242 baucher's method. 



faults are ascribed to his nature, and it is not deemed pes 

 sible to give him an elegant carriage. If he bear with his 

 full force on the bit, it is considered an advantage, because 

 it gives the rider a firm support, by enabling him to steady 

 himself in his seat by bearing his weight on the bridle. 



There have been for ages more or less imperfect direc- 

 tions given for overcoming these difficulties, and for bring- 

 ing ordinary horses into a tolerably good condition for the 

 saddle ; but they were so tedious and so uncertain in their 

 results, that their application was limited to Military schools, 

 and similar institutions, where it was worth whUe to take 

 a great amount of trouble to train horses for special work. 



More recently M. Baucher, a French equestrian of great 

 distinction, has, after giving many years to the subject, ad- 

 vanced OQ entirely new method for training horses to the 

 saddle, which seems to be founded on natural principles 

 and to be equally applicable to all cases. M. Baucher does 

 not claim that he can make all horses equally good for the 

 saddle, but he does claim, and he seems to prove, that all 

 horses can be made, by his method, as good saddle-horsea 

 as they are capable of becoming, with an outlay of very 

 much less time and labor, and with far less pain to the an- 

 imal, than was necessary under the old system. He also 

 asserts that any horse, not actually deformed, no matter 

 how sad a jade he was when taken in hand, will become, 

 after proper suppling and instruction, a light and graceful 

 saddle beast. 



If the horse to be trained be vicious, and will not allow 

 himself to be approached and properly handled, he should 

 of course be subjected to the processes described in the 

 chapter on Rarey's method of taming horses ; but suppos- 

 ing him to be already tamed, and tolerably docile, ho 

 may be proceeded with according to the following direc 

 bong-.— 



