THE REASONED EQUITATION 



head, and while holding them with the right hand 

 near the chin as before, he should also take them 

 near their ends with his left hand, which holds the 

 whip. If, then, any violent movement of the horse 

 forces the trainer to let go the reins with his right 

 hand, he still has the other grip to fall back on. 



As soon as the horse advances readily and takes 

 the contact of the snaffle bit against the lower jaw, 

 the training is to be repeated from the other side. 

 When the contact is accepted freely with the 

 snaffle, the same course is repeated with the bit. In 

 this case the little finger of the left hand separates 

 the two reins of the bit, and the ends of these reins 

 leave the hand between the forefinger and the 

 thumb. The snaffle reins, on the contrary, enter 

 the hand between the forefinger and the thumb, 

 and pass out at the little finger. All five digits close 

 upon the four reins. 



From this position the trainer urges the horse 

 forward with the whip, as before, against the snaffle. 

 Then, when the horse is moving, he substitutes the 

 contact of the snaffle for that of the bit, by bending 

 the wrist to carry the thumb forward and the little 

 finger backward. This movement of the hand must 

 be done very gently and carefully. When the con- 

 tact can be made with the trainer on the left side, 

 the same operation must be repeated from the 

 right, with everything reversed. 



This procedure is advocated by Fillis, who holds 

 that the whip, acting upon the flank, will help to 



72 



