THE REASONED EQUITATION 



are a great deal more severe; and the rider may 

 unwittingly spur much harder than he intends. 

 Motion of the rowel from above downward is 

 likewise more severe than in the reverse direction. 



The attack with the spurs, at all periods in the 

 history of equitation, has been considered both as a 

 means of correction and punishment, and as an 

 augmentation of the effect of the legs. It has been 

 shown by writers on the subject that the use of the 

 spurs follows, as a necessary result, the invention of 

 bit and bridle. Evidently, the bit in the mouth, 

 bearing upon the sensitive bars, gives rise to 

 discomfort and even pain, so that the horse natu- 

 rally hesitates to go forward against the sensation. 

 This was especially the case with the earlier bits, 

 with their long branches and their disks with screws 

 attached to the ports. When the legs alone proved 

 insufficient to push the horse forward against the 

 bit, the whip had to be employed. But this can be 

 used on only one side at a time, and is therefore 

 inefficient. Moreover, the mounted soldier, reins 

 in one hand, lance or sword in the other, could not 

 use the whip. Spurs, therefore, had to be invented 

 to force the horse to go forward, notwithstanding 

 the pain of the bit manipulated by the heavy- 

 handed rider. 



The first master to begin to use the spur with 

 moderation and intelligence was Comte de la 

 Gueriniere. His principle of the "delicate pressure 

 of the spurs*' is still noted by the more progressive 



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