Bibliothèque mondiale du cheval

« It is commonly thought that a good hand is a natural gift, and that the only qualification needed is lightness. It is not so. The quality of lightness is only one quality, though a very important one, among the many which are wanted.
What makes a good hand is the know ledge of how, when, and in what measure the rider should assert or yield his power, and in what manner he should act in the various emergencies which may present themselves.
He requires, moreover, the practical ability to turn this knowledge to account at the right moment, and in the right proportion, having regard to the relative nature and susceptibility of individual horses, so as to achieve the desired effect, neither more nor less. A good hand is therefore artificial, and can be only the result of study. Francesco Sayler (born 1787, died 1866), who was my riding-master, often impressed on me the fact that riding is an art which requires study. It was by constant study that he attained the extraordinary and exceptional skill for which he was widely admired during the many years that he kept the Riding School at Milan. I have been induced to print this chapter of a larger work, by the desire to communicate to others some of the results of my own observations in scientific horsemanship. » Présentation de l’éditeur (1888)