horse should be punished, because if we let him take the initiative, we can get no regularity in the changes.

When I say that he ought to be punished, I mean that the fault ought to be checked. Thus, if when the horse is cantering on the off fore, he changes before we ask him to do so, he should simply be touched more sharply than usual with the left spur, in order to oblige him to rest on the right leg. Of course we should use the right spur in a similar way, if the horse has started with the left leg leading. Having checked the fault in the manner I have indicated, we should avoid again requiring a change of leg in the air during the same lesson, as it might confuse the horse. It is better to go back to the starts, while keeping him for a long time on the same leg.

If we have checked the same fault several times and have taken care to pat the animal when he changes only when we ask him, he will soon understand that he ought not to do anything without being asked. But, I repeat, we should do the changes only when we have not been obliged to punish the animal. It is better to devote several lessons to checking the fault, in which case the horse will understand much better, will be quieter, and his breaking will be more rapid.

I make the horse change at shorter intervals only when he fully understands what I want him to do. Instead of beginning at the sixth time, I demand the change at the fourth time, by using always the same means. For the first few times I content myself with a single change with each leg, and during the following days I gradually require a greater number of changes.

We can see that the shorter the interval between the changes, the greater will be the effort required from the horse, who is consequently apt to become irritable and confused, in which case he should be halted, walked for some