GENERAL REMARKS. 109 



at the age of three ; because the younger they are 

 taken in hand, the more tractable will they become. 



It is best to start with an unbroken animal in an 

 enclosed space ; a riding school for choice. If a school 

 be not available, a walled-in enclosure, such as a cattle 

 yard, or any place from which a pony can neither see 

 the ground outside, nor jump out of, will do. 



To begin with, put a plain snaffle in the animal's 

 mouth, buckle on a roller or old saddle, lead him 

 quietly about, get him accustomed to be petted and 

 handled, and in a couple of days he will probably let 

 himself be led without any trouble. On the third or 

 fourth day a sack of earth may be strapped on the 

 saddle, and the rope twitch can be applied, if the pony 

 plays up. 



The method of using this twitch is to jerk it and at 

 the same moment shout " steady ! " in a reproving tone 

 of voice, which the pony will mentally connect with the 

 painful jerk, and in nine cases out of ten he will 

 become immediately cowed. This is the best twitch 

 I know ; because it does not hurt the animal except 

 at the moment of the application of the jerk, the 

 severity of the punishment can be regulated with 

 exactness, and the pony can be taught to obey the 

 voice. When the pony has become quiet with the 

 twitch, the sack may be taken off and a man put on 

 his back. At first it is best to use a saddle without 

 stirrups, and give the man a leg up. In a couple of 

 days it will be found that the pony is quiet to ride inside 

 the enclosure, and he may then be taken outside on a 

 leading rein, and exercised either by leading or 

 lungeing him. In a fortnight he should be fit to go by 

 himself on quiet country roads. 



