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Xenophon's "Treatise on Horsemanship/' 

 written in the fourth century, B. C., empha- 

 sizes this essential in approaching a horse: 



"But whoever is employed about a horse, 

 ought to know that to do these things, and 

 everything else that he has to do, he must 

 come as little as possible near the face and the 

 tail ; for if a horse is inclined to be vicious, he 

 has in both these parts the advantage of the 

 man. But a person who approaches him at 

 the side can manage the horse with least dan- 

 ger to himself, and with the most power over 

 the beast." 



Bridling. Hold the whole bit with the left 

 hand directly under and within a foot of the 

 horse's lower jaw. Take the reins in the right 

 hand, slip them over the head, letting the 

 buckle joining the reins together rest on the 

 neck immediately behind the ears, then pull 

 the reins with the right hand tight around the 

 neck, and hold them together with the right 

 hand resting directly under the horse's jaw. 

 The purpose of doing this is to facilitate brid- 

 ling, in as much as the horse's head may be 

 pulled toward the one who bridles by the reins. 

 Move the bit upward toward the right hand, 

 so that the fingers of the right hand may sup- 

 port it for a moment, while the left hand re- 

 leases the bit and grasps the headstall at its 

 uppermost point, which is the middle of the 

 band behind the ears. Then, releasing the bit 



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