Q. What are the aids to make a horse walk?--A. A pressure of the leg to his side, at the same time easing the hand. Q. How is the hand to be eased?--A. From the wrist; the arm being kept perfectly steady, and the little finger yielding towards the horse's neck. Q. How many lines of action should the little finger of the bridle hand move on?--A. Four. First, towards the waist; second, towards the horse's neck; third, towards the right shoulder; fourth, towards the left. Q. What are the objects of these motions?--A. First, to collect, halt, or rein back the horse. Second, to give him facility of moving forward. Third, to turn him to the left. Fourth, to turn him to the right. The upper part of the rider's figure to be slightly turned from the waist, by bringing forward the right shoulder when turning to the left and _vice versâ_, in order to enable her to move exactly on the same line as the horse, and so to preserve completely her due _aplomb_ or balance in the saddle. The above, in a slightly modified form, is the instruction laid down in the "Military Aid Book," as is the following. Q. What is meant by a light hand?--A. An almost imperceptible easing and feeling of the bridle hand, so as to preserve the natural delicacy of the horse's mouth. The foregoing, however, while it indicates correctly and concisely what a light hand is, is scarcely explicit enough for a beginner. I believe the best definition to be this: when a horse is "light in hand," according to the technical meaning, it should by no means be understood that he has so delicate a mouth that he fears the action of the bit in it. On the contrary, having in his breaking been fairly balanced, the greater part of the weight on his haunches, and ridden well up to his bridle, he should admit of a steady _appui_ between his mouth and the rider's hand, while he bends in the poll of the neck. Thoroughly balanced, and bending as above described, his mouth yields to the action of the rider's hand, and is "light" in the true sense of the principles of equitation. A great deal of nonsense is talked about ladies' hands being so much more light and delicate than those of a man. The truth is, that, assuming both male and female rider to be equally practised in the saddle, there is no difference whatever in the feeling or _appui_ given by the horse. Thoroughly habituated to obey certain indications conveyed to him through the medium of the bridle reins and leg or other aid of the rider, he will answer to them precisely in the same manner to a lady as he would to a man; while, on the other hand, if these indications are not given with well-defined clearness and precision, he will not answer to anybody's riding. There is a point, however, as regards the action of the hands, to which I beg to call the particular attention both of young ladies commencing their lessons in equitation and of gentlemen (non-professional) who may undertake the task of teaching riding.