50 ANGLO-FRENCH HORSEMANSHIP 



should depend on a right attitude of mind and con- 

 centrated mental control operating through the aids, 

 not on physical force, in the management of his horse ; 

 he»should make a strong mental demand ; hold stead- 

 fastly to it, and thus communicate his wishes without 

 the necessity of words. 



The chief road to success in the training of animals 

 is in fact to treat them in a way which will secure their 

 respect and affection. Respect comes first, as aflection 

 which is not preceded by the knowledge that the rider 

 is the master, is not worth anything, and 1 wish to show 

 in this chapter how this superiority can be asserted 

 and maintained without resort to severity, which nearly 

 always produces a vicious disposition in a horse. 

 Firmness and kindness secure the desired end ; but the 

 rider must remember to meet a challenge at once ; 

 attack in a cheery, good-tempered way, and by means 

 of his hands and legs so place the horse that he cannot 

 carry out his intentions ; or else force him by energetic 

 use of the legs to exert himself with a degree of vigour 

 and collection which is distasteful and tiring to him ; 

 the latter method is, I think, the better, if there is 

 plenty of room, and the rider is sure of his seat, as in 

 the future the horse will not have pleasant associations 

 connected with his attempt to misbehave, and will 

 think twice before he challenges again. 



As the horse's training progresses these challenges 

 will become less and less frequent and the rider 

 will have little to disturb him in his efforts to get his 

 horse to feel and look proud and pleased ; he should, 

 by means of the aids of the hand and leg, give his horse 

 the carriage which indicates these feehngs, and if he 

 then treats him kindly, the horse will both look and 

 feel happy ; feelings are suggested by attitudes, and a 



