The rassembler, which is the act of getting a horse into hand to a maximum extent, is the complete equilibrium of the animal in all his movements. It is the perfect form of collecting the well-suppled horse. In it the loins, hind-quarters and hocks are flexible ; the hocks stoutly press the mass forward ; the shoulders are free and movable ; the neck is high and the jaw readily obeys the feeling of the rider's hands on the reins, and all the parts of the horse being in action and equally enterprising, combine to form an energetic, harmonious and light whole. The equilibrium is so perfect and so unstable, that the rider feels that he can make his horse do whatever he desires by the slightest indication of his wishes. Both of them, so to speak, are in the air. They are ready to fly !

How can we succeed in bringing to perfection and in refining the art of getting a horse into hand, so as to obtain this ideal of equilibrium ?

If we have well understood the action of collecting a horse, and the coming and going of the forces of the legs to the hands, and of the hands to the legs, we will remember that the hands allow the amount of impulsion necessary to the forward progress of the mass to pass, and throw back towards the hind quarters only the amount of impulsion required to preserve balance. This is obtained by the delicate and constant play of the fingers, which may be compared to the fingering of a piano as regards delicacy and speed.

The question is : what proportion of the force ought the hand allow to pass through it, and what proportion ought it retain ? We should measure this proportion with absolute precision at each stride, by the correct combination of the " aids," so as to send to the hind quarters only the amount of force necessary to maintain equilibrium with a maximum of propulsion. Equestrian tact consists in doing this. If the fingers do not work with enough decision, the centre of