Page:Horsemanship for Women.djvu/69

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TO GUIDE "BRIDLEWISE."
55

LESSON XII.

TO GUIDE "BRIDLEWISE."

Up to this time your horse has been guided as in driving, by a pull upon one side of the bit, that is to say, upon one corner of the mouth, and it is time now to substitute a simple pressure of the rein upon his neck. The chief difficulty to be encountered is in the fact that, as the rein is attached to the bit, the tension of it against one side of the neck pulls the bit on that side, consequently conveying to the horse an impression exactly opposite to that intended. This difficulty must be overcome by patience, for this instruction cannot be completed in a single lesson, but will have to be carried on simultaneously with other work for a week or more. It is given by carrying your hand over, whenever you turn, to the side towards which you wish to go, so that the reins will press against the neck. Thus, if you wish to turn to the left, draw on the left snaffle-rein, and as the horse answers to it, carry your hand to the left, so that the right reins press against the right side of the neck. This must be done with judgment, or the bit, being pulled too hard on the right side by the ten-