EQUESTRIAN TACT. 129 



The rassembler, which is the act of getting a horse into 

 hand to a maximum extent, is the complete equihbrium of 

 the animal in all his movements. It is the perfect form of 

 collecting the well-suppled horse. In it the loins, hind- 

 quarters and hocks are flexible ; the hocks stoutly press the 

 mass forward ; the shoulders are free and movable ; the neck 

 is high and the jaw readily obeys the feeling of the rider's 

 hands on the reins, and all the parts of the horse being in 

 action and equally enterprising, combine to form an energetic, 

 harmonious and light whole. The equilibrium is so perfect 

 and so unstable, that the rider feels that he can make his 

 horse do whatever he desires by the slightest indication 

 of his wishes. Both of them, so to speak, are in the air. 

 They are ready to fly ! 



How can we succeed in bringing to perfection and in 

 refining the art of getting a horse into hand, so as to obtain 

 this ideal of equilibrium ? 



If we have well understood the action of collecting a horse, 

 and the coming and going of the forces of the legs to the 

 hands, and of the hands to the legs, we will remember that 

 the hands allow the amount of impulsion necessary to the 

 forward progress of the mass to pass, and throw back 

 towards the hind quarters only the amount of impulsion 

 required to preserve balance. This is obtained by the deli- 

 cate and constant play of the fingers, which may be compared 

 to the fingering of a piano as regards delicacy and speed. 



The question is : what proportion of the force ought the 

 hand allow to pass through it, and what proportion ought it 

 retain? We should measure this proportion with absolute 

 precision at each stride, by the correct combination of the 

 " aids," so as to send to the hind quarters only the amount 

 of force necessary to maintain equilibrium with a maximum 

 of propulsion. Equestrian tact consists in doing this. If 

 the fingers do not work with enough decision, the centre of 



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