ANGLO-FRENCH HORSEMANSHIP 



not worth anything ; and I wish to show in this 

 chapter how this superiority can be asserted 

 and maintained without resort to cruelty or 

 undue severity, as cruelty nearly always pro- 

 duces a vicious disposition in a horse. Firmness 

 and kindness secure the desired end, but the 

 rider must remember to meet a challenge at 

 once and attack in a cheery, good-tempered 

 way ; and by means of his legs and hands so 

 place the horse that he cannot carry out his 

 intentions, or else force him by energetic use 

 of the legs to carry them out with a degree of 

 vigour 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. 



Horses when at work should look and feel 

 proud and pleased ; the rider should, therefore, 

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

 his horse the carriage which indicates these 

 feelings, and if he then treats him kindly, the 

 horse will both look and feel happy — feelings 

 are suggested by attitudes, and a horse that 

 is allowed to hang his head and look dejected 

 soon begins to feel so and hate his work. To 



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