TRAINING A HORSE 



produce such a feeling is a thousand times more 

 cruel than to make proper use of the spurs and 

 bit, which may perhaps irritate a horse at first, 

 but which eventually teaches him to balance 

 himself and so to do his work with the least 

 effort and fatigue. 



A horse cannot always understand the 

 meaning of words, but he does catch the feeling 

 which the tone of the rider's voice indicates, 

 and a man who wishes to make a friend of his 

 horse should talk much to him in a low quiet 

 tone of voice, and allow him to smell his clothes, 

 an old coat being kept especially for the stables, 

 so that it will not matter even if the horse 

 takes hold of it with his teeth. It is best to 

 pat a horse on the withers or shoulders, as 

 horses do not seem to like being patted on the 

 neck by anyone on foot. It must be remem- 

 bered that the essence of success in dealing 

 with a horse is tact ; that is, the application in 

 the right place, and at the right moment, of the 

 minimum amount of force necessary to attain 

 one's object. No two horses are alike, and a 

 man must make a special study of every horse 

 he rides, and by combining the effects of hands, 

 egs and seat, must secure that invisible control 

 that marks a fine horseman. 



The first quality to secure in a horse is 

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