9 



ch. xv baucher's method 369 



England or America, and it may be briefly de- 

 scribed, as modified by successors of Baucher, 

 notably by Fillis, as follows : — 



The horse, in an ordinary riding-bridle, curb, 

 and snaffle, is brought to the place of the lessons, 

 preferably a riding-house where there is nothing to 

 distract his attention. The system, when exactly 

 followed, requires that preceding this he should 

 have been exercised with a cavesson and the lunge, 

 and we will assume that this, or something equiva- 

 lent, has already been done by the breeder of the 

 horse. 



The trainer, standing- on the near side of the 



horse, takes the reins of the snaffle together in his 



right hand, close to the bit and under the chin, the 



ends, with the whip, being held in the left hand, 



and leads the horse forward a few steps at a time. 



Should the horse refuse to move forward the whip 



must touch him just behind the girth, where the 



spur would touch him if he were mounted. This 



lesson is repeated, by the trainer walking on the 



other side, reversing the position of his hands. 



The next thing is to make the horse yield, or bend 



his neck. This is done by taking the snaffle-reins 



in the left hand in front of the horse's nose, holding 



the hand high ; and the curb-reins together in the 



right hand, eight inches from the bit, drawing the 



snaffle up and forward and the curb backward until 



the horse drops his head slightly and opens his 



mouth. This action on his part must be rewarded 



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