40 Horse and Man. 



by the weight of the bust instead of by the 

 play of the arms. No man can give and take 

 as he ought while he is being jolted about in 

 his saddle, nor yet while his body is hanging 

 upon, and supported by, his bridle. The 

 former difficulty you can only overcome by 

 patiently working yourself into a perfectly 

 smooth and steady seat before you attempt 

 to manage your bridle. The latter you must 

 avoid by carefully keeping your arms detached 

 from your body, and allowing them to play 

 freely in the air with the pull and yield of 

 your horse's mouth. 



Do not be deluded by the indiscriminate 

 praise usually bestowed upon a light bridle 

 hand. A light hand is a good thing, but only 

 when it is effective as well as light. The first 

 merit of the hand is to command the horse ; 

 the second is to do so without unnecessarily an- 

 noying him. Nor ought the hand to be light 

 when the horse resists it. A hand which 

 is always light will be as ineffective as a hand 

 which is always heavy. The hand of a horse- 

 man should resemble the tempetf of a com- 

 mander pleasant while obeyed, formidable if 

 disobeyed. Nobody cares for the man who 



