THE HANDS — THE LEGS. 275 



the elbow close to the side. The old custom of turning 

 the knuckles upward, without giving more power, throws 

 the elbow awa}^ from the aide, and gives the rider an un- 

 graceful appearance. If the horse has been trained as de- 

 scribed in the chapter on Baucher's method, he may be 

 best ridden with the curb-rein alone ; the rein of the 

 snaffle, being slackened only a few inches, may be easily 

 drawn up at pleasure when it is necessary to give the horse 

 a more firm support. 



" Lightness of hand," about which much is said, is really 

 B. firmness; and, except with delicately formed and perfectly 

 trained horses, a light hold of the bit is not only danger- 

 ous, but is injurious to the perfect action of the horse. On 

 the road the rider should always maintain his horse's head 

 in a perpendicular position ; this requires the rein to be 

 drawn to a certain point, at which it should be constantly 

 kept, unless it be necessary to slacken the pace. The 

 horse will soon learn that it is only Avithin this limit that 

 he can be free from the pain caused by the pressure of the 

 bit, and, by keeping his mouth just within it, he will ren- 

 der the hold a light one ; but, should he attempt to pass 

 beyond it, he should find his rider's hand as firm and un- 

 yielding- as iron. When in this position the horse is ex- 

 tremely sensitive to the least movement of the rider's hand, 

 and by an awkward motion he may be thrown upon his 

 haunches, or at least interrupted and confused in his gait. 



The Legs. — The legs are no less important in guiding 

 and assisting the horse in his movements than are the 

 hands, for his chauges of direction, and indeed his every 

 action is no more dependent on his fore parts, which are 

 controlled by the hands, than on the hind parts which are 

 controlled entirely by the legs. A uniform j)ressure of 

 both legs tends to bring the horse's hind feet forward, or 

 to give a forward motion to his body. The pressure of 



