After a short rest I begin the same exercises to the right for five minutes. When the work is over I again throw down the whip, and call the horse to me, while at the same time gently drawing him towards me by the lunging rein, and then pat and stroke him as before.

In my opinion the foregoing exercise is the indispensable first step in breaking, and, as I attach great importance to it, I will give my reasons at some length as follows.

A young horse is almost always restless and timid ; shadows, walls, and all sorts of trifling objects frighten him. He rushes away from anything that startles him, and goes to the part of the school which is unoccupied, while I remain by myself in the centre. If I show him the whip, while advancing towards his side, he instinctively flies away and goes to the wall, against which he can be easily kept by pointing the whip towards his shoulder.

Being placed between the threat which I make and an object which he fears, and from which he has fled, he returns to this fixed object, which appears to him to be less terrifying than the driving whip. When, thanks to this procedure, he has several times crossed the place of which he was afraid, he will eventually have no fear of it. We may note that it was not necessary to use punishment, which should be our last resort.

Further, if the animal is too lively, I would give him a good long turn at the trot, or even at the canter, if he prefers that pace, in order to get rid of his excess of energy. If he is dull, I teach him, by means of a few cuts of the whip, to go forward. We must draw a distinction between a horse that is soft and one that is sluggish. If the former is properly fed and exercised he can become lively ; but the latter, although he may be full of muscular vigour, does not like to put forth his strength except when he pleases, a fact which makes him dangerous to an inexperienced rider. We are