The Hand. 33 



the latter position. By a hard-mouthed horse 

 is consequently meant a horse which, either 

 from natural make or from long habit, finds 

 it easy to do this; and by a light-mouthed 

 horse, a horse which finds it difficult or im- 

 possible. 



Now it is obvious that, the more a horse 

 draws in his nose towards his chest, the more 

 directly the bit will press across his bars, and 

 that, the more he thrusts out or throws up his 

 nose, the more the bit will slip up towards the 

 corners of his mouth. In other words, the 

 horse's mouth will become sensitive or callous 

 to the bit in proportion as he withdraws or 

 protrudes his nose. A horse which always 

 carries his neck curved and his head vertical 

 will therefore be always light in hand ; and a 

 horse which can contrive always to carry his 

 neck stiff and his head horizontal may defy 

 any horseman in the world to regulate his pace 

 or control his direction. 



We may, however, be thankful that there 

 is no such horse as this in existence. I have 

 already said that no horse can execute any 

 pace without stretching and relaxing his neck 

 with the action of his legs. From this it is 



