334 COMMENTARIES ON BAUCHER. 



Thus, in the first place, I say that Baucher's method, which 

 consists in keeping the horse completely and constantly closed 

 between the hands and legs of the rider, is dangerous for 

 people who are indifferent riders, and also for those who 

 work or break their first horses without being under the eye 

 of a master.* It is, therefore, not within the compass of 

 everyone, and perhaps it cannot be practised without trouble, 

 except by those who have seriously studied it. 



Baucher says that the mouths and sides of all horses are the 

 same, which is an entirely erroneous idea. I maintain, on the 

 contrary, that it is impossible to find two horses whose mouths 

 and sides are equally sensitive. Without doubt, the differ- 

 ence, like that between the leaves of a tree, may not be very 

 apparent in all cases, but it exists, and cannot be denied. 



It is possible that we can succeed in making all horses light 

 in hand and sensitive to the spurs, but I deny that we can 

 give them all the same lightness and sensitiveness. 



Baucher adds that in the case of a puller, his mouth is not 

 at fault, and that it is sufficient to change his equilibrium. 

 Let us test his statement by taking, for instance, racehorses 

 in training, and leaving them to make their own distribution 

 of weight, with their heads low, necks stretched out, and 

 croups high. What will happen? Some will not go up to 

 the bridle and will run badly ; others will pull just enough to 

 run well ; and a third variety will pull too hard, and will run 

 away, notwithstanding the strength of their riders' arms. 

 What does this prove, except that they all have not the same 

 sensitiveness of mouth, as they are all in the same position ? 



We should note that all horses in training are bitted in the 

 same way, namely, with a plain snaffle. We therefore cannot 

 blame the curb for their different ways of pulling. 



The experiments I have made have thoroughly cleared up 



* This is probably the reason why many true followers of Baucher have made 

 their horses restive. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



