SAFETY IN BREAKING. 53 



there are to well-broken horses, we might not unreasonably 

 conclude that more horses are marred than " made " in 

 breaking. 



In order to fulfil the necessary condition of safety for 

 himself, the breaker should be able by the system under 

 which he works — to quote the words of that clever horse- 

 tamer, "Professor" Sample — "to make the animal rideable 

 and driveable before he is either ridden or driven." 

 The breaker who employs the ordinary English method is 

 not alone exposed to danger when mounting, or even when 

 driving his pupils for the first few times, but also in the 

 preliminary handling. The advice, which is freely tendered 

 on such occasions, to go boldly up to the horse and show 

 him that you are not afraid of him, should be treated by 

 its recipient as a piece of " cheap swagger," or the outcome 

 of mere ignorance ; for even granting that such a proceed- 

 ing would effectively soothe a terrified animal, or cow a 

 treacherously disposed one — suppositions which are alto- 

 gether absurd — such counsel would in no way supply the 

 necessary foolhardiness for such an undertaking. My 

 advice, to either amateur or professional, is never to give a 

 horse a chance of doing wrong. Hence, in order to be 

 consistent, I shall endeavour to describe in the following 

 pages how any horse, no matter how wild or vicious he may 

 be, can be brought under complete control with, practically, 

 no risk to the breaker. 



Rapid methods of breaking. — We are greatly indebted 

 to American horse-tamers, from Rarey down to Sample, for 

 having furnished us with labour-saving methods of breaking. 



