THE REASONED EQUITATION 



of the rider being carried to the left. If, on the other 

 hand, the right rein were to operate alone, the result 

 would be to carry the head too much to the right by 

 the flexion of the neck. Consequently, the left rein 

 has to maintain the head straight by the proper op- 

 position. But, of course, the natural effect of mov- 

 ing the hand to the left is to swing the haunches 

 to the right. And since the right hind leg must, 

 on the contrary, pass leftward in front of its mate, 

 the rider's right leg is brought an inch or more 

 behind the girth, to forestall this movement and 

 maintain the haunches as pivot and support/ v 



The pirouette is to be executed step by step. At 

 the beginning, one or two steps are sufficient. It is 

 evident that the "in hand" position must be un- 

 disturbed during the entire movement, since it is 

 only under this condition that this mobilization 

 of the forehand has any real bearing on the fu- 

 ture progressive education. Again I counsel, for the 

 student, moderation, patience, perseverance; but 

 more important still are positiveness, and quality 

 rather than quantity, since quantity alone will have 

 little value for the future training. 



Other masters dictate this pirouette immediately 

 after the "in hand" has been obtained, and before 

 the reversed pirouette. I, on the contrary, first 

 mobilize the hind legs by means of the reversed 

 pirouette or rotation; and only after my horse well 

 understands my effects of leg, do I begin the mobi- 

 lization of the fore hand by the pirouette. 



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