Page:Equitation.djvu/419

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destroy one pain, it is rational to inflict another more severe."

It is, nevertheless, to be noted that the same grand master, after setting forth this theory, goes on to say that his own experience proves that, after a horse has been forced by severe correction to approach the particular object which was the cause of the initial fear, it will shortly commit the same écart for another object. This, in turn, having been corrected by the same procedure, the horse finds, in still another object, the reason for still another écart; and so on for any number without limit. The Duke's theory is interesting and his experience practical. But as instruction for other riders, he leaves a good deal to be desired.

For the fact is, a young horse, not yet sufficiently educated, may, from mere gayety and exuberance, be surprised by the sight of some object, which, though quite harmless, is not familiar. The animal, therefore, fearing physical pain, at once jumps aside. It is a simple matter for a rider to accustom his horse to any particular object; and then to observe whether the écart occurs with one object only, or is produced by several objects of different appearance. If the trouble is simply youth and a too exuberant life, the rational corrective is to have patience, to inspire confidence in the horse, and in the meantime to increase the amount of exercise. But if the horse commits the fault for different objects, and for objects which it has before passed without shy-