70 ATTITUDES OF THE HORSE 



That admirable exponent of the haute Scole, James Fillis 



(see his Principes de Dressage), having wisely rejected, even 



in the most elaborate airs de manege, this artificial style, 



teaches that the school horse should carry his head high 



and the muzzle well advanced out of the perpendicular. 



If the head be carried too high ; forward reach will be 



proportionately sacrificed to upward shoulder action, with 



consequent loss of speed. Hence hunters, animals that 



require to be clever over bad ground, such as pig-stickers 



and Colonial stock horses, and those in which showy action 



is sought, such as chargers, school horses, and park hacks, 



should carry their heads higher than animals in which speed 



is the chief consideration. The more the lift to the fore 



legs is obtained by the play of the shoulders, and not by 



the mere raising of the knees ; the safer, more brilliant, less 



fatiguing, and faster will the action be in every class of horse. 



The chief muscle which draws the fore limb (of each 



side) forward and upward, is attached by one end to the 



humerus and by the other to the top of the head. Other 



muscles that draw the shoulder-blade forward and upward, 



are attached to it and to the ligament of the neck, which 



stretches from the withers to the top of the head (p. 28). 



As muscles act best when their points of attachment are wide 



apart ; the horse, during rapid movement, regulates, under 



normal conditions, the amount of the extension of his neck, 



according to the speed at which he is going. In this case, 



the head and neck are the fixed point ; the fore limb, the 



movable one. As long, therefore, as the speed of any 



particular pace remains uniform, the length of the neck 



(measured roughly from withers to top of head) should 



continue unchanged. Consequently, when riding or driving, 



if we desire the horse to maintain a uniform rate of speed, 



we should keep a uniform tension on the reins (note, for 



instance, the fixed position of the hands of a capable lad 



from a racing stable when he is riding a steady training 



gallop), and should not **give and take" with them. If 



the speed be increased, the hands, supposing their hold on 



