108 ANGLO-FRENCH HORSEMANSHIP 



and to bring his hind legs well under him, and then 

 withdraw themselves and allow the hands to make 

 such use of the forward impulse as they like. 



Trained on this system, a horse goes, freely and 

 without hesitation, forward when he feels the touch of the 

 legs. He arches his neck and collects himself on to his 

 hocks when he feels a gentle tension on the reins, and 

 collects himself and stops when he finds himself 

 enclosed between the bit and the rider's legs or spurs. 

 He consequently goes kindly, and has no doubt in his 

 mind as to what is wanted of him. Under Rancher's 

 system, there is no need for the reins to be absolutely 

 slack when the legs are in use ; the mouth should still 

 be gently felt, the reins being slightly eased, but the 

 hands must be absolutely passive and the grip of the 

 fingers relaxed. In the same way, whilst the hands are 

 working on the impulses of the horse, the thighs and 

 legs should be quite still and uncontracted, only just 

 touching the saddle, ready to stimulate his energy again 

 the moment the hand finds it has not sufficient forward 

 impulse to direct, or that the hind legs are not suffi- 

 ciently under the body. A horse trained thus is also a 

 perfect lady's hack, the lady having simply to press 

 back her left leg, and then stimulate the horse with her 

 whip, until he is sufficiently animated, when the leg is 

 withdrawn, and the hand brings a certain amount of 

 the forward impulse gently back and so balances the 

 horse and cadences his action. 



Ability to work a horse on these principles only 

 comes after long practice, as it requires exceedingly 

 delicate use of both hands and legs, and a balance on 

 the horse's back quite independent of any assistance 

 from either. 



As a practical example of the application of the 

 principle of " mains sans jambes," etc., we may take 

 the changing of the pace from the ordinary trot to the 

 passage. After the horse has been stimulated with the 



