GENERAL RULES. 233 



injudiciously, treated, and in most cases it will be ad- 

 visable to hand them over to professionals, who should 

 in common fairness be told the whole truth. A riding- 

 school is, however, not always within reach, and we 

 must therefore see what can be done with horses that 

 have acquired vice to this extent. 



The first step to be taken in such cases is to restore 

 confidence, and make the horse feel that it will now be 

 subjected to kind and judicious treatment. This must 

 commence in the stable, and the foundation is best laid 

 by the man who feeds and cleans the animal; and 

 here let it be remarked, that an example of violence 

 or severity given by the owner or trainer but too fre- 

 quently induces the groom to follow it up, and should 

 therefore be very carefully avoided. If, on the con- 

 trary, the groom succeeds in getting the horse to move 

 about in his stall and turn round, a good foundation 

 is thereby laid for the further treatment, and the 

 trainer will do well to follow it up himself precisely in 

 the same manner, giving the animal a handful of oats, 

 a piece of bread, or a lump of sugar, which most horses 

 are very fond of, whilst others prefer common salt. 

 When you have got thus far, let the groom lead the 

 horse out into a convenient enclosed space : at first it 

 will be best to put nothing further on it than a snaffle, 

 a surcingle, and a cavesson. When on the ground, the 

 trainer may approach it quietly, and, giving it some tit- 

 bit, make much of it, and then, with the assistance of 

 the groom, fix the reins of the snaffle loosely to the 

 rings of the surcingle, and firmly attach the line to the 

 centre ring of the cavesson, carefully avoiding all com- 

 pulsion. When this has been accomplished, gather up 

 the lounge-line in a neat and regular coil in your left 



