COMMENTARIES ON BAUCHER. 337 



changes the distribution of weight by raising the head and 

 neck, they will not bear so heavily on his hands. 



Baucher confused the sensitiveness of the mouth with the 

 lightness which results from a change in the position of the 

 head and neck. 



Let us now consider the sides of a horse. 



Who will believe that the sides of a common, heavy, 

 lymphatic horse are as sensitive as those of a strong, wiry and 

 free-going animal ? * It is possible to make the former do 

 almost the same exercises as the latter ; but at what cost ? 

 We would have to dig the spurs into him to make him move ; 

 but with the free-goer, the mere approach of the heels would 

 be enough. 



A ticklish, impatient horse will never bear the spurs with 

 the same docility as a good-tempered, placid animal. In no 

 case can we succeed in completely changing the work of 

 nature. Further, a horse which is naturally ticklish, becomes 

 still more so from the continual contact of the spurs. It may 

 even happen that a horse which is not naturally ticklish, 

 becomes ticklish from the use of the spurs during breaking. 



Also, a horse which has bad loins, weak hocks, or any other 

 defect, will not be cured by Baucher's method. Often his 

 imperfections will only be increased by the sufferings which 

 he will endure, on account of being made to take up certain 

 positions, as in ordinary reining in, without the pressure of the 

 legs,-|" or in the complete rassembler. Baucher, therefore, 

 was far from being right when he asserted that his method 

 cured all ills. 



As a general rule, the weaker and more unsound a horse is, 

 the less should be expected from him, under pain of making 

 him incapable of any kind of work. With such an animal, 



* We might as well believe that all men are equally ticklish, 

 f Besides, I have already said that we should not use the simple raniener 

 except with a high-spirited horse which goes freely up to his bridle. 



22 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



