12 EQUITATION. 



and the greatest uniformity, exactness, and delicacy 

 are required. 



The indications of the hand are of two sorts, guid- 

 ing and retaining, those of the leg and whip, are 

 also of two sorts, guiding and urging. The aids 

 serve to put the horse in movement, to direct, 

 and to stop him ; they should not only decide the 

 pace which the horse is to take, but also signify to 

 him, the rate at which each pace is to be execut- 

 ed, and also determine his carriage during the 

 performance of it. The power of these aids, and 

 the degree of severity to be used, must be govern- 

 ed by circumstances, and the sensibility of the 

 horse. 



The hand, being placed holding the reins, as 

 previously described, and the reins being drawn to 

 that determined length, that the bracing of the 

 muscles of the hand would rein the horse back, 

 and the easing of them permit him to advance 

 freely ; if the hand be held steady, as the horse 

 advances in a trot, the fingers will feel by the 

 tightening and loosening of the reins, a slight 

 sensation or tug, occasioned by the measure or 

 cadence of every step, this sensation or tug, which 

 is reciprocally felt in the horse's mouth, by means 

 of the correspondence between the hand and the 

 mouth, is called the appui ; and while this appui is 

 preserved, the horse is in perfect obedience to the 



