THE PSTCHOLOGY AND TRAINING OF THE HORSE COUNT EUGENIO MARTINENGO CESARESCO H- y JOHNA.SEAVERNS 9090 013 409 426 Webster Family Library of Veterinary Medicine Cummings School of Veterinary iVledicine at Tutts University 200 Weslbcro Road Noith Grafton, MA 01536 \ r*»" THE PSYCHOLOGY AM) TRAINING OF THE HORSE. THE PSYCHOLOGY AND TRAINING OF THE HORSE BY COUNT EUGENIC MARTINENGO CESARESCO ifr NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER»S SONS T. FISHER UNWIN ADELPHI TERRACE MCMVI en- All rights reserved. Printca in Hal). Like all other animals the horse is composed of a machine and of a mind irhich sets the machine in motion. People who manage horses usiiallij give little importance to the mind. But the mind is most important as to command the machine we must first command the mind. Some ohservations on this suhject mag he ttseful to those who have to do with horses. I have added a few remarJi's on bridling, on the use of the curb -hit and on turning. iSald, La go di Garda. Jime, 1906. CONTEXTS The Mind of the horse. Intelligence — Imagination — memory Excitability to motion peculiar to the horse Senses, sensitiveness, sensations .... Instincts, inclinations, feelings .... Ideas and feelings. — Their (irigin. — Ideas and leelings which we may call forth in the horse Will, actions: motives of actions. How we can in- tiuence his will so as to secure the actions we desire ....... Signs by which he shows his ideas, his feelings and his intentions ..... Signs of a desire to ]terf(n'm certain movements inferred from his attitude and the positions he assumes ...... His attention is directed to only one thing at a time ........ Things he understands naturally and which have influence upon him . . P(«je 1 » 6 » 8 » lli 20 25 31 3^ 39 40 VllI Effect of good treatment on his nature Effect of punishment ...... How to act on his mind and feelings . Individual qualities and character Things that somewhat modify his mental qualities and character ...... Certain mental qualities are generally coupled with certain physical ones ..... Attacks of the horse against the man who grooms him. — Causes. — How they may be over- come ........ Oppositions and reactions against man and rider; causes; how they may be overcome . Special aptitudes . . . . . . Importance of a good disposition and good mental qualities in the horse tor his instruction and his serviceableness .... Page 45 » 46 » 47 » 48 » » » » 56 57 58 61 64 64 How the horse I earns and how he must he tauyht. Remark ... How the horse learns . How he remembers How he judges Good and bad associations Associations which increase which diminish it fear and associations » 68 » 69 » 73 » 78 » 80 s » 82 ilL Associations calculated to show the horse our su- periority and to teach him obedience, and associations which make the horse under- stand his strength and teach him disobe- dience i'ag*^ 83 We must avoid giving" the horse associations c«m- trary to our puriwse of controlling him, i. c. giving him associations which make him understand that he is stronger than we are, that he can do as he wishes in opposition to our will, and which teach him disobe- dience ........ 85 He must be taught in the same way that he learns of himself . . . . . » 97 The means of teaching are the various aids and punishments . . . • • . » 98 Punishments and caresses in teaching ...» 100 Way of making the horse understand that lie is desired to perform or not to perform an action and inducing him to i»erform or not to perform it. Associations of pleasure or of approval and associations of pain or di- sapproval . . . . . . . » 102 Xecessary conditions in order that the horse may learn ......... 107 Attention . . . . . • . . » 108 Confidence ......... 109 Obedience ......... Ill The associations of pleasvire or approval should follow immediately on the action performed and required to be performed, and the asso- i ciations of pain or disapproval should follow immediately on the action performed and ^ not required Page 114 | The associations which are given him for the pur- pose of teaching the actions we desire to teach him to perform should be of things that his intelligence can understand, in the way he can understand them, and of things suited to give rise to the ideas of the actions we desire to teach him to perform, to make him understand what we wish him to do. The same associations should always be used to indicate the same actions, and the mo- vements it is desired to teach him should be those which his body can make, and for the making of which it has been prepared » 116 All that is taught him should be taught a little at a time by gradation and after prepara- tion of his body. These things are also ne- cessary because their absence may cause oppositions and reactions . . . . » 118 Actions, aids, punishments, and associations which the horse understands naturally, with which may be associated the actions it is desired to teach him to perform, and by which these may be taught him ...... 124 Thino-s and actions which the horse does not un- IT* derstand naturally, but which he learns im- medhitely by means of associations with the things which he understands, and which it is necessary to teach him, owing to their being a matter of prime necessity with a view to his instruction . . . . » 127 XI The aifls of the hand, of the weight of the body of the rider and other aids are mechanical and after they have been learnt become mental or conventional aids . . . Page 130 Associations of place and. associations of time or succession . . . . . • . » 134 Way of teaching' . » 140 Teaching- the horse to advance at a given sound of the voice . . . . . • » 145 Teaching the horse to stop and remain still at another given sound of the voice and to go backwards . . . . . . . » 149 Wav of teaching him to stand still alone . . » 152 Substitution of other aids or other signals for those by which the horse has learnt to ])erform the actions taught ...... 