POSITION OF THE HANDS. 227 



withers, the greater will be the tendency of the mouth-piece 

 to slip off the bars of the mouth and come on to the corners 

 of the mouth, in which case the snaffle will act improperly. 

 Hence, in two-handed riding, we may safely accept the 

 old rule of holding the snaffle reins with one hand on each 

 side of the withers, or as little above the withers as practic- 

 able. If the horse gets his head too low down, we 

 should naturally raise the hands, in order to place it in 

 correct position, which can be determined only from the 

 manner the animal carries himself. However high the horse 

 holds his head, we cannot conveniently bring our hands lower 

 down than three or four inches below the withers. Any 

 attempt in this direction will rarely be of use ; because it will 

 generally result in irritating the horse to resistance. The 

 better plan, when practicable, would be to slacken out the 

 reins for a few moments, in which case the horse, finding his 

 head free, will generally bring it down of his own accord into 

 proper position. For purposes of control and guidance, it 

 is best as a rule to hold the hands eight or nine inches apart. 

 When only one hand is employed, it should work as nearly as 

 possible directly over the withers, so that an even feeling may 

 be kept on both sides of the mouth. Whether one or both 

 hands are used, it or they should be allowed to fall loosely 

 from the wrists, with the line of the knuckles at an angle of 

 about 45 with the ground. As the muscles of the neck 

 draw the fore limbs forward, we shall, by keeping the hands 

 " down," generally aid in preventing the animal from going 

 too high in front, and thereby shortening his stride. 



As the tendency of the curb is to make a horse carry his 

 head too low, the hands, when manipulating that bit, need not 

 as a rule be held so low down as with a snaffle. 



IS* 



