372 THE H0E8E. 



hand will be held some distance above tlie saddle, and well otit 

 from the body ; the force it transmits to the horse ought to be 

 continued until he yields by elevating his head. As horses of 

 tliis kind have generally little action, we must take care to avoid 

 letting the hand produce an effect from the front to the rear, in 

 whicli case it would take away from tlie impulse necessary for 

 movement. The pace, commencing with the walk, must be kept 

 np at the same rate, while the hand is producing an elevating ef- 

 fect upon the neck. This precept is applicable to all the chan- 

 ges of position that the hand makes in the head and neck ; but 

 is paticularly essential in the case of a horse disposed to depress 

 his neck. 



It sliould be remembered that the horse has two ways of 

 responding to the pressure of the bit ; by one he yields, but 

 withdraws himself from it at the same time by shrinking and 

 coming back to his former position. This kind of yielding is 

 only injurious to his education, for if the hand he held too 

 forcibh', if it do not wait till the horse changes of his own accord 

 the position of his head, the backward movement of his body 

 would precede, and be accompanied by a shifting of the weight 

 backward. In this case, the contraction of his neck remains all 

 the while the same. The second kind of yielding, which contri- 

 butes so greatly to the rapid and certain education of the horse, 

 is effected by giving a half or three-quarter tension to the reins, 

 sustaining the hand as forcibly as possible without bringing it 

 near the body. In a short time the force of the hand, seconded 

 by the continued pressure of the legs, will make the horse avoid 

 this slight but constant pressure of the bit, but by means of his 

 head and neck only. Then the rider will only make use of the 

 force necessary to displace the head. It is by this means that he 

 will be able to place the horse's body on a level, and will obtain 

 that equilibrium, the perfect balance of which has not hitherto 

 been appreciated. 



Resuming what we have just explained in the case of a 

 horse who rests his chin on his breast, we repeat that it is by 

 producing one force from the rear to the front with the legs, 

 and another from below upward with the hand, that we are soon 

 enabled to improve the position and movements of the horse. 

 So that, whatever may be his disposition, it is by first causing 



