96 CAVALRY HORSEMANSHIP 



the quarters and hocks impeded in their action ; the 

 displacements of the hind quarters will become 

 restricted, unequal, and irregular, and, in consequence, 

 the pace will lose both speed and regularity. 



If the neck is too low, the shoulders being over- 

 weighted \^all make the horse heavy in hand and his 

 control difficult ; the hind quarters also, although 

 apparently more free, will not function any the better 

 for being freed from the weight which they naturally 

 should carry ; they will be too far away from the 

 centre of gravity, and so place the hind legs behind the 

 body. 



The hind quarters, when too free of the weight 

 they ought to carry in a proper distribution of weight, 

 are no longer able to play the part which they should 

 in locomotion, that is to say to assist the paces by 

 keeping up the impulsion. The neck should not 

 therefore be either too high or too low : it shortens 

 or lengthens itself in proportion as the head leaves the 

 vertical line. By drawing itself in, the head should 

 bend the neck at the nape without lowering it ; by 

 reaching out it should stretch the neck without raising 

 it. The horse being thus placed, the reins will retain 

 all their power, the fore legs as well as the hind legs 

 will co-ordinate their action in the movements, whether 

 extended or cadenced, as the rider demands. 



Nevertheless, when fixing the position of the neck, 

 one must take into consideration the manner in which 

 it is naturally attached to the body. Certain riders are 

 mistaken in insisting on a marked elevation of the neck, 

 in the case of horses which have naturally a low 

 carriage of the head. The hand, by acting thus, 

 arrests the impulsive forces, and, by insisting on an 

 attitude unsuitable to the conformation of the horse, 



