The riding of a modern horse requires precautions and 

 consideration which were not absolutely indispensable 

 with old-time horses. As he is not very steady in front 

 our new type requires that he be held as little as possi- 

 ble, that he be allowed the free use of his neck for the 

 benefit of his equilibrium; the rider should then use a 

 great deal of leg and very little hand, as all hand action 

 tends to throw the horse to his knees. It was not so for- 

 merly and, without wishing to deny the progress of equi- 

 tation, we may, nevertheless, affirm that, without bother- 

 ing the old-fashioned horse and without bringing on any 

 other grievous result than to make him pull back at you — 

 one could pull on the reins without fear of endangering 

 the stability of one's mount. 



* * * 



This insidious evolution of the model has not been 

 accomplished without causing anxiety to a good many 

 minds. Men who, by taste or by profession, study and 

 judge horses were not long in realizing that the precepts 

 of the old masters, the beauties to which they were accus- 

 tomed were no longer applicable to the animals which 

 they now see. 



These men are right. Good horses— for there still are 

 good horses, and we are far from claiming that quality 

 has deteriorated — good horses no longer show the char- 

 acteristics described by Vallon, Richard du Cantal, de 

 Curnieu. Great performers are no longer remarkable 

 for obliquity of shoulder, verticality of arm, and hori- 

 zontality of croup ; on the contrary, our attention is drawn 

 to peculiarities to which no importance was attached by 

 men of former generations ; we mean muscular peculiari- 

 ties, and there has been invented the new term, " points 

 de force," for designating the muscular relief of the quar- 

 ters and of the elbow region. 



29 



