"Finally, men learn very quickly to put in practice means that are applied on foot, and there is a great advantage in it; it is that they can see better the moment that the neck becomes flexible and the jaw without contraction; besides this, their hand becomes much more delicate than it would have become in a much greater space of time, if the application took place in the saddle.
"Until now, only men of great talent were able to break horses; now, by practising this new method, which demonstrates clearly the means of breaking, every rider, in a very short time, can acquire the knowledge necessary to render a horse fit for use. * * * A person commencing to learn this method, and who is obliged to work from the book, ought to proceed slowly and cautiously in the application of principles that are not familiar to him. He ought first to endeavor to perfect his seat, his position, his touch, the obedience of his horse, and his paces; he will thus make great progress in the breaking, and be enabled to undertake the application of the new method. "DE WILLISEN, "_Lieut.-Col. of the Seventh Cuirassiers_."
M. Baucher received from the King of Prussia a magnificent snuff-box of elegantly carved gold, as a token of the satisfaction of his majesty with our author's system.
If anybody has read all this, they will be pleased to hear that there will be no more proofs of the excellence of the system brought from across the Atlantic. In consequence of the opposition mentioned above, Baucher's system was discontinued in the French army, in spite of the almost unanimous wish of the officers. But he has gained a name as the first horseman of this or any other age--the first who could not only manage horses himself, but teach others to do so equally well. This has been proved under the translator's own eyes.
A gentleman of Philadelphia purchased a horse, four years old, long, _gangling_, ewe-necked; such a brute as no one but a confident disciple of Baucher would have had anything to do with. Had he hunted the country for a horse with but one merit, that of soundness, and possessing that only because nothing had ever been done to injure it, he could not have been better suited. Mounted upon this animal, it was painful to see a good rider in such a quandary; but a quiet, confident smile showed what was intended to come of it.