Preface 9 



early handling and development of the horse's mind, 

 and have gone fully into the subject of permanent 

 horse-balance and its extreme importance, a thing 

 which is not very generally understood. 



I have dealt with both riding and training from a 

 more or less historical point of view, not only to 

 give instructors some idea of bygone ways of riding 

 and of teaching equitation and to point out why they 

 fell into disuse, but also to prevent the possible rein- 

 troduction of obsolete methods which time and ex- 

 perience have proved to be faulty. I have freely 

 quoted from equine literature where I have thought 

 it to be desirable, but it must not be inferred that 

 the authors mentioned are the only ones I have 

 studied. As this book is intended to be little more 

 than a handbook, I have not burdened it with a 

 bibliography of all the works I have consulted. 



Without the assistance of my successor, Major the 

 Hon. W. Sclater Booth, R. H. A., and his kindness 

 in continuing experiments in the Riding Establish- 

 ment in proof of various theories we both wished to 

 advance, several parts of this book could never have 

 been written. To the staff of the Riding Establish- 

 ment, who have been every ready to try new de- 



