18 THE CRUPPER. 



symptoms of resistance, the girths may be tightened by 

 degrees, but bear in mind, they are never to be so tight as 

 not to admit the fingers easily between them and the 

 horse's belly. 



The horse being carefully saddled, should then be moved 

 onward by leading him for a few minutes round the circle ; 

 and if he takes this quietly, longe him a little to both 

 hands ; when he feels the saddle, which he will do at the 

 trot, he perhaps may jump and plunge a little, but take 

 no more notice of this than by merely shaking the longe - 

 ing rein; do not jerk it, or punish him, for as he has 

 plenty of room he will not hurt himself, and when he finds 

 that he cannot kick it off, he will soon settle down. 



The horse being thus kindly and carefully treated, will 

 soon bear to be saddled with less precaution, yet it is al- 

 ways well to be careful with a young horse. If he is 

 unsteady, he should be allowed to stand saddled an hour or 

 more each day ; and no attempt to mount him should be 

 thought of until he is well reconciled to the saddle. 



The Crupper. 



Great care must also be taken in putting on the crupper, 

 for any bad management in the early attempt of this is 

 very likely to be attended with both difficulty and danger, 

 which will not be readily overcome afterwards. As I 

 mentioned before, when doing anything with a young 

 horse, it is always necessary to be firm, and not to touch 

 him as though you were afraid of him. The crupper 

 should be rather too long the first time of putting it on, 

 taking care that none of the long hair of the tail is left 

 between it and the crupper : having so far succeeded, let 

 the tail gently down, and then fit the crupper, taking care 

 not to have it too short, otherwise it will nip his tail, and 

 make it sore, which might cause him to kick with the 

 crupper ever afterwards. 



