38 PARK EIDING- 



You must never allow the ascendancy of the 

 hand to be transferred to the mouth. If a horse 

 hangs on the bit in hand, he is said by horsemen 

 to be making use of his fifth leg. 



The hand directs the reins, the reins operate 

 upon the branches of the bit, the branches upon 

 the mouthpiece and the curb, the mouthpiece 

 operates upon the bars, and the curb upon the 

 chin of the horse. The horse works by will of 

 rider and in union with the hand. The fingers 

 are sufficient to position the hand, in a well-broke 

 horse. You should work altogether like a piece 

 of machinery. It is true, that the hand and the 

 heels are all that is required to make a perfect 

 horse, but there are other things required to 

 make him perfectly obedient to the hand and 

 heels. A horse must be wrought upon more by 

 proper and frequent lessons, than by the heels, 

 that he may know and even thi7i1c upon what he 

 ought to do, and we have the authority of the 

 philosopher Des Cartes for saying that horses do 

 think. 



