284 SCHOOL BREAKING, 



here touch on a weak point of school breaking, namely, 

 that a horse whose instruction is confined to the manege, 

 becomes rotitine to the school, so that he will perform his 

 work properly only in it, and would require, in order to 

 fit him to act outside, a further (though, necessarily, a 

 much shorter) course of teaching, which would have the 

 effect of more or less impairing his cleverness indoors. 

 Hence, high-school horses are, as a rule, exercised only in 

 the manege. I have seen this tendency to become routine 

 to a certain place well shown by horses which I practised 

 at various school airs on a particular part of my paddock ; 

 for although they would do this work with precision and 

 brilliancy on the improvised manege, they would, until I 

 had accustomed them to the change, try to " play up " the 

 moment I took them off the well-remembered track. 

 Therefore, school breaking, however valuable it may be, can 

 be regarded only as preparatory to instruction in the open. 

 Our military riding-schools are twenty yards wide by 

 sixty yards long. For the school training of single horses, 

 the manege need not be larger than twelve yards by 

 twenty-four yards, or even a circle of twelve yards in 

 diameter will do. With single reins, one rein is held in 

 each hand. With a bit and bradoon, apart from the 

 ordinary application of the bridle, the snaffle is used to 

 keep the head sufficiently raised by acting on the corners 

 of the mouth, and the curb to depress it. The use of 

 the curb is not indispensable for obtaining the airs of 

 the high school ; but from its severity it is, as a rule, more 

 effective than that of the snaffle. The collection to be 

 obtained from the latter bit is in every way to be preferred 



