the horse in throwing up his head found himself caught by the standing
martingale, a very serious accident might happen. The standing
martingale in no way impedes a horse's jumping, for horses do not jump
with their heads in the air, unless they fear the curb. Fig. 48 shows
its maximum length. It may be said that ladies ought not to ride horses
which carry their heads too high, but many of us have to make the best
of what we can get in the matter of horseflesh, and employ the surest
methods at our command for keeping such animals under perfect control.
The standing martingale is dangerous in hunting only when going through
gates, as it is liable to catch in a gate post and cause trouble.

The faster a horse goes at any particular pace in a natural and
unconstrained manner, the more will he try to extend his head and neck,
so as to bring the centre of gravity of his body forward, and also to
aid the muscles of the neck in drawing the fore limbs to the front. The
pulling in of the head and neck by the reins will, therefore, be a
direct indication to the animal to slacken his speed. If he be well
broken he will not only go slower, but will also signify the fact of his
obedience by yielding to the bit by the play of the joints of his head
and neck. When he keeps these joints (namely, those which connect the
lower jaw to the head, and the head to the neck, and the joints of the
neck themselves) free from all rigidity and bears lightly on the bit, he
is what is called "well in hand," in which state every horsewoman should
endeavour to keep her mount, as it is the _beau ideal_ one that admits
of full control by the rider and of perfect freedom of movement on the
part of the horse. Having the horse well in hand, the rider should be
careful to keep the reins _at one unaltered length_ for the particular
rate of speed at which she is going. If she desires to increase it, she
should give her horse a signal which he understands, and should lengthen
the reins as may be required. If she wishes to go slower, she should
proportionately shorten them; but she should _always_ preserve
uniformity of speed at any pace by keeping a fixed length of reins.
Nothing is worse for a horse's mouth than the constant "give and take"
(in Ireland they call it "niggling" at a horse's mouth) which is
practised by almost every bad rider. This fact is so well recognised by
our jockeys that "Keep your hands steady" is the chief order which
competent trainers