90 NOTES ON EQUITATION 



lengthen itself according as the face approaches or departs 

 from the vertical. 



The head, when drawn back, should bend the neck 

 without breaking* it; when extended forward, it should 

 stretch the neck without raising it. When the horse is 

 posed in this manner, the reins will retain full power and 

 both the front and hind legs will cooperate in any move- 

 ments, either lengthened or shortened, that the rider may 

 exact." fCoiint D^Aure). 



Different Positions of the Head. "In order that he may feel 

 with uniformity the touch of his rider's hand and in order 

 not to impede his breathing, the horse's face should be set a 

 little forward of the vertical. This position should be taken 

 for ordinary gaits and for simple and regular movements. 



The more we wish to shorten the gait, the more the 

 face should approach the vertical plane; on the other hand, 

 the more we wish to increase the speed, the more the face 

 should depart from this plane. 



In these last two cases the position of the head may al- 

 so be considered as normal since the gaits depend thereon. 



The head may assume a faulty position; that is to say, 

 (me too near or too far from the vertical; this may be due 

 to defective conformation of the forehand, faulty fitting of 

 the bit, undue sensitiveness of the chin groove or bars, or 

 finally, and this is most frequently the case when horses 

 throw the nose into the air, to a defect in the conformation 

 of some part of the hind quarters. 



These faulty positions can be combatted by the rider 

 not only by a judicious use of the aids, but by a careful 

 selection of the bit, an attentive fitting in the mouth and a 

 studied adjustment of the curb chain", f Count B^AureJ. 



Influence of Conformation. All horses cannot be ridden in 

 tlie same manner. General principles of conduct and train- 



* The bend should be near the poll; the rest of the neck 

 remains practically the same in all positions, or as it is 

 called, "unbroken." 



