36 MODERN HORSEMANSHIP. 



jaw pliant, and the hand should find the same 

 elastic touch in pulling upon the reins as it would 

 were they fastened to a light wand. Any fault in 

 the carriagfe or in the action of a horse can be 

 corrected : if the forehand is too low the hind-legs 

 must be brought under the mass ; if the hind- 

 quarters are hampered by the forehand, the latter 

 must be lowered and the forces of the croup should 

 be brought forward only so far as to establish the 

 balance between the extremities. If the hind-legs 

 are carried forward beyond a certain point, the 

 croup is lowered and the forces of the forehand 

 predominate. 



As long as the balance between the extremi- 

 ties is maintained, the pace can be the trot. But 

 when the point of balance is violently shifted, the 

 diagonally disposed legs cannot work in unison, and 

 the horse must take some form of the gallop, in 

 which the legs are placed one after the other under 

 the centre of gravity. 



In the gallop the horse at each stride goes 

 into air from a fore-leg ; then the opposite hind- 

 leg is carried under the centre of gravity and 

 planted ; then the other hind-leg is brought to 

 the ground ; then the fore-leg opposite to this last- 

 named hind-leg ; and, finally, the other fore-leg, from 

 which the horse again goes into air in a new stride. 



