VIII 



HANDS 



pullers: how they are made — proper position of hands — 

 how to hold the reins hands when jumping 



lY good " hands " is meant that sensitiveness 

 of touch in the manipulation of the reins 

 which pulls not an ounce more than is actu- 

 ally needful. It is an axiom of the hunting- 

 field that " Pulling hands make pulling horses," or " A 

 dull hand makes a dull mouth." 



" I never pull at my horse's mouth," says a friend of 

 mine, " but all my horses are pullers. I don't under- 

 stand it." 



The trouble with my friend is that he is dull of touch. 

 When he shakes hands with you he nearly crushes your 

 bones, yet he is entirely unconscious of doing so. I have 

 often remonstrated with him, but, I fear, to no purpose. 

 Ladies shun him rather than endure the ordeal of a grip 

 of his unfeeling paw. 



Touch is a question as much for horsemen as for 

 pianists, and almost as difficult to attain in perfection 

 by one as by the other. In horsemanship we can 

 learn from the lady rider a most valuable lesson. Her 



