The degree of correspondence, appuy, and support, depends, in horses
otherwise similar, on the relative situation of the hand. The act of
raising the rider’s hand increases his power; and this, raising the
horse’s head, diminishes his power. The depressing of the rider’s
hand, on the contrary, diminishes his power; and this, depressing the
horse’s head, increases his power. On these depend the unitedness or
disunitedness in the action of the horse.
A writer on this subject (Beranger, we believe) gives the following
useful illustration:--“If a garter were placed across the pupil’s
forehead, and a person behind him held the two ends in a horizontal
direction, the pupil, if he stood quite upright, could not pull at the
person’s hand, nor endure the person’s hand to pull at him, without
falling or running backwards.” This is the situation of a horse when
united.
Accordingly, when the pupil felt the hand severe, or expected it to
pull, he would guard against it by bending the body, projecting the
head, and planting one foot behind. This is the situation of a horse
when disunited, or defending himself against the heaviness of the hand.
Hence the perpetual pull of a timid rider, or a heavy insensible hand,
cannot keep a horse united, because the horse cannot then bear its
severity. Thus heavy hands make hard-mouthed horses; and hence it is in
this condition that we generally find horses, for the best broke become
so, if ridden a few times by an ignorant horseman. In such cases, the
horse makes the rider support the weight both of his head and neck, or
goes on his shoulders, and is apt to stumble.
If, then, the appuy be heavy, from the head being carried too low, and
the horse not sufficiently united, the rider must raise the hand, and
let the fingers, by moving, rather invite than compel the head, or more
properly the neck, to rise, for the object is to bring in the head
by raising the neck, the legs at the same time pressing the haunches
under. By these means, the horse will be united, and the appuy will be
lightened. Should the hand, however, be too confining to the horse when
united, he may become so balanced on his haunches that he can neither
disunite himself nor advance one step; and, should the rider then press
him without yielding or dropping the hand, he would compel him to rear.
Such are the two extremes, where the horse is disunited, and where he
is too much united. The intermediate effect of the hand and heel must
be acquired by practice.