BREAKING 133 



walk and trot as well as at a canter, I put up one of the 

 soldiers^ whom the horse carried over the obstacle in nice 

 sober fashion. This pleased everyone, and the General asked 

 me to lunch. He was very civil, not to say flattering. I 

 tried to convince him that I was undeserving of his compli- 

 ments ; for he would insist that neither he nor any of his 

 officers or men had the ability to put my teaching into 

 practice. In this he was certainly wrong; for all they 

 required was a little training, and by that time several of the 

 officers had become interested in my work and were anxious 

 to learn. Evidently acting on the instructions of General 

 Strukof, General Hahn did not want me to stay longer than 

 the following day, which was the sixth one of my breaking. 

 I therefore gave on it a hasty repetition of my methods, and 

 showed my good friend Veterinary - Surgeon Edmund 

 Tromschinsky and his staff a simple way by which one man 

 can make a horse lie down and can secure him for operations 

 (see Veterinary Notes for tforse-owners). I also rode the 

 dark brown horse of the previous day, and made him jump 

 the bar quietly, one way and then the other at any pace I 

 wanted. Everyone expressed themselves highly gratified 

 with my work. 



During my stay at this brigade, I received much kindness 

 from the officers Nikolai Joltannovsky, Alexis Kashkarof, 

 Krivochein, Nasaretof and others. 



Looking back on my breaking at Liski, I find no reason 

 for self-satisfaction. With the fatal impetuosity of an Irish- 

 man, I accepted as a challenge the first horse given to me, 

 and felt in honour bound to make him quiet then and there. 

 Notwithstanding the receipt of the " Circular Letter " (p. 1 10) 

 which had been sent in advance, I was received by the 

 General and his officers with such marked, though tolerant 

 scepticism, that I felt bound to try to win the confidence 

 of my supposed pupils by practical proof of my ability, 



