Introduction 3 



exceptional opportunities of observing the results 

 of the instructional methods initiated by Major 

 Birch and carried out under his direction; and al- 

 though it is not contended that his method offers 

 the only means of teaching a man to ride, the 

 system is certainly a very efficient one. 



At a time when science, by adapting the means of 

 mechanical locomotion to road transport, has al- 

 ready done so much to emancipate horses from some 

 of the drudgery of which they have hitherto been 

 the victims, it is opportune to further enlist its aid 

 in training them for the higher functions for which 

 in the future they will be more generally used. The 

 art of horse-training in this country has been too 

 long neglected, as a result of which the w^aste in 

 prematurely broken-down and vicious animals is 

 probably greater than is generally realized. 



Natural aptitude and the sporting instincts heredi- 

 tary in our race have done much to minimize the 

 necessity of scientifically training the man, but it is 

 not so with the horse; it is to be hoped that Part 

 II of this work will therefore appeal the more 

 forcibly to that large section of the public which is 

 interested in the production and training of young 



