THE HANDS 



horse. When a perfectly docile 

 animal is ridden and which is 

 completely submissive to the 

 rider's mastery, the left hand will 

 quite w^ell suffice. But w^here 

 great care is necessary, either be- 

 cause of the horse or of the roads, 

 holding the reins in the two hands 

 is safest. 



Youthful riders, because of 

 their small hands, should always 

 take the reins in the tw^o hands; 

 and w^omen riders usually find 

 this manner of holding the reins 

 the most satisfactory. Experi- 

 enced riders follow^ both meth- 

 ods, changing from one to the 

 other as the mood comes on them. 



The hands are employed to 

 keep the horse in subjection, and 

 43 



