THE REASONED EQUITATION 



the right rein of the bit with his right hand and the 

 left rein of the snaffle with his left hand. The flex- 

 ion of the mouth is obtained by the right rein and 

 the flexion of the neck by the left hand carried to 

 the right over the nostrils of the horse. (Figure 8.) 

 The lateral flexion of the neck is complete when 

 the head is turned facing to the right. After the 

 lateral flexion of the neck, the head is to return to 

 the direct flexion, by the rein or reins of the snaffle. 

 If the horse has a thick, short, and fleshy neck, it is 

 proper to enforce more bending from the neck. For 

 that purpose the trainer places himself on the right 

 side of the horse for the lateral flexion to the left, 

 holds the right rein of the snaffle in the right hand 

 and the left rein in the left hand. The left rein, 

 bearing upon the neck, is kept at the same tension 

 by the left hand, assuming that the right hand 

 allows the head to flex to the left and follows the 

 head in its flexion backward, so that, by raising 

 the right hand, the head is maintained perpendicu- 

 lar and flexed at the atlas. (Figure 9.) 



This position of the head flexed perpendicularly 

 has to be obtained by moderate progress, passing 

 from the position in Figure 9 to that shown in Fig- 

 ure 10, and finally to that obtained by the bit alone 

 in Figure n. 



After arriving at this stage, the trainer continues 

 the direct flexion of mouth and neck. The two reins 

 of the bit are held in the left hand, and the two 

 reins of the snaffle in the right, the forefingers 



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