in front, he is also behind his bit, and should be immediately sent forward.

A horse may be behind his bit without backing, and this may happen even without the animal moving his feet. He will have this tendency if a perpendicular dropped from the point of his buttocks comes behind his hocks, in which case the weight will be on his hind quarters. We should then act energetically on the snaffle, in order to bring the body forward and maintain the balance of the body during flexion, or to avoid a return of the tendency to get behind the bit.

After this preparation, direct flexion becomes easy when mounted, especially as the action of the legs in propelling the horse on the hand is more energetic and effective than that of the whip.

Here the chief point is to begin, not by the action of the hand, but by that of the legs, which ought to be used progressively. In mounted work, as in flexion on foot, it is, of course, necessary that the hand makes the concession at the moment when the horse yields, in order to retake its action immediately afterwards. The entire practice of flexions is comprised in timely taking and giving. It is, of course, understood that the legs should always remain close to the animal's sides, as much for obtaining a definite concession of the jaw as for avoiding the tendency to get behind the bit. It is also taken for granted that the flexion should never be made at a halt, when the horse is mounted, which is a most objectionable practice. As we can obtain relaxation of the jaw only by light touches of the spur, the horse contracts the habit of resting on the spur when standing still. As we have then no means of making him go forward, or of preventing him from reining back, he becomes restive.^[1] This result is all