Horses and Horsemastership. 83 



his mouth was not messed about he was always under 

 perfect control, but once begin a continuous pull on the 

 reins, and the harder the pull the faster he went. Yet 

 with me he never pulled an ounce. I could send him 

 along at racing speed and stop him, in as short a distance 

 as any horse, by a " give and take'' check, and it is that 

 " give and take" which is so essential to study and under- 

 stand in everything connected with horses, but more 

 especially in regard to hands. 



In considering the hands the arms must not be dis- 

 regarded ; they must be kept perfectly flexible, the 

 elbows close to the sides, the hands slightly lower than 

 the elbows, and about six inches in front of the navel. 

 While anything approaching rigidity must be avoided, 

 neither the arms nor the hands should be allowed to 

 waggle about. 



The correct way to hold the reins in the hands can 

 be easily learned in the schools or elsewhere, but what 

 the novice, and, indeed, many men who have passed 

 from the noviciate stage, should seek to cultivate is that 

 " light and even feeling," that "' give and take" above 

 alluded to. 



In my remarks on balance I advocated the principle 

 of giving the recruit his first lessons without his holding 

 the reins, and for this reason : The moment the horse 

 begins to move, the learner forgets that the reins are 



