8o MODERN HORSEMANSHIP. 



made obedient to the applications of the spurs, 

 the rider may collect the forces of the extremi- 

 ties and take control of the mass.^ 



The face of the horse should always be about 

 perpendicular to the plane of movement, but the 

 chin should never be drawn in so much that the 

 face makes less than a right angle with the plane 

 of movement : and the height at which the head 

 should be carried will depend upon the make 

 of the animal. When we come to describe the 

 various processes for suppling the forehand, it 

 will be seen that some of the exercises are em- 

 ployed to make the horse lower the head, others 

 to induce its elevation. These exercises give 

 to the rider the power of demanding the proper 

 carriacre of the head from the mounted horse. 



o 



1 The theory of that excellent horseman, Mons. de Bussigny, is that the 

 resistances of the horse depend upon the rigidity of the muscles of the back, 

 and that by overcoming this we obtain suppleness and obedience throughout ; 

 but, while there can be no doubt that a rigid back makes a rigid and dis- 

 obedient horse, the head and neck should be suppled and disciplined to the 

 hand, for there may be local resistances as well as general. I have seen the 

 horses of Bedouins so supple under the saddle that the back would bend like 

 a piece of well-tempered steel, making the movements of the animals very 

 light and elastic ; but the jaw and neck were stiff, and badly carried, and 

 the severe bit, acting upon the unyielding parts, often threw the pace into 

 disorder, and caused changes of leg, cross gallops, etc. The Bedouins I saw 

 (Sheik Salach Terif's troupe) were brought to Europe for the purpose of 

 giving exhibitions, and I presume that they were fair representatives of 

 Eastern horsemen. As far as control over the actions of the horse is con- 

 cerned, there was nothing shown that could compare with the results of 

 European training ; and I take it that the horsemanship of the Arab of the 

 East and of the cow-boy of the West (each admirable perhaps in its way) are 

 equally unsuited to our requirements. 



