EQUESTRIAN TACT. 127 



Finally, the horse comes up again on the hand when the 

 impulsion communicated by the legs brings the hocks strongly 

 under the animal's body and sends him freely on the bit, 

 which is possible only when the horse is in hand to a 

 maximum extent, which form of control is the rassembhr. 

 It is necessary that the tension of the reins is light enough to 

 allow the propulsion to pass, but great enough to establish 

 contact between the bit and the hand, and to give us Lhe 

 feeling that as the impulsion comes freely on the hand, we 

 can dispose of it as we like. 



As the neck in this case is necessarily high, and as the 

 action of the horse is lofty, the meaning of the expression, 

 " the horse comes up to the hand," is perfectly clear. 



We can now understand what is meant by the horse being 

 between the hands and legs, both of which send back impul- 

 sion to each other, so as to preserve equilibrium while going 

 forward. 



The school horse should be completely enclosed between 

 the hands and legs ; and the hack should be in front of the 

 legs and on the hands, so that he can lean a little with the 

 bars of his mouth at fast paces. The horse which does not 

 answer to the legs is behind the legs. He has too much 

 weight on his haunches ; in other words, he is behind the bit. 



Every horse is not capable of being perfectly rassemhleA, 

 which is the extreme limit of being in hand ; but every horse 

 ought to be trained to get into hand with good equilibrium, 

 no matter what may be the work for which he is required. 



The hack, hunter, charger, and even the carriage horse, 

 acquires a good position only by being got into hand, in 

 which case the equilibrium is straight or horizontal* 



It is generally thought that the object of getting a horse 



* Straight or horizontal equilibrium is the distribution of weight for a 

 hack, and is between that of the race-horse, which is too much on his 

 forehand, and that of the school horse, which 15 too much on his haunches. 



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