2i8 MOUNTED BREAKING, 



allude in Chapter IX. I shall reserve the consideration of 

 the breaking of harness horses for Chapter VI 1 1. 



Mounting a horse for the first time. — Having put 

 the horse through the preceding course of discipline, we 

 may test his readiness to bear a rider by — after having 

 saddled him — placing across the saddle a half-filled sack 

 of corn or earth, while using the rope-twitch to correct 

 him in the event of his evincing any resistance or alarm, 

 pretended or real. Having attached the sack firmly to the 

 saddle, we may keep circling, turning, and reining back the 

 horse with the long reins (see page 192), until he becomes 

 quite steady. We may now remove the sack and apply 

 the rope-twitch without shifting the bridle. While the 

 breaker holds the rope-twitch in one hand and the long 

 reins in the other, an assistant may prepare to mount ; any 

 unsteadiness being corrected by the rope-twitch. Although 

 I have never known of a case of a horse, however violent 

 he may have been, breaking away when held only by the 

 rope-twitch ; still the long reins will be useful as a further 

 precaution in the event of the animal trying to get away. 

 With this object, it is well to pass the right long rein 

 through the left ring of the mouthpiece of the snaffle, as 

 in Fig. 99. The assistant should quietly mount and dis- 

 mount several times, the horse being rewarded or punished 

 according to his conduct. When he has become accustomed 

 to these operations, the man should mount, and the breaker 

 having given the rope-twitch to another assistant, should 

 arrange the long reins so that he may be ready to drive 

 the horse on foot. He should take a short and firm hold 



