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right, but they will never regain the silken per- 

 fection of mouths that have not known the heavy- 

 handed nervous grip. No horse should ever he allowed 

 to lean on the bit; that fault can always be cured. 



Young horses soon get over their love of a game 

 of romps, especially if kept in steady work, and here 

 again the voice can be used with effect. Scold them 

 when romping and bucking, just to show you do not 

 really approve of it, but don't jerk them violently 

 in the mouth or knock them about; treat them as 

 you would a child. If you can retain the perfect 

 mouth, it makes it so very much easier to "balance" 

 your young one, and there we approach a very im- 

 portant point. 



It is not easy to describe "balance", but if one 

 goes to the ring-side at any good horse show, when 

 riding classes for hunters are in the ring, one can 

 see it by watching the men showing horses for the 

 big dealers. Such men started with natural talent, 

 we may be quite sure of that, or they would never 

 have been given the riding to do; and this talent 

 has been developed by riding al" 1 sorts of horses with 

 all sorts of failings, and by many hours spent in 

 preparing these very perfectly shaped horses for the 

 ring. The combined result is that you see balance 

 and manners in perfection. What balance is, must 

 be learnt by experience; but if your horse passes 

 easily from one pace to another, you may assume that 

 he is at least fairly balanced. If he slugs along 

 with his nose out, you may be sure he is not. 

 Another test is ridge and furrow; only a well-balanced 

 horse will cross that pleasantly. No horse can be 

 well balanced unless his head is in the right place, 

 neither too high nor too low, and with the nose neither 

 stuck out nor tucked in. I always hold that it 

 does not greatly matter where you hands are, as long 

 as your horse's head is carried right. 



One thing you can be certain of - if a man's 

 horse in walking or trotting is constantly dropping 

 behind or getting in front of his companions, that 

 man does not balance his horse or ride him in the 

 true sense. He is merely a passenger borne along 



