70 THE ART OF 



The action of changing the track in mov- 

 ing, or of placing the horse on another foot, 

 is called changing the hand. To execute 

 these changes well, you must round your 

 hand a little, and carry it on the side you wish 

 to go, assisting the horse at the same time on 

 that side, and sustaining him lightly with the 

 other ; all this should be done with precision, 

 without shakinor and without retarding the 

 gait of the horse. Many persons, are in the 

 custom of alternately passing the reins and 

 the whip from one hand to the other at each 

 change, but this practice is not necessary, 

 above all to beginners, as it would serve but 

 to increase the embarrassment that they 

 generally experience when it is necessary for 

 them to change the hand. 



It is by the assistance of these changes 

 frequently repeated, as well as stops and half 

 stops, that a rider will easily attain the pos- 

 session of a good hand, that he will accustom 

 a new horse to go with both hands, and exe- 

 cute without difficulty or embarrassment, all 

 the evolutions that he will desire. 



The narrow limits of this manuel will per- 

 mit me to give but a circumscribed extent to 

 each of its parts. I believe I must terminate 



