112 ORDINARY RIDING. 



that no horse will resist these indications, if they are gently 

 employed. 



I use the near snaffle rein according to the amount of 

 resistance which the horse often makes at first. I draw the 

 head a little more to the left, while continuing to touch the 

 animal's side with the heel and whip if the resistance is great. 

 The horse is forced to yield to these three forces acting on 

 the same side. 



As soon as the horse takes a step to the right, I stop him 

 and pat him on the neck. I then let him go quietly round 

 the school, in order that he may think over what he has just 

 done. It is most important always to let a horse be free 

 and quiet after he has obeyed. A horse will accept this as a 

 reward, which we should not be chary in giving him. Stop- 

 page of work and pats on the neck are the only means to 

 make him understand that he has done well. We are so 

 often obliged to have recourse to punishment during break- 

 ing, that we ought to eagerly seize the opportunity of patting 

 him on the neck, when he shows the slightest sign of obedi- 

 ence. The more we pat him on the neck, the less will we 

 be forced to punish him.* 



As I have just said, by letting the horse walk at ease for a 

 few moments, we give him time to understand the movement 

 which he has just done and the indications which cause him 

 to do it. Apparently the horse yields only physically, but in 

 reality it is his intelligence, or, to speak more correctly, his 

 memory to which we appeal. We must therefore work on 

 his memory, and for that reason I allow him the necessary 

 time to permanently remember this fact. 



Having let the horse go quietly round the school, I do the 



* The great art in breaking is to reward and punish in an appropriate 

 manner, in order to do which we must seize the exact moment of obedience 

 or resistance. Here we must bear in mind the fundamental principle 

 of breaking, namely, that reward should follow obedience as quickly as 

 punishment follows disobedience. 



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