SUMMARY. 57 



obstinate refuser, or violent buck jumper, quiet and. obedient 

 in one lesson ; because such an animal had afterwards 

 become just as bad as before, on account of his owner not 

 taking the trouble, as advised by me, of repeating the 

 lesson I had given. I may point out that the reason why 

 men usually fail to subdue " difficult " horses, is because 

 they do not know how to take the first step, namely, that 

 of enforcing obedience. If they be supplied with this all- 

 important information, their task will be one of increasing 

 facility after each repetition, and, if persevered in, will be 

 rapidly completed. But to be successful, it must be re- 

 peated until the desired habit is established. 



SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPLES OF MAKING HORSES DOCILE 



may be stated as follows : 



1. To obtain control over the animal. 



2. To prove to him that he has nothing to fear from us, 

 or from the surroundings in which we place him ; in other 

 words, to give him confidence and to cure him of nervous- 

 ness. 



3. To teach him to understand the meaning of the 

 signals by which we desire to convey our orders to him. 



4. To make him obey our orders with promptness, 

 precision and willingness. 



5. To instruct him how to use his powers to the best 

 advantage. 



6. To convert by repetition those acts of obedience and 

 " cleverness," thus taught, into confirmed habits, so that 

 he may become a permanently useful servant. 



