100 Modern Riding and Horse Education 



Cesaresco says that under certain circumstances 

 the strength the horse can employ against the pull of 

 the hands is twenty times greater than the force 

 the man can exert ; whether this be true or not it is 

 safe to say that if the horse intends to run away he 

 can do so, in spite of any bit, and the more severe 

 this may be, the more likely is trouble to ensue. 

 Head tells us of a runaway horse having stopped 

 gradually of his own accord, in consequence of the 

 rupture of the curb-chain, which, having infuriated 

 him by the agony it had inflicted, had actually 

 caused the very danger it had been created to avert. 

 This story goes to corroborate the Duke of New- 

 castle, who says : " . . . for, certainly sharp Cave- 

 zones, and cruel Bits hard Curb'd, made horses run 

 away heretofore, making them desperate." 



It should not be necessary to have both hands on 

 the reins for ordinary riding if the horse is going 

 pleasantly and is well trained, but riding with what 

 in military parlance is called the " right hand free " 

 is needful whenever it is required for holding a 

 weapon, roj>e, or polo stick, and before jumping 

 became general at home and abroad it was the ac- 

 cepted custom in peace and war, excepting perhaps 



