THE OBJECT OF BREAKING 67 



contracted fingers would spoil the horse's mouth and 

 have a bad result. 



Consequently, in this first lesson of the action of the 

 legs, the hand ought not to oppose the extension of the 

 neck ; on the contrary, the fingers should be half open, 

 so that the neck can readily stretch itself, and that 

 nothing should run counter to the goodwill of the 

 horse in his forward movement — to sum up, the legs 

 are active, the hands passive. 



There may be an advantage in putting on spurs 

 early in the breaking of certain horses especially 

 lacking in vigour, and which are irresponsive to the 

 pressure of the legs ; but even in this case the spur 

 should not have sharp rowels. With well-bred horses 

 it is usual not to Avear spurs at first. The use of the 

 spur, in most cases, does not seem to give any si^ecial 

 lesson : the horse nearly always replies to it by rearing. 



In the case of mares or of horses which cow-kick 

 and refuse to go forward, it generally suffices to put 

 them back to the cavesson, and to give them a stroke 

 of the whip at the moment the rider applies the spur. 



The halt. — To stop the horse, the rider gradually 

 increases the pressure of the fingers on the reins, while 

 at the same time straightening his body. He regulates 

 the vigour of his action in accordance with the 

 sensibility of the horse's mouth. 



When stopping, the horse should remain well- 

 balanced and light in hand. 



One should not sto]3 nervous horses too often, or 

 those which are balanced too much on their hind 

 quarters, or those which have a general tendency to get 

 behind the hand ; on the contrary, stop those often 

 which, owing to their conformation, have too much 

 weight on their shoulders. Training is nothing else 



