EQUITATION AND HORSE TRAINING. 77 



Work at a slow trot on small circles, serpentines, and 

 diagonals, halts, and half halts, make up an excellent 

 schedule of exercises for the horse with too much weight 

 on his shoulders and that pulls too much on the hand. 



The star gazer (the horse that pokes his nose out). — 

 A horse with this fault has a rigid jaw and holds his head 

 high, approaching the horizontal. A bad neck confor- 

 mation induces this fault, but it generally results from 

 bad riding, the horse being afraid of the hands. 



To correct this fault set the hand, that is to say, hold 

 it stationary above the pommel of the saddle, the reins 

 remaining taut; close the legs to push the horse up to the 

 bit and tighten the fingers on the reins until the horse 

 lowers his head slightly; loosen the fingers immediately 

 and slacken the reins. Begin again and continue the 

 lesson until the horse yields at the slightest pressure of 

 the fingers and understands thoroughly that the hand is 

 severe when he pokes out his nose, but relaxes completely 

 as soon as he sets his head properly. 



The horse that fights the bit (throws his head). — This 

 fault is found only in the horse that holds back because, 

 in order to make the movement of the head, he must 

 diminish the gait slightly. 



To correct the fault, it is not wise to use the hand only, 

 as is frequently done, because any effect of the hands 

 tends to a further decrease of gait. The most rational 

 and at the same time the most certain method is as 

 follows: 



Make the horse move freely and push him energetically 

 with the legs at the very moment that you feel that he is 

 about to throw his head; at the same time loosen the 

 fingers to allow the neck to be extended and the head 

 lowered. If this plan is not sufficient, hold one rein taut 

 and set the hand that holds it. This method is effective 

 because the head movements can be made only sidewise 

 and become very painful. 



