CHAPTER IV. 



SUPPLING AND COLLECTING. THE UNION AND 



BALANCE OF THE FORCES. 



THE resistances of the horse depend upon the 

 rigidity of the muscles of the head, neck 

 and back, whether intentional or due to confor- 

 mation. When, by cultivating the instinctive 

 actions that follow the application of the bit and 

 spur, we have brought the horse to obey every 

 application of the aids, we can overcome the faults 

 due to the natural conformation by giving an 

 artificial carriage suited to the circumstances, and 

 we can depend upon the animal yielding its will 

 to the demands of the rider. For example, the 

 first impulse of the horse upon the touch of the 

 bit is to yield the jaw ; the second impulse is to 

 avoid the restraint and to pull against the bit 

 We can cultivate the first impulse until the horse 

 instinctively answers the slightest touch of the 

 bit, or we can make the mouth hard and rigid. 

 The first impulse at the touch of the spur is to 



