RIDING AND TRAINING. 57 



a load with his mouth. But the moment the groom 

 has hooked up the light curb chain of the riding bit 

 and the owner has mounted, the whole appearance 

 and expression of the creature changes ; he pulls 

 himself together, bringing his feet well under him, 

 arches his neck, yielding his head to the slightest 

 pull of the rein, and obeying the wish of the 

 rider almost, as it seems, before the wish is ex- 

 pressed, by a motion of the heel and the needle 

 prick of the spur, or a gentle touch of the silk- 

 tipped whip. 



' The movements of the animal are as different 

 from those of the farmer's gig-horse, that he would 

 have been had not fate marked him out to receive 

 a higher education, as the movements of one who 

 has passed with profit through the gymnasium, the 

 drill-ground, and the dancing-school are from those 

 of a lumpish country lout. Alidor's neck and limbs 

 are now, as the result of his training, remarkably 

 supple ; the least tightening of the rein will cause 

 him to bring his head round to his shoulder ; he will 

 back in circles with a serpentine motion ; he will 

 wheel round with any one of his legs for a pivot that 

 the rider chooses ; he " traverses" in the passage 

 action and executes demi-voltes and repeats reversed 

 pirouettes with unfailing readiness and ease. Then 

 to show his "form," he will advance with the stately 



