28 MODERN HORSEMANSHIP. 



rider's legs : if the speed is to be reduced, the legs 

 must first act, and then the hand ; if the speed is to 

 be increased, the horse must first be united, the 

 legs must then demand increased impulses from the 

 hind-quarters and the hand give such liberty of 

 action as the desired rate of speed requires. 



To bring the horse to a halt from the trot, it 

 must first be brought to a walk, the rider closing his 

 legs against the animal's sides, and drawing in the 

 reins until the pace is reduced to a walk, and then 

 in the same manner brinorinof the horse to a full 

 stop, when the hand will release the tension upon 

 the reins, and the legs be withdrawn from the 

 horse's sides. This action of the rider's legs pre- 

 ceding the increased tension upon the reins is to 

 keep the animal collected, and to prevent its coming 

 to a sudden halt or going to the rear. If a nervous 

 horse is irritated by the pressure of the legs, it must 

 be brought to bear it with complacency ; and, al- 

 though the severer forms of the aid are very seldom 

 required, all horses can and should be taught to 

 take an attack from the sharp rowels of the spur 

 without showing resentment or any increased action 

 that cannot easily be restrained by the hand. Many 

 accidents have occurred throuQrh an inadvertent 

 scratch of the spur given to a badly trained horse, 

 and it is often just as the rider's seat is imperilled 



