COERCION. 21 



are very irritating when drawn too tight, while with 

 good shape and a breast-plate, there is little danger of 

 their not being tight enough. When these preliminaries 

 have been carefully gone through mount nimbly to the 

 saddle, and take the first opportunity of feeling your 

 new friend's mouth and paces in trot, canter, and gallop. 

 Here, too, though in general it should be avoided for 

 many reasons, social, agricultural, and personal, a little 

 " larking " is not wholly inexcusable. It will promote 

 cordiality between man and beast. The latter, as we 

 are considering him, is sure to be fond of jumping, and 

 to ride him over a fence or two away from other horses 

 in cold blood will create in his mind the very de- 

 sirable impression that you are of a daring spirit, 

 determined to be in front. 



Take him, however, up to his leap as slow as he will 

 permit if possible at a trot. Even should he break 

 into a canter and become impetuous at last, there is no 

 space for a violent rush in three strides, during which 

 you must hold him in a firm, equable grasp. As he 

 leaves the ground give him his head, he cannot have 

 " too much rope," till he lands again, when, as soon as 

 possible, you should pull him back to a trot, handling 

 him delicately, soothing him with voice and gesture, 

 treating the whole affair as the simplest matter of 



