VICE IN THE HORSE. 5 



the mouth, and will raise or depress the head at 

 the demands of the hand. It must also be taught 

 to answer the pressure of the rider's heels without 

 reluctance or struggling. The horse that is too 

 high in the fore-hand can then be taught to move 

 with its head so lowered, and its hind-quarters so 

 well brought up that the weights and forces may 

 be brought to a point of balance under the rider, 

 so that the movements of the animal can easily be 

 directed. As long as the jaw yields to the bit, 

 and the croup answers to the heels, the horse will 

 neither rear nor grow restive ; and it is a mere 

 question of time and patience to confirm the horse 

 in this obedience, for, as I shall show, the impulses 

 of the horse are cultivated in the direction of this 

 obedience, and it answers to bit and spur instinc- 

 tively. 



The horse that is low in front and strong and 

 high in the hind-quarters will be made to move 

 with its head carried up, by which means the 

 weights and forces of the fore-hand are carried 

 back, while the hind-legs will be brought under 

 the body to lower the croup, until the weights and 

 forces of the extremities are brought to a point of 

 union and balance under the rider, and the horse 

 will have no difficulty in answering the demands 

 of its rider. It would be impossible for a horse 



