(20j 



or fteady hand whofe feeling correfponds exaftly witk 

 the feeling in the horfe's mouth, and which confifts in a 

 certain degree of ftcadinefs, which conftitutes that 

 juft correfpondence between the hand and the horfe's 

 mouth, which every horfeman wiQies to find. 



An eafy or gentle hand, I call that which, relaxing 

 a little of its ftrength and firmnefs, eafes and miti- 

 gates the degree of feeling between the hand and 

 horfe's mouth, which I have already defcribed. 



Laflly, the light hand is that which leflens ftill 

 more the feeling between the ridcr*s hand and the 

 horfe's mouth, which was before moderated by the 

 Gentle Hand. 



The hand, therefore, wit\i refpe6t to thefe proper- 

 ties muft qperate in part, within certain degrees, and 

 depends upon being more or lefs felt, or yeilded to- 

 the horfe, or with-held. 



It fhould be a rule with every horfeman not to pafs 

 from one extreme to another ; from a firm hand to 

 a flack one ; fo that in the motion of the hand on 

 no account jump over that degree of fenfation which 

 conftitutes the Easy or Gentle Hand: were you 

 once to go from a firm ftrong hand to a flack one, you 

 then entirely abandon your horfe ; you would fur- 

 prife him, deprive him of the fupport he trufted to, 

 and precipitate him on his flioulders; fuppofing you 

 do this at an injproper time. On the contrary, were 

 you to pafs from the flack to the tight rein, all at once, 

 you muft jerk your hand, and give a violent ihock to 

 the horfe's mouth: which roug-h and irregular motion 

 would be fufficient to falfify and ruin a good mouth ; 

 it is indifpenfabiy necelTary, therefore, that all its ope- 

 rations 



