66 RIDING 



time. The near fore foot is enough to try in one day ; get, if 

 you can, both fore feet the next day, and the following day go 

 on to the near hind. The great mistake people generally make 

 here is that they stand too far away from the horse, and often 

 by doing so get kicked. The breaker should place himself 

 close to the body of the horse, and near enough to the hind 

 leg to be able to reach and take hold of it. If the horse does 

 kick he cannot hurt much ; even should he reach the man it 

 will be only a push, whereas if he were farther away he would 

 receive the full force of the blow. Many horses are more awk- 

 ward in having the hind feet lifted than the fore, and I feel 

 sure that in most cases it is caused by the timid way in which 

 the first attempts have been made. No endeavour should be 

 made to lift the off hind from the near side, or for that matter 

 the off fore either. Whatever you want to do to the horse or the 

 horse to do for you, the simpler the manner you set about it is 

 the best ; the more likely he is to understand what you require 

 and to do it kindly. Of course, the lifting of the feet should not 

 be attempted until the body and all the limbs have been well 

 handled, and the horse does not resent the handling of them. 



All this should be done by one person, and that, if possible, 

 by the man who is to have the grooming, feeding and care of 

 the animal during his breaking, as it stands to reason that the 

 horse will be inclined to look upon him in a more friendly 

 manner than upon any one else. 



It is impossible to say how long it may be before this much 

 is accomplished, for, as I have already said, some horses will take 

 kindly to all this sort of thing almost in a day, whereas others 

 of a different disposition will take weeks of the most patient, 

 kindly, but resolute handling before they will stand it. When 

 once a horse is quiet in his box and submits to be groomed, 

 and have his feet picked up and washed, a considerable stride 

 has been made in his education. 



' Shoeing ' does not so much matter for some time ; in fact, 

 I think it is just as well not to begin to hammer at horses' feet 

 till you are perfectly sure they will not get upset by it. In that 



