82 Modern Riding and Horse Education 



same things ; for instance, a horse can be taught to 

 come to the whip, that is to say, to come to you when 

 struck, or to fly from you at the same signal ; to go 

 faster as the pressure of the reins gets stronger, 

 like an American trotter, or to pull up under similar 

 treatment; the whole thing is a matter of training. 

 Put a man on a horse's back and he can teach the 

 animal to do various things when certain indications 

 of the hands and legs are applied, but he can make 

 it physically difficult for the horse to obey him by a 

 false distribution of the weight of his own body. 

 Lean over and towards a horse's fore-leg when he is 

 standing still, and he will not move it comfortably ; 

 you have so weighted it as to make it easier for him 

 to get the other off the ground. The simplest practi- 

 cal demonstration of the soundness of this principle 

 is to place yourself on all fours on the ground, let 

 somebody get on to your back and lean towards 

 your right hand, and then try to move it. Or with 

 no one on your back you can make up your mind to 

 move one particular hand, and you will find that be- 

 fore doing so you must lighten it by shifting the 

 weight of the upper part of your body on to the 

 other arm. 



