THE AIDS. 11 



DIRECTIONS TO WALK. 



The rider must urge his horse to walk, by the 

 pressure of both his legs, and feeling the horse's 

 mouth equally with both reins, at one and the same 

 time.* Tliis simultaneous application of hand and leg 

 is the essential groundwork of good horsemanship. It 

 is begun and continued throughout every pace of the 

 horse ; and without it there never will be good riding 

 on the part of the rider, nor collected action on the 

 part of the horse. 



In walking straight forward, the bearing upon the 

 horse's mouth is made by turning up the little finger 

 inwardly and gently towards the breast, from the 

 action of the wrist alone, the hand remaining well 

 closed upon the reins. As the rider attains perfection, 

 this movement of the hand will almost become imper- 

 ceptible to the spectator ; but a considerable time, and 

 much practice, will be necessary to acquire a perfectly 

 elastic feeling of the hand upon the mouth of the 

 horse. An excellent illustration of the feeling that 



* In cavalry lessons the reins are slackened. See inj'ra, upon the 

 objection to the movement in the breaking in of the colt. 



