CH. XV GOOD HANDS 2>77 



trained by his method, for exhibition purposes in 

 haute ecole riding, are far superior in accuracy of 

 action to anything that was dreamed of by the 

 trainers before his time, and the fact that many of 

 the early lessons of the method can be applied on 

 foot, to a horse that is too young to ride, commends 

 it to the breeder. 



It is not at all my intention to attempt to teach 

 here, in the limits of these few pages, any sys- 

 tem of handling, or dressing, a horse, but only to 

 suggest that if the driving man will undertake 

 to improve his horses by either of the methods : 

 Baucher's or his successors', he will reap great 

 benefit from so doing in the improvement, not only 

 of the animals, but especially of his own hands. 



The secret of good driving is to have good 

 hands, and while good hands may be to some 

 extent a gift, they are to be acquired mainly by 

 practice and thought. In the saddle, no man can 

 have good hands who has not a perfectly firm seat, 

 so that the action on the reins may be absolutely 

 independent of the movements of the body. The 

 action of the hand in driving is coarser than in 

 riding, where the hand, holding light reins, is closer 

 to the horse's mouth, and the action of the animal 

 under the rider indicates to him instantly the horse's 

 intentions ; but the principles are the same, and 

 a good hand in the saddle means a good hand 

 on the driving-cushion. Regularity and accuracy 

 of pace can be much better cultivated under the 



