MODERN FARHIER. 205 



sensible and incapable of being taught. The fretting 

 of a hot liorse will hence be excessive, as it can no 

 otiiervvise be moderated than by the utmost stillness 

 of tiie seat, hands, and legs of the rider. 



Colts at first are taught to hear a bit, and by de- 

 grees to imll at it. If they did not press it, they 

 could not be guided by it. By degrees they find 

 their necks stronger than the arms of a man ; and 

 that they are capable of making great opposition, 

 and often of foiling their riders. Then is the time 

 to make them supple and pliant in every part. The 

 part v.'hich of all others requires most this pliancy is 

 the neck. Hence the metaphor of stiff-necked for 

 di.'iobedient. A horse cannot move his head but 

 with the muscles of his neck ; this may be called his 

 helm ; it guides his course, changes and directs his 

 motion. 



113. Suppling Horses by the Epaule en dedans. 



The preceding rules or cautions for horsemen, 

 which are mostly extracted from Thompson's useful 

 work on the subject, will tend to correct the most 

 common bad habits, and contain the best principles 

 of horsemanship. But in training horses it is ne- 

 cessary to proceed in a systematic manner. Having, 

 therefore, cautioned the rider against all bad habits, 

 taught him how to sit firm, and the horse having 

 learned to louge on circles, and is prepared and set- 

 tled in all his motions, it v/ill be proper to proceed 

 ,' on towards a farther suptpling and teaching of both. 

 In setting out upon this new work, begin by 

 bringing the horse's head a little more inwards than 

 before, pulling the inward rein gently to you by 

 ■ degrees. When this is done, try to gain a little on 

 , the shoulders, by keeping the inward rein the shorter, 

 as before, and the outward one crossed over towards 

 the inward one. The intention of these operations 

 is this : The inward rein serves to bring in the head, 

 and procures the bend ; whilst the outward one, that 



