3 io FAULTS OF MOUTH. 



him that we are able to make him move even against his 

 will. Were he able to reason, he would not accept the 

 fact, which he appears to do, of our being able to make 

 him circle and turn to the right and to the left as a proof 

 that we are able (which we are not) to make him go for- 

 ward. After the discipline on foot with the long reins 

 or whip, or with both, it is always well, on mounting the 

 animal, to use the whip or stick on his hind-quarters to 

 obtain the turn on the forehand if needed. The applica- 

 tion of the whip with this object should be restricted to 

 light flicks (a little above the hock for preference), just 

 sufficient to act as a signal to the horse to move his hind 

 legs away from the whip or cane, which, in such cases, 

 should on no account be used as a punishment. For the 

 present purpose, I would disregard the spur in favour of the 

 whip ; for the former cannot be applied so far back as the 

 latter, and is much more liable to irritate the horse to 

 resistance. Instead of at once proceeding to ride the horse 

 after giving him a lesson with the long reins, we may put 

 an assistant in the saddle merely to accustom the horse (as 

 a further mark of our success) to the weight ; and continue 

 to drive the animal until he will move freely in any direction. 

 The mounted assistant may then take the reins, and may 

 circle and turn the horse several times before taking him 

 for a regular ride. If the rider be capable, the horse will 

 seldom, if ever, perceive the change made in the manage- 

 ment of the reins. If he were intelligent enough to do so, 

 he would, knowing that he had his rider at his mercy, 

 refuse to accord him the obedience which he had been 

 compelled to yield to the driver on foot. 



If the horse resolutely sulks, the breaker, to expedite 

 matters, may take the " nonsense " out of him by making 

 him lie down (see page 144), or by keeping him on the 

 ground with his head pulled round (see page 149), until he 



