PARK RIDING. 31 



" In horsemanship the hand is everything, and 

 you can never attain perfection in the art of 

 riding, without a careful study of its use, power, 

 and effect, in the government of your horse. It 

 should be firm, quiet, and light. A fine mouth, 

 which means a sensibility in the animal to the 

 slightest motion of the reins and bit, is a distin- 

 guishing quality of a well dressed horse. When 

 the mouth is obedient to the hand, you should 

 hold your horse so slight in hand as to be able to 

 work him simply by slackening or tightening the 

 reins. The elevation or lowering of the bridle 

 operates so powerfully on the horse's mouth, that 

 either, though only varied to the extent of an 

 eighth of an inch, perceptibly acts on it and pro- 

 duces the effect of exciting or quieting him. 

 " The hand must be firm yet delicate, and should 

 never surprise the horse's mouth by any sudden 

 change from tight to slack, or from slack to 

 tight." This correspondence of action between 

 the hand of the rider and the mouth of his horse, 

 is only found in a weU-broke horse. 



