226 ACTION, HANDINESS AND CLEVERNESS, 



the object of transferring the pressure, as much as possible, 

 to his poll, over which the head-piece of his bridle passes, 

 and will consequently bend his knees too much. In the latter 

 case, the animal will keep his head stuck up in the air, 

 probably, in the vain attempt to get his jaw away from the 

 painful contact of the curb chain. 



If we observe a **true" galloper, we may note that he 

 holds his head and neck in a more or less uniform position 

 (pp. 70 and 71), so as to enable the muscles of the neck to 

 work in a regular manner. 



The hind legs, at the gallop, should be brought well for- 

 ward under the body, with particularly quick recovery after 

 having been straightened out. Their action, like that of 

 the fore hand, should be characterised by the machine-like 

 regularity of their forward and backward sweep. The limbs 

 should move in such perfect accord one with the other, that 

 there should be the least possible rise and fall of the fore 

 hand ; for if the weight be depressed at one moment, it will 

 have to be raised during the next, by an expenditure of force 

 which will be wasted as far as progression is concerned. 



Leaping, — In Chapter XI 1 1, we have seen that the *' take- 

 off " in the leap consists in the raising of the fore hand and 

 in the propulsion of the body. Hence, at that moment, the 

 animal should have his head raised and somewhat drawn 

 back, so as to "lighten" the fore hand, for which object, 

 and in order to be able to fully bend the hind legs, he should 

 have them well under him (Fig. 1 95). To obtain the maximum 

 effect of propulsion, the horse should straighten his hind legs 

 to their utmost extent (Fig. 200) ; and to clear the object, if it 

 be one that is likely to tax his powers to "negotiate," he 

 should raise his knees well and should bend them as much as 

 he can (Fig. 196). The instant the hind feet quit the ground, 

 they should be drawn up as quickly as possible and close 

 to the body, so that, in high jumping, they may not catch 

 in the fence, but be ready to save the animal from a fall in 

 the event of an accident, and to enable him to land in 

 safety. On clearing the obstacle, the fore feet should be 



