72 HORSES 



If on your ride you are not likely to encounter a 

 gate, then carry only a plain stick, or a whip with- 

 out a hook. 



• ••••• 



The bridle is a most important instrument to a 

 horseman, and it therefore deserves rather more 

 attention than we have hitherto devoted to it. In 

 conjunction with a pressure of the legs, the bridle 

 is the medium which conveys our wishes to the 

 horse. 



Some perhaps may imagine it possible to 

 stop a horse by the mere strength of arm, 

 but if they will only give the matter a moment's 

 thought, they will see that when seated on a 

 moving object you have no power to arrest its 

 progress. You could just as easily expect to 

 stop a boat in which you were a passenger by 

 hauling on the painter. I am not sufficiently 

 learned in the subject to describe my meaning in 

 the proper scientific language, but we must all of us 

 have enough sense to know that, to exert any power 

 of leverage, a fulcrum is necessary. When on the 

 back of a horse, the only medium by which we can 

 establish a fulcrum with the earth is through 

 our body to the animal's hind feet. This power 

 is, however, very small, but for that reason we 

 must make the most of it and use it to the best 

 advantage. 



Now we cannot expect a horse to walk about on 

 his hind legs, and each of his fore feet must in turn 

 touch the ground eventually if he is to make any 



