102 ORDINARY RIDING. 



It is ike hind quarters which, by getting under the centre, 

 bind themselves to the forehand* If all this propulsion was 

 accumulated on the bars of the flexed and movable lower 

 jawt — which should be connected to the entire forehand in 

 such a way that the flexibility! of the arm of the lever would 

 be always increasing from the shoulders to the jaw — the 

 hands, both in the changes of direction and in direct move- 

 ments, would send back with extreme lightness § to the legs, 

 a part of the propulsion which they have received from them. 

 We can thus make the entire body of the horse into an ener- 

 getic and harmonious whole by the good equilibrium of the 

 levers, and by the well-regulated use of the forces in changes 

 of direction. We iwill thus obtain lightness, and will 

 continue to have the horse in hand in all the changes of 

 direction. 



In the foregoing remarks I have described what I consider 

 to be the nature and object of lateral flexion, and have tried, 

 as in the description of direct flexion, to give reasons for my 

 practice. Unfortunately the greater number of those who 

 teach horses flexions, do the work in a haphazard way, with- 

 out accurately understanding the nature of the result which 

 they ought to try to obtain. 



I must say that Baucher did not give a better account of 

 the mechanism of lateral flexion than he did of direct 

 flexion. Or, rather, he committed the same fault in lateral 



* Many authors speak of connecting the forehand to the hind quarters, which is 

 an absurdity, because the hind quarters throw themselves on the forehand during 

 propulsion. The "aids" keep the body in good position by restraining or 

 regulating the force which comes from the hocks. 



t When the jaw does not yield, nothing yields, and the horse changes his 

 position all in one piece during the changes of direction. He turns like a boat. 



I The only lateral movement in lateral fie.'iion is done by the poll ; the 

 jaw bends exactly as in direct flexion. 



§ In lateral flexion, as in direct flexion, we should work the levers in such a. 

 manner as to obtain the maximum effect by a minimum effort. 



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