Lord Dufferin. 1 1 9 



be enough to qualify an ordinary draper's assistant who 

 had never previously placed his hand on a horse, to make 

 the worst man-eater in the world quiet in far less time than 

 Rarey took to subdue the historical Cruiser ; and yet years 

 of teaching and practice might not enable this supposititious 

 young gentleman to win obedience from an obstinate refuser, 

 or jibber in harness. In the former case, a mechanical routine 

 is sufficient ; in the latter, the operator requires patience, tact, 

 experience, and inspiration. Knowing how brilliant is the 

 result and how easy of accomplishment is the breaking of 

 a mad buck-jumper or ferocious savage, we can hardly blame 

 the showman for playing to the gallery with one of this sort ; 

 instead of giving with, say, a jibber, an exhibition which would 

 be as dull, as it would be meritorious. 



As I continued to gain experience, I rejected or improved 

 old methods, and adopted new ones. I found that, for prac- 

 tical (not ' show ') purposes, the voice and the reins should be 

 the chief means employed in the preparatory breaking of the 

 horse ; for their application can be repeated (repetition being 

 the grand means for confirming the desired habit of obedi- 

 ence) without inconvenience and with manifestly good effect, 

 every time we either ride or drive the animal. However 

 effective throwing a horse down or making him waltz round 

 with his head tied to his tail, may be for ' taking the non- 

 sense ' out of him, neither of these methods come within the 

 scope of the ordinary horse owner, especially if they have to 

 be repeated on several occasions. I soon rejected the use of 

 the Indian war bridle for a method by which I make a 

 horse stand steady when I order him to do so. 



The kindness and hospitality I received during this tour, 

 were not more gratefully appreciated by me than the warm 

 interest which was taken in my work. Thanks to the good 

 offices of Lord William Reresford, the Military Secretary to 

 the Viceroy, I held a large class at Simla under the patronage 

 and presence of their Excellencies Lord and Lady Dufferin, 

 and Lord and Lady Roberts. Knowing that there were only 



