Manual of Equitation and Horse Training 75 



Certain methods of training may pretend to obtain 

 absolute domination of the horse. They subdue finally 

 both his mental and physical forces. But these methods, 

 whose base is the complete rassembler on the spur, are 

 not in the domain of secondary equitation. The exigen- 

 cies of work in the troop and on varied ground, on the 

 contrary, make a constant appeal to the horse's natural 

 forces, to his instinct, often even to his initiative. 



Base of an equestrian language, — In order that man 

 may transmit his will to the horse, act on his intelligence 

 and control, it is necessary to establish between them a 

 sort of conventional language which the rider may easily 

 teach and utilize, and which the horse may as easily un- 

 derstand and accept. 



This language is based on the law of association of 

 sensations: "When impressions have been produced sim- 

 ultaneously or have immediately succeeded each other, it 

 is sufficient that one be presented in the mind for the 

 others to immediately follow." For example, if a horse 

 moves forward at the call of the tongue, it is because one 

 day he saw a whip, felt the lash, and at the same time heard 

 the call of the tongue. Whenever the last sensation, which 

 affects only the hearing, is alone presented, those of sight 

 and touch will come immediately to his mind and he will 

 move forward as he did under the effect of the lash. 



Likewise the horse has learned to range his haunches 

 under the effects of the riding whip ; later he will range 

 them under the pressure of one leg, because the two sen- 

 sations will have been associated in the beginning. 



The movements which the horse executes naturally 

 under the influence of the aids are very rare. The most 

 docile horse can not obey his rider's commands if he does 

 not understand them. It is by following the principle cited 

 above that one may build up the language which permits 

 the necessary understanding. Sight, hearing, touch, and 

 even taste successively come into play, and each has its 

 part in this education. 



It is on the longe that the first elements of this are 

 given. The touch, then alone the sight of the whip, pro- 

 duces the forward movement, to this one will associate the 

 the cluck of the tongue, substituting later on the action of 

 the legs. The traction of the longe, in the same way, paves 



