24 Manual of Equitation and Horse Training 



The half halt is a brief energetic action of the hands 

 which the rider executes with the fingers closed on the 

 reins by twisting the wrist quickly, from below upward 

 and from front to rear, without losing contact with the 

 mouth. It is used to slow up horses that are too ambitious, 

 or to carry to the rear the excess of weight that some 

 badly balanced horses allow to come on the shoulders. It 

 is effected according to need, on one rein, on two together, 

 on the snaffle, or on the curb. The hand should regulate 

 the power of its action by the resistance of weight which 

 it meets. 



Vibration is a light playing or shaking given on one 

 rein, sometimes on two at once. It is given, like the half 

 halt, on the snaffle or on the curb; it may last one or sev- 

 eral seconds, and is strong or weak according to the resis- 

 tance met. It is used to destroy the muscular contractions 

 of the jaw which the horse opposes, instinctively or volun- 

 tarily, to the action of the bits. 



(6) The hands control, also, the position of the fore- 

 hand. The reins act by the mouth on the head, neck, and 

 shoulders; they permit the displacement of the head with 

 respect to the neck, the neck with respect to the shoulders, 

 the shoulders with respect to the haunches. They may 

 even act indirectly on the haunches by giving the shoulders 

 such a position that the haunches are obliged to change 

 direction; which is called "opposing the shoulders of the 

 haunches." 



These different effects depend on the direction given 

 to the tension on the rein, according to whether the hand 

 is carried more or less forward or to the rear, right or left, 

 high or low. 



One may group the several actions of the hand into 

 five principal series, but it is merely a purely theoretical 

 division which facilitates the study of the aids in instruc- 

 tion; between the extreme positions forward and to the 

 right, rear and right, forward and left, and rear and left, 

 there are a multitude of positions among which the rider 

 will find the proper one as much more promptly as he will 

 have more knowlege, experience, and tact. 1 



1. (a) In carrying the right hand to the right, the 



1 These principal actions are those which were taught at the School 

 of Versailles. They were transmitted to the Cavalry School by Comte 

 d'Aure and made generally known by Gen. J. de BenQift, 



