88 



CHAPTER VII. 



SADDLING AND MOUNTING. 



In saddling the colt he should be turned round in 

 the stall and fastened to each pillar on either side, 

 allowing- him sufficient head to move backward and 

 forward freely. The breaker should take the saddle 

 and hold it forward to the colt's head so that he can 

 see and smell it, soothe him gently by kind words, 

 and caress him by patting him softly behind the ears. 

 He should move quietly up to his near side, push the 

 stirrups well up through the leathers, and fold the 

 girths across the top of the saddle. After making 

 much of the colt for a few minutes, the breaker should 

 slip the saddle gently over him, place it squarely upon 

 his back, slip the girths quietly from the top of the 

 saddle (Fig. 7), and in girthing him he must be care- 

 ful not to draw too tightly at first. Nothing frightens 

 a colt more than straining him round the middle 

 suddenly. The breaker must never hurry, nor do 

 anything clumsily, but move about the colt with ease 

 and confidence, and he will soon grow familiar with 

 the appearance and feeling of the saddle. It should 

 be frequently put on and taken off his back, first from 



