114 Manual of Equitation and Horse Training 



the rear, as well as any displacement of the legs forward 

 or of the hands in the air or to the rear. 



Suppleness on horseback is the result of seat and 

 steadiness, together with pliancy of the loin; it is the 

 chief quality which allows the rider to seemingly be part 

 of his horse at all variations of the gaits ; it is this that is 

 called "going with the horse". 



The laws of balance and the mechanism of the gaits 

 require the rider, in jumping, not to overweight the parts 

 at work, that is the hindquarters, seat of impulsion, at the 

 moment of taking off, and the forehand which acts to 

 steady the mass at the moment of landing. 



Finally and above all, the play of the neck being as 

 much more pronounced as the gait is slower and the leap 

 more violent, for the horse to use all his strength and for 

 his mouth not to suffer from the least awkwardness it is 

 necessary that the rider's hand give the head freedom in 

 accordance with the energy of the extension. The more 

 the ground is difficult, the obstacles varied and serious, 

 the reactions violent and unexpected, the less easy it is to 

 apply these rules, especially as the necessities of the 

 maneuver or evolutions render their use still more delicate 

 by limiting the initiative and independence of the trooper. 



Whatever be the gait employed, the rider in approach- 

 ing the obstacle steadies his legs, increasing their pressure 

 if necessary to assure impulsion. He inclines the body 

 slightly forward, the buttocks remaining in the saddle; the 

 hands held low, accompanying the movements of the neck, 

 the fingers open, if necessary, to allow the horse to make 

 use of his head and neck. 



Riding thus, the horse having impulsion and being well 

 inclosed between steady legs and long-stretched reins, the 

 rider might be said to turn his horse loose in the "chute" 

 of the aids, and he is placed for jumping under the best 

 conditions. 



In conclusion, without attempting to cover the thou- 

 sand cases which real practice in out-of-door riding will 

 reveal, a formula which sums up the best attitude for the 

 rider in jumping is the following: Don't jump before the 

 horse, nor after the horse, but jump with the horse. 



Individual combat. — The value of the trooper in indi- 

 vidual combat is a function of the training of his horse. 



