The Neglected Art of Haute Ecole
ENG,L ISH horses and horsemastershipbave long been the admirat tion of all countries. But apart from racing, which- is a distiriet
sahleet, neither Europe nor America admires our methods of training horses. For example, Haute Ecole, stilt almost an Unknown- science in England, has been practised on the Con.
tinent.for many centuries. . -•
We haye been content' in the past, to entrust. ours youlg horses to the rough and ready hands of the breaker and to learn riding from the family coachman. This has been recognized by Major Paterson, and his Sympathetic Training of Horse and Man is the best book Of its kind I have ever read. It treats the subject in a logical, convincing and scientific way
and shows clearly that it is in everyone's power to become a good horseman and to train a good. horse. As the author says, many people imagine that good -hands are a gift from heaven, but this is not true ; anyone can have good hands who has a-firm seat, a sense of balance and a love of horses. Major Paterson might perhaps have added one more requirement ----a sympathetic temperament. - • The author lays stress on many important points. The bit, he says, is not a brake. It is by training alone that we teach
horse' to- obey the signal to stop. Powerful and cruel bits are therefore as unnecessary as sharp spurs and whips on well- trained horses. The moral is : Spend any amount of time training your horse in order to avoid trouble later on. The chapter on Faulty Conformations and Evasions is of excep- tional interest in showing how- to overcome the difficulties met with in the advanced stages of training. In fact the book is so good that it seems a pity Major Paterson did not go further into the question of jumping and discuss and explain the various styles of foreign show jumping about which there is so much controversy at present. However, this sound and practical book must appeal to all who intend to train their own horses and become first-class horsemen themselves.
J. L. M. BARRETT.
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