THE HACK. 177 



reins, and the horse quickly establishes a connection between 

 these two acts. But if, in place of starting off the moment 

 we adjust the reins, we keep the horse at the walk, he will 

 not contract this bad habit, or he will give it up if he has 

 acquired it. The signal for a fast pace should be given only 

 with the heels. 



With respect to breed, we hnd in the first line in this 

 book, the cry of my heart : " I break only thorough-breds."* 

 I unhesitatingly put thorough-breds above all others, whether 

 for hacking or for high school riding. They are pre-eminently 

 the best for all kinds of work. Besides, a man who has got 

 into the habit of riding thorough-breds, will not care to ride 

 any other horses. 



For me the ruling qualities of the thorough-bred are the 

 lightness, the elasticity of the fine steel spring which puts 

 them into action, and the suppleness which will be developed 

 by breaking. If we listen from afar off, for the sound of his 

 foot-falls, we shall hardly hear them on account of the light- 



* I wrote this book at the time when I made my dibut at the Hippodrome 

 with Germinal and Markir. Remarks were made on the apparent con- 

 tradiction between my statement that I broke only thorough-breds and 

 the fact that I had carried the breaking of the half-bred Markir as far as 

 with any other horse, no matter what his breed might be. 



The truth is that I bought Markir, not only on account of his good 

 points, but also for his strength and activity, which I greatly admired. 

 While breaking him, I often asked myself if he would do all I expected, 

 and I frequently feared that his abilities would not come up to my require- 

 ments, which he amply fulfilled to my great surprise, and to such an extent 

 that I determined to find out if the pedigree he had been given was correct. 

 I therefore wrote to my friend Lenoble du Theil at the Haras du Pin, 

 and told him that Markir had been sold to me as being out of the thorough- 

 bred mare Theresine by the Norfolk half-bred Weighton Merrylegs, and I 

 begged him to see if this was right. Imagine my surprise and joy on 

 receiving the following answer : " The thorough-bred mare Theresine 

 was put to Merrylegs, but did not hold, and was covered two months 

 later by Cyrus, which is a thorough-bred Anglo-Arab, and the sire of 

 Markir." 



Markir is therefore thorough-bred. The curious thing about this matter 

 is that it was proved by practical experiment before any investigations had 

 been made. 



12 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



