GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 113 



demand, of course, different details of handling ; but 

 one broad principle applies to them all namely, to get 

 the whole lever power of the animal to act in conjunc- 

 tion with its weight in the required direction, and 

 this with such a degree of leaning on the bit that the 

 power of controlling all its motions with certainty and 

 ease is secured, without the necessity of interfering 

 in so abrupt a manner with the animal's efforts as to 

 impede them unnecessarily; and to do this in such a 

 manner that the peculiarities of the individual horse 

 and of his work are brought gradually into harmony, 

 is the only effectual means we possess for avoiding 

 all occasion for restiveness, and constitutes rational 

 handling, as distinguished from purely empirical horse- 

 breaking as it is usually practised. For this is the 

 true secret, and not such violent methods as those 

 employed by Mr Rarey and others. Do not, if possible, 

 give your horse an opportunity of resisting your will 

 successfully, which is usually a consequence of your 

 demanding from him something either beyond his 

 comprehension or capacity ; and should restiveness 

 once occur, go back immediately to something the horse 

 will do, and, if necessary, commence the whole process 

 de novo. 



It will be well to explain here why the perfectly 

 fresh and sensitive mouth of the young horse conveys 

 the sensation of hardness to the hand of the rider, and 

 why the same mouth, after it has really been rendered 

 more or less callous by the application of cold iron to 

 its delicate organisation, comes to be called soft. 



When a horse is mounted for the first time, the 

 equilibrium of the whole machine is disturbed, which 

 becomes especially remarkable in the neck. The young 



