Page:Equitation.djvu/210

 It is, then, somewhere between a horse that is forward of the hand and one that is behind, that we find the ideal condition, "upon the hand." The first two sorts of horse are out of the man's control. The one because it takes the initiative for itself; the other because it does not respond to that of the rider. The third is under control, because the forward impulse of the rider's legs is received by the rider's hand, which, by means of the fingering, accepts it and lets it pass forward, or denies it and sends it back, accepts and raises, accepts and directs.

The first sort, therefore, pulls on the bit, because it pushes by its own will. The second sort does not pull, because it cannot or will not push. The third pushes just so much as is indicated by the legs of the rider, who, by his fingering, accepts or prevents the pulling. The first horse will push, pull, and run away. The second horse will stop, kick, and rear. The third cannot perform other movements than those asked by its rider.

Léger à la main has long been used by masters of equitation to describe a horse which responds calmly and readily to the gentle and progressive effects of the rider's hand.

But the horse light in hand is not at all the animal which escapes the contact of the bit on its bars by shaking its head in every direction. Nothing is easier for a human being than to be a