BREAKING— BAUCHER'S METHOD. 145 



first occasions. If, on the other hand, the reins are at once buckled 

 on, and are then strained tightly hack to the surcingle, or dumb- 

 jockey, the delicate mucous membrane becomes sore, and even 

 ulcerated, and the foundation is laid for that dull, unyielding 

 mouth which is so objectionable on every account. 



It should never, be forgotten, that the mouth is the foun- 

 dation upon which all the subsequent proceedings are to be con- 

 ducted. A horse may naturally have fine action, and he may be 

 so framed that, if he were properly bitted, he would be a delight- 

 ful hack or hunter ; but if his mouth is spoiled in breaking, his 

 fine action is thrown away, because it cannot be regulated and 

 controlled by such a trifling exercise of strength in the hand and 

 arm as is consistent with riding for pleasure. Many a pulling 

 brute has won a steeplechase, or shown to advantage in the hunt- 

 ing-field, with a professional " up," which would not be ridden for 

 ten minutes by an amateur who could afford to make his own selec- 

 tion. Hence, the first thing which the breaker has to set about 

 is the formation of a good mouth ; and this is exactly what Mr. 

 Rarey's plans fail to provide, and, indeed, it is what they interfere 

 with in a great degree, as I have observed at page 143. Well, 

 then, let us examine into the received mode of obtaining a good 

 mouth in England. M. Baucher has carried the European prin- 

 ciples of producing it to a very high degree, and it will be neces- 

 sary to allude to his plans also; but, on the whole, I cannot but 

 think them superfluous for ordinary purposes, and should be per- 

 fectly content with a horse broken in the best English methods, 

 which now combine the "supplings" of the great French breaker 

 with the old dead pressure adopted in the methods of our ances- 

 tors. The difference between the two is mainly this, that we in 

 England content ourselves with confining the head by the reins in 

 a position which, while it does not compel the horse to lean upon 

 his bit, yet makes him try to avoid its pressure by bending his 

 neck, and thus rendering its muscles supple. M. Baucher, on the 

 contrary, prefers that the whole of this suppling shall be per- 

 formed by the pressure of the breaker's hand ; and, doubtless, his 

 is the best plan, if the man employed is competent to the task, 

 and the time thus devoted can be afforded. It takes a fortnight 

 or three weeks to "make" a horse's mouth, so far as to fit him to 

 bear the hands of his rider, in either way; but as less than two 

 hours a day during that time will not suffice, and as in the one 

 case the horse supples himself, while in the other a man must 

 effect the change, M. Baucher's method costs twenty-eight hours 

 of skilled labor, -in addition to subsequent breaking, and it is there- 

 fore very expensive. The course of proceedings which good Eng- 

 lish breakers now adopt is as follows. The bit having been allowed 

 for some days to remain in the mouth without reins, as already de- 

 13 k 



