Further Training 250 



when ridden to maintain a high carriage of the 

 head in turning and circHng, and to incHne it in the 

 direction in which he is moving. It is taught by 

 raising the horse's head and pulHng it round from 

 side to side. Enthusiasts claim that no horse will 

 turn properly unless he has been through a course 

 of this exercise, but we may take it that this bigoted 

 view will not stand examination ; most of us having 

 ridden extremely handy animals whose trainers 

 had never so much as heard the word flexion. 



The great objection to specifying any length of 

 time for w^orking on foot is that we are not giving 

 the horse any lesson in his most important duty, 

 which is to balance himself with a weight on his 

 back, although having learnt to move bridled with 

 his head high will eventually make this easier for 

 him; nor are we taking any steps to develop the 

 muscles that are needed for carrying weight. The 

 whip, even in the hands of an expert, cannot have 

 the same educational value as the application of the 

 leg. 



If the trainer works mounted, he can raise the 

 horse's head by raising his hands and pressing with 

 his legs, and if it is required he can bring the nose 



