are a great deal more severe; and the rider may unwittingly spur much harder than he intends. Motion of the rowel from above downward is likewise more severe than in the reverse direction.
The attack with the spurs, at all periods in the history of equitation, has been considered both as a means of correction and punishment, and as an augmentation of the effect of the legs. It has been shown by writers on the subject that the use of the spurs follows, as a necessary result, the invention of bit and bridle. Evidently, the bit in the mouth, bearing upon the sensitive bars, gives rise to discomfort and even pain, so that the horse naturally hesitates to go forward against the sensation. This was especially the case with the earlier bits, with their long branches and their disks with screws attached to the ports. When the legs alone proved insufficient to push the horse forward against the bit, the whip had to be employed. But this can be used on only one side at a time, and is therefore inefficient. Moreover, the mounted soldier, reins in one hand, lance or sword in the other, could not use the whip. Spurs, therefore, had to be invented to force the horse to go forward, notwithstanding the pain of the bit manipulated by the heavyhanded rider.
The first master to begin to use the spur with moderation and intelligence was Comte de la Guérinière. His principle of the "delicate pressure of the spurs" is still noted by the more progressive
