 gripping the horse with the thighs and legs, as continued 

 pressure dulls sensibility. 



The horse's action, shape, balance and driving 

 powers mainly fix the length of the leathers, and the 

 part of the saddle on which the rider should sit when 

 riding over a country. It is by balancing himself on 

 his seat bones that a rider best maintains his position 

 in the saddle, and horses go better with men who sit 

 loose though steadily, than with those who are always 

 squeezing them : they also balance themselves better, 

 and are much freer in their movements ; the rider 

 should therefore keep his limbs and hands supple and 

 avoid any contraction of the muscles,* except when he 



* This applies to all forms of recreations ; muscles should be 

 elastic and firm, not hard and wooden, and conditioning exercises 

 should be carefully chosen to secure this ; dumb-bells, for 

 instance, do more good if they are not tightly gripped. Success 



