THE ASSEMBLAGE 



since otherwise the hind legs could not be brought 

 into the perpendicular relation to the spine. 



So long as the horse remains at rest with his 

 four limbs perpendicular, the state of equilibrium 

 can be demonstrated. But with the horse in action, 

 only the eye of the spectator or the equestrian tact 

 of the rider, through his seat, can detect it. The 

 spectator can see the four legs leave the ground 

 and return, two by two, diagonally at walk, trot, 

 and movement backward. 



The rider, under these conditions, feels in his seat 

 the squareness and equality both of the different 

 strides and of each step. The horse gives a light 

 and agreeable contact upon the hand, the head and 

 neck are perfectly steady and yet firm, while the 

 rider feels that, with the least tension on the reins, 

 the neck will flex like an elastic band. All the time 

 he feels in his seat that, with the least shifting of 

 his weight or the slightest alteration in legs, hand, 

 body, or head, the equilibrium will vanish. The 

 animal moves between the rider and the ground, 

 rhythmically. Every joint is supple, and every 

 part of the mechanism does its task with power, 

 freedom, and in perfect synchrony. Fillis, the 

 grand master, is right when he says, "The rider 

 feels as if the horse were flying." But Baucher, 

 the great dead, is also right when he says, "The 

 sea is calm, but full of rocks!" 



Unhappily, this state of equilibrium tends al- 

 ways to be disturbed in consequence of the various 



185 



