50 Horse and Man. 



or increase his pace. When the rider closes 

 one leg the. horse will instinctively shift his 

 croup or step aside in the opposite direction if 

 he was previously standing still, and will in- 

 stinctively traverse or sidle in the opposite di- 

 rection if he was previously advancing. The 

 use of the legs, in short, depends upon this 

 simple truth that whenever you touch your 

 horse's flanks, he will promptly throw his 

 weight the other way. / 



It must however be remembered, that the 

 use of the legs will be of no advantage what- 

 ever unless it is combined with that of the 

 bridle. The horseman who drives his horse 

 forward without knowing how to keep him in 

 hand is getting up steam without having pro- 

 vided a rudder, and will find that, the more the 

 animal is roused to exert himself, the more 

 headstrong and unmanageable he becomes. 

 The horse is excited by the pressure of the 

 legs to throw his weight forward, and the in- 

 elastic hand of the rider is overpowered by 

 the sudden impulse which it is thus re- 

 quired to support. The consequence is that 

 the horse begins to bore heavily upon his 

 shoulders, and unless pulled short up will pro- 

 bably attempt to run away. 



