THEORY OF MOUTHING. 



latter, motionless. In collecting the saddle horse, the reins 

 bend the neck and check the advance of the fore limbs, 

 while the pressure of the rider's legs, spurs, or whip makes 

 the horse bring his hind legs under him. As I have already 

 said, the line of the face, when the horse is fully collected, 

 will be at right angles to the ground, or a little less ; but 

 the chin should not be drawn in more than this. We may 

 accept the fact that teaching the horse to collect himself is 

 the foundation of all good mouthing, whether for the for- 

 mation of the mouth of a young animal, or for the cor- 

 rection of a puller or a borer. 



It is manifest that, in checking a horse's speed, we should 

 more or less collect him ; the collection being proportionate 

 to the alteration in the speed ; for the faster the pace, other 

 things being equal, the greater the weight on the forehand. 

 Whether we make the horse adopt a slower gait, or bring 

 him to a halt more or less abruptly, it is necessary that we 

 should collect him so that he may be ready to apply his 

 powers to the best advantage, either for stopping himself, 

 or for moving on again in the same or in a new direction. 

 If the preponderance of weight be on the forehand, the hind 

 limbs will be more or less thrown out of action, and vice versa. 

 Hence, when checking the speed of a horse, and especially 

 when bringing him to a halt, the rider should close his legs 

 and should lower his hands when taking a pull on the reins, 

 so that the horse may bring his hind legs well under him, 

 and at the same time bend his neck. 



The popular expression " in hand " may be used for 

 '' collected." We must be careful to understand that a 

 horse may be " light in hand " without being in any way 



