2 52 MOUNTED BREAKING. 



When teaching the horse to obey the whip, either as an 

 aid or as a stimulant, we should be careful to use it in such 

 a way that he will not become unsteady in the event of 

 his rider carrying anything in his hand. 



As the horse's natural impulse on being touched is to 

 remove the offending object by twitching his skin, brushing 

 it off by his tail or mane, kicking it, biting at it, rubbing 

 it against some hard substance, or other similar means, 

 none of which will assist us in breaking ; we have got to 

 teach him to interpret, agreeably to our conventional code, 

 and not according to his instinct, the signal we give 

 with whip, spur, or heel. As I have already said, on 

 page 45, the whip and spurs should never be used as a 

 punishment. To avoid making the horse regard the spurs 

 as a means for inflicting pain, we should gradually teach 

 him their use : at first, by the pressure of the flat of the 

 foot or heel, by that of the spur without a rowel or with 

 a blunted rowel, and finally by the ordinary spur. We 

 should thus make him so obedient to them, that when 

 riding him we may dispense with their use, the contact 

 of the heel being sufficient to remind him of indications 

 which they had impressed on his memory. Referring to 

 school riding (see Chapter IX.), Baucher justly said that 

 a horse which had been brought to properly bear the 

 application of the spurs is three parts broken. 



Time required for ordinary breaking to saddle. — 



Supposing, as I have already said, that the horse is in 

 sufficiently good condition to stand the fatigue and strain 

 of breaking, and that the breaker is competent, the time 



