BACKING THE COLT. 321 



at first must be placed upon the breaker himself, who leads the 

 colt, as before, with the cavesson and webbing. With this the 

 mounted colt is now led out, and walked about for an hour or 

 more ; after which he should be returned to the stable, and then 

 the lad should dismount; and on no account should this be 

 attempted at first out of dtfors, for it has happened that on get- 

 ting off there has been a fight to got on again, which has re- 

 sulted in victory to the liorse ; whereas in the stable it can 

 always be managed, and with the thoroughbred colt it is seldom 

 wanted elsewhere, until he is quite used to it. If there is no 

 stable at hand with a door high and wide enough for this pur- 

 pose, the colt may be mounted in the paddock, the breaker 

 being very careful to engage his attention, and a third party 

 being on the off-side to assist in keeping the colt straight and the 

 saddle from giving way while the weight is being laid upon the 

 stirrup. Most colts give way at first to this one-sided pressure, 

 but they soon learn to bear up against it, and finally they do 

 not show any annoyance at all. It will be found that any colt 

 may be more readily managed by two people in a roomy stable 

 than by three out of doors, where he is on the look-out for ob- 

 jects of alarm, and is always more ready to show fight ; the only 

 difficulty is the getting clear of the door, which should be wide 

 and high ; and if it is the contrary, it offers an obstacle to the plan, 

 which must prevent its adoption. The mounter! lad should at 

 first sit steadily and patiently still, and should not attempt to 

 use the reins, which might indeed well be dispensed with, but 

 that few riders could balance themselves without holding some- 

 thing. I have found it a good plan to buckle them to the cav- 

 esson rather than to the bit, in those cases where the hands of 

 the rider were not very light. Tlie colt on leaving the stable 

 often sets his back up, and perhaps plunges or attempts to kick, 

 which he seldom does in the stable, and less frequently in leaving 

 it, than when he is suddenly mounted in the field. If he does this 

 the breaker should speak severely to him, and either keep down 

 his head, or the reverse, according to whether he is attempting 

 to rear or kick. It is for the latter vice only that the rider re- 

 quires the rein to the bit, as it serves to keep the colt quiet if 

 the bit is suddenly checked, when he gets his head down before 

 kicking. But in rearing, the lad is likely to do mischief with 

 Vol. it.— 21 



