AIDS AND INDICATIONS. 13 



rider, the hand directing him with the greatest 

 ease, so that the horse seems to work by the will 

 of the rider, rather than by the compulsion of the 

 hand. 



"When a horse is ridden on a snaffle, he only feels 

 the direct pull more or less of the rider's hand, 

 with a curb- bit in his mouth the effect is different, 

 and more powerful, on account of the lever which 

 tightens the curb-chain on the horse's jaw. A curb 

 in a rough and uneven hand, becomes an instru- 

 ment of extreme torture ; the hand should always 

 be firm, but delicate, the horse's mouth should 

 never be surprised, by any sudden transition of the 

 bearing from tight to slack, or from slack to tight, 

 every thing in horsemanship should be effected by 

 degrees. 



The rider should never rest her hand upon the 

 pommel, as by doing so, she at once destroys the 

 sj^mpathy which ought to exist between the hand 

 and the horse's mouth. 



Fineness of mouth, means a mouth that is per- 

 fectly trained, and responds to the determined ac- 

 tion of a sensitive hand. The acquirement of the 

 bearing upon the horse's mouth, the turning the 

 horse upon the proper rein, the power of collecting 

 the horse, and retaining him on his proper balance, 

 smoothness of indications, in the shortening of the 

 reins, and the working together of the hand, leg. 



