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g-ently opposite his near shoulder, and, if he moves, 

 he must stop until he is perfectly quiet. After wait- 

 ing a few seconds, the breaker must advance carefully 

 as before, and, in the course of a few minutes, the 

 colt will allow his nose to be touched gently, but, 

 on smelling the hand, he will generally start away. 



He must never be approached from his other 

 extremity, as we are not sensible that any virtue lies 

 in his tail, although a good deal of power and con- 

 vincing force lie in his heels, in the shape of removing 

 obstacles that he is not quite sure about ; therefore 

 the breaker must keep as far from his heels as pos- 

 sible, for in this case, like many others, ''discretion 

 is the better part of valour." 



In the majority of cases, at the first contact of 

 the hand, the colt will start and rush wildly away, 

 and, so far as haltering is concerned, this may be 

 considered as the supreme moment on which the 

 balance of the breaker's mastery over him rests. If 

 the breaker jumps aside, attempts to follow him, or 

 appears too much in a hurry, he will miss the oppor- 

 tunity, and the chances are that he will not succeed 

 in getting near the colt again for some considerable 

 time ; therefore, when he wheels round, the breaker 

 should stand perfectly still. In no case must he 

 move or recede one single step, or he will lose 

 ground which has all to be recovered again in some 

 manner or other. The breaker should keep his eyes 

 firmly fixed on the colt, never lifting them for a 

 moment. The colt will neither kick nor bite so 



