HORSE CONTROL 85 



itscir contril)utc.s greatly to the modilicutions Avhich 

 the aids bring about in the balance ol the horse. It 

 is accordingly necessary to warn the rider not to oppose 

 the movements of the horse by a bad distribution of 

 his own weight, but, on the contrary, to assist them by 

 ])laeing his weight so as to favour the direction desired. 

 In the walk, in the halt, in turning, and in the side 

 movements, the rider, by carrying his weight on to the 

 buttocks or thighs in the direction of the movement, can 

 accordingly simplify and hasten the obedience of the 

 horse. Whilst sufHciently clearly marked in the break- 

 ing of young horses, these displacements of the seat 

 should become less and less marked as the training 

 advances, and in the High School of Riding it reduces 

 itself to simple pressure on the stirrup. 



Lateral and diagonal aids — Lateral and diagonal effects. 

 — In instruction, in order to shorten the explana- 

 tions, the aids should be considered either from the 

 point of view of the various combinations, which result 

 from the association of both hands and both legs, or 

 from the point of view of the direction of their action, 

 that is to say, of the effects produced. 



When the determining aids are applied on the same 

 side of the horse, for example the right leg and the 

 right rein, they are called lateral aids. When, on the 

 other hand, one is applied on the right side and 

 the other on the left side of the horse, for exam2:)le the 

 left leg and the right rein, they are called diagonal aids. 



If one considers the direction in which the reins 

 act, lateral effect describes every action of the hand, 

 right, for example, acting on the right side of the horse ; 

 e.g. direct rein — opened rein — and the direct rein of 

 opposition. On the other hand, diagonal effect in- 

 cludes every action of the hand, right, for exam2)le, 



