96 MODERN HORSEMANSHIP. 



Whatever faults may be admitted in a saddle horse, 

 weakness in the back or croup should not be one of 

 them ; for, as I have said, any defects may be 

 remedied to a certain extent, but one must have 

 carrying and driving power in a horse to obtain 

 really good results ; and, while a horse weak in the 

 loins or in the hind-quarters may be improved and 

 strengthened, it can never be brought to compete 

 with one that has not these faults. 



If the horse be high and strong in the forehand, 

 and low and weak in the croup, the forehand must 

 be lowered, and the forces of the croup must be 

 brought forward, until the forces of the extremities 

 meet in union and balance, or the action of the 

 hind-quarters will be languid, and that part will be 

 a drag upon the forehand. 



If the horse be low or weak in the forehand, 

 and high in the hind-quarters, the forehand must 

 be elevated, its forces drawn back, and the hind- 

 legs must be brought under the mass until the croup 

 is sufficiently lowered to give balance and equal 

 powers to the forces of the extremities. 



Any position of the horse in which an extremity 

 throws too much weight against the other must be 

 avoided. Thus, as is often the case when the rider 

 mounts, if the hind-legs are thrust out so that they 

 are braced against the forehand, they must be 



