90 Modern Riding and Horse Education 



The importance of horse-balance will be dealt with 

 fully in the section on horse-training, but some men- 

 tion of it is necessary here, as the rider of an ill- 

 balanced horse must perforce use his hands very 

 much more than would otherwise be the case, and 

 thus run the chance of upsetting the animal by dis- 

 turbing his mouth. The power of the hand is also 

 to a great extent regulated by the balance of the 

 horse. Adams puts this very graphically, and sug- 

 gests the experiment of standing in an upright posi- 

 tion and letting some one place a tape round your 

 forehead and hold the ends. If he pulls you can 

 offer no resistance: you are similarly placed to a 

 well-balanced horse. Now lower your head, bend 

 your body, and place one foot out behind, and in this 

 position you will be able to resist the man with the 

 tape. 



More pain can be given to a horse by the bridle 

 than by the whip or the spurs. The mucous mem- 

 brane lining the mouth is naturally more sensitive 

 than the outer hide, and the bones of the head are 

 more thinly covered with flesh. A tired horse in a 

 cart will move into a trot if jobbed severely in the 

 mouth, long after the whip has failed to stimulate 



