THE-:- HORSE 



which is held by the pommel in the right 

 hand with its right side toward the near side 

 of the horse. The right stirrup is fastened 

 over the saddle horn and the cinching para- 

 phernalia is brought from the right side over 

 the back of the saddle and allowed to hang 

 on its left side. 



The saddle is then moved forward toward 

 the horse, until it touches him at a point in 

 the neighborhood of the shoulder, and is 

 moved rapidly away again before the horse 

 has time to resent its approach. As the horse 

 becomes used to the saddle touching him on 

 the shoulder, the horse-breaker contrives to 

 slip it onto his back at a point above the 

 withers and takes hold of the left girth strap 

 with the right hand. The saddle is allowed 

 to overbalance a little on the right side, so 

 that if the horse takes a sudden jump or 

 kicks, the equilibrium of the saddle may be 

 maintained by keeping a certain pull on the 

 left cinch strap. When it is evident that the 

 horse will stand still, allowing the saddle to 

 sit in this way upon his back, the cinch ring 

 can be slipped over the saddle horn, which 

 permits the cinch rigging to fall on the off 

 side. 



The problem is now to bring the cinch 

 from the right side up under the girth of the 

 horse and buckle it on the near side. It is 

 usually risky to try and reach this cinch 



81 



