1 84 BREAKING ON FOOT. 



The breaker should be thoroughly proficient in the art 

 of long-rein driving and should have obtained the necessary 

 practice on steady, broken horses, before attempting the 

 instruction of a young one. He should also bear in mind 

 the absolute necessity of, outwardly at any rate, keeping 

 a serene, unruffled temper with horses, under even the 

 most trying provocation, and especially in breaking young 

 horses. On more than one occasion I have had a stubborn 

 argument of over six hours' duration with obstinate jibbers ; 

 for I knew that if I had punished them with the whip, 

 my labour would have been entirely in vain. Therefore, 

 as I have already mentioned, success in horse-breaking 

 can only be obtained by an unlimited amount of patience 

 on the part of the instructor. 



If the horse be inclined at any time to make too large 

 a circle, we can cause him to describe a smaller one by 

 drawing on the inward rein and slackening off the outward 

 one, the proper amount of feeling on which we should 

 gradually restore according as we gain control over the 

 animal. Sometimes the horse, to avoid the action of the 

 reins, decreases on his own account the size of the circle 

 on which we are driving him. To nullify this defence, we 

 should feel the outward rein the stronger of the two and 

 should drive the horse away from us, so as to get more 

 behind him than previously, and should then gradually 

 lead him off by the inward rein into the desired circle. If 

 he shows " fight," which he will very seldom do with the 

 long reins, we may have to rein him back (see page 186), 

 turn him from one side to the other, or threaten him with 

 the lunging whip. 



The whole of the long-rein work should, as far as possible, 

 be done in the circle ; for that is, from my experience, the 

 only way by which the driver on foot can preserve a light 

 feeling on the reins. If he drives the horse straight on in 



