GATHERING THE HORSE. 169 



rider that important part of horsemanship 

 called rassembler. This has been a great deal 

 talked about by people, as they have talked 

 about Providence, and all the mysteries that 

 are impenetrable to human perception. If 

 it were allowable for us to compare small 

 things with great, we might say that the more 

 or less absurd theories which have been put 

 forward upon the subject of divine power, 

 have not, fortunately, hindered in any way 

 the unchangeable march of nature ; but with 

 regard to the progress of horsemanship, the 

 case is not the same, as to what has been 

 said and written on the subject of the ras- 

 sembler. The false principles propagated 

 on this subject have made the horse the 

 plaything and the victim of the rider's 

 ignorance. 



I proclaim it, the gathering a horse has 

 never been understood or defined before me, 

 for it cannot be perfectly executed without 

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