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HORSE MOUNTED— FIRST DEFENCES. 83 



only aggravate the animal's resistance. On the contrary, our 

 attack on him .should be somewhat brutal, so that he rfia)^ 

 immediately feel that his strength must )'ield to superior 

 force. Here the real difficulty is to have the pluck to attack 

 vigorously. Very few people make up their minds to do this, 

 in which is the only means of security ; because the horse, 

 astonished at the brutality of the attack, will submit, although, 

 if lightly tickled with the spur, he will increase his resist- 

 ance, and will soon get the best of his rider. 



It is evident that whereas the attack should be vigorous, it 

 should be made in as rational a way as practicable, that is to 

 say, in a manner which will overcome the horse's defence by 

 " oppositions."* But, I repeat, the chief thing above all 

 others is the vigour, the energy of the rider. As regards 

 myself, once in the struggle, I pay little heed to lateral or 

 •diagonal equitation. I don't care if I increase the commo- 

 tion ; my great point is to be master, and to make the horse ^ 

 understand that his defence is in vain. To achieve this grand ' 

 result, when a horse contents himself by merely indicating a 

 resistance, I do not hesitate to provoke him to carry it out 

 fully, so as to bring him to reason. Here is the true secret 

 •of breaking, namely, to obtain the absolute submission of the 

 horse. A horse's breaking is not definitely completed if he 

 has made no show of resistance, because there may be 

 struggles for supremacy in the future. The object of breaking 

 is the destruction of the free will of the horse. As long as a 

 breaker hesitates to provoke struggles which he feels are 

 close at hand, and which he knows are inevitable, his breaking 

 is not complete. 



We must also say, in a general wa}', that the tact of the 



* To make an " opposition " is to do an action contrary to that which the horse 

 wishes to do. We succeed in this simply by combining the "aids," so as to 

 oppose the forehand to the hind quarters, or the hind quarters to the forehand, 

 namely, to carry one of them to one side, in order to throw the other on the 

 opposite side 



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