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is not so. I have met as many right-footed horses as left-footed ones. We can find out which he is by working him ; for there is nothing in his conformation that would enable us to decide that question.[1]
As a right-footed horse will remain all his life much more supple and easy to the right ; the left side will naturally be the one to which we should work him in flexions, side steps, voltes, canter, etc. ; and vice versâ.
Before requiring the horse to do more, I wait till he can canter as readily with one leg as with the other, while keeping him straight all the time. I then try to get him completely in hand, which I certainly will not be able to do at the canter, if I have not first made his mouth supple and light at all paces and during all the preceding exercises.
The best definition of the action of the " aids " in the present case, is that the hands make the walk and the legs the canter — namely, that whilst the legs press the horse with energy, the hands lightly restrain him. He then finds himself controlled by two opposing actions ; propulsion being the dominating one. They oblige him to raise himself and canter.
The riding master will find that he has attained his object when the horse canters slowly without effort, and, above all things, without trying to escape from the hand.[2]
All Arab horses are left-footed, with respect to the fact that they always turn to the left and never to the right, which peculiarity is simply the result of education. If we place ourselves on the right of an Arab horseman, he cannot touch us. He must turn to the left-about in order to reach us. ↩︎
Almost all authors advise that when a horse pulls at the canter, he should be stopped and made to rein back, than which nothing is less rational. A horse pulls because his hocks are far from the centre of the body. In making him rein back we push the hocks still further to the rear, and we directly counteract the object we desire to attain. On the contrary, without stopping the horse, we should press him well up to the bridle with the legs, should keep him in hand while he is moving forward, should make him do movements as a whole, and take and give with the hands and legs in order to collect him, which is the only means for ↩︎