HANDS. 577 



the head and shoulders forward. Never rise higher than 

 you need to in the trot, and the better time you keep the 

 better for both horse and rider. 



It is not possible for some men, born with a pelvis that 

 does not accommodate itself to the seat I have sketched, to 

 be pretty riders, but they acquire firm seats of a kind, and 

 learn to balance themselves. These may and do cling to 

 the saddle with the calf of the leg, but it is absolutely wrong, 

 where avoidable, as it is by men with flat or hollow thighs. 

 Such men should ride without spurs. The steadier a man 

 is in the saddle, and the more he accommodates himself to 

 the movements of his horse, and becomes, in fact, a balanced 

 part of him, the less likely he is to give him a saddle sore 

 either fore or aft. There is not the slightest need for 

 either. Yet look at the number of horses with white patches 

 on their backs ; saddle galls they are called ; they are really 

 evidences of bad horsemanship. 



HANDS. 



The bridle is the means of communication between the 

 horse and rider, and the voice is more effective than whip 

 or spur. 



The snafHe and curb reins should not be held at the 

 same length, and therefore tension, unless a horse is mis- 

 behaving. A good rider will use the curb to " make " a 

 horse, but after that process is over will very seldom find 

 necessity for it. The snaffle rein should be divided by the 

 third finger of left hand, and the curb rein should be between 

 the first and second fingers, and outside the little finger. 

 Then turn over the fist with thumb on top ; loosen the curb 

 rein an inch or two; then grasp the bunch with clenched 