155 It is not true that the horse guesses what it is desired to make him do when he is led with the lounge or ridden ...... 159 Things which the horse is taught for spectacular ])urposes . . . . . . . » 162 Teaching the horse to be afraid of a man dressed in red, not to be afraid of a man dressed in white, to be afraid of a given object or of a given place ...... Teaching him to sei/e with the teeth . Teaching him to raise his legs alternately and knock at the door ..... Teaching him to do the Spanish walk . Imitation is a means of teaching .... » 1G8 » 170 » 173 » 178 » 181 xn He should not be allowed to perform actions with an idea and in a manner contrary to the idea of obedience ...... Page 183 Teaching him to leave off doing- some action which is not desired . . . . • . » 183 Necessity of giving the horse the habit of perform- ing the actions taught him . . Eepetition is necessary with a view to making him learn, making him remember and to main- tain facility of execution .... How to make the horse forget the actions taught by bad associations ..... 185 » 186 188 Sow the horse is taught obedience. What is obedience. Whence it comes. — Obe dience by persuasion .... Necessity that obedience be by persuasion and by habit ....... By what means the horse is taught obedience Way of teaching him confidence . Way of vShowing the horse our superiority . Special means of showing the horse our superiority and how to employ them . Importance of a good disposition for obedience Various ways of proceeding in teaching obedience, according to the various natures of horses How to deal with the oppositions and reactions 193 » 196 » 198 » 201 » 202 » 204 » 208 210 xin made by the horse \vhen being taught con- fidence, obedience and our superiority. How they can be overcome .... Paye 213 Causes of oppositions and reactions while he is being taught contire- venting fear . . . . . . » 275 Pretence of fear . . . . . . . » 276 Teaching the horse not to be afraid of railway trains, fire arms and motor cars . . » 277 Reactions. XV Reactions . . - Various reactions . General causes of reactions . Special causes of reactions . How reactions are determined Remedy against reactions Page 295 » 296 » 297 » 298 » 300 »' 309 On the bridling of horses and the use of the curb -bit » 312 Bermarks on turning which is moving on a curve . » 330 "=^^S^ fW^WW^WM^WWW^WWWW^W^^W^fW^ THE MIND OE THE HOKSE Intelligence — Imagination — Memory. The horse is endowed with fair intelligence within the range of ideas allowed by his mental constitution and faculties, and owing to this fact he is susceptible of being taught many actions and movements. The intelligence he possesses is limited, but it is sufficient to enable him to understand whether he should respect those who handle or ride him : to feel the justice or injustice of pu- nishments inflicted ; to study the means of oppo- sing, anticipating and circumventing the rider's guidance in order to follow his own desires ; to choose for attacking man the moment when he THE MIND OF THE HORSE is not attentive to him and has his eyes directed elsewhere. In wild horses the intelligence is far more acutely developed in all that relates to the satis- faction of the requirements of subsistence and of self-preservation. In this respect the domestic horse largely loses his intelligence owing to the fact that, having everything prepared for him, he does not need to exercise this faculty. The domestic horse is more intelligent in other matters which he learns owing to his contact with man from birth. The intelligent horse is intent on observing tlie slightest movements of the rider he is bearing, and understands his intentions in this wav. Tlie rider, before guiding the horse to perform any particular action, gives him certain preparatory aids and likewise by force of habit and without noticing them, makes special movements with his body. The horse, which has already experienced, on many previous occasions, these preparatory aids, and felt these special movements, wliich tlu* rider makes before putting him through a given move- THE MIND OF THE HORSE ment, is perfectly cognisant of them, and imme- diately understands from them what the rider will require him to do. The rider who is in the habit of giving these preparatory aids and making these given movements, does so without perceiving them, and, being unaware of them, thinks that the horse guesses his intention. Horses in general are attentive to their rider, and vicious ones in particular study the rider' s posture and movements in order to avail themsel- ves of the moment when no attention is paid to them, to carry out opposition or attack, or follow their own will. When led by the hand the vicious horse watches for the opportunity to injure the groom while he is not on his guard. The horse is possessed of great imagination. He magnifies and is bewildered by everything. Eor this reason the imagination of the horse has become proverbial in Italy. The horse' s imagination, mag- nifying everj^hing with his great susceptibility to fear, is an evil, but has its compensating feature in the ;fact that it causes the animal to accept readily the idea of our superiority, which makes THE MIND OF THE HORSE him obedient to our feeble aids and punishments. Upon this, i. e. upon the great effect of our weak means of action upon his imagination, is based the possibility of our power over him. The horse is usually observant and attentive to everything, and remembers things well. He is par- ticularly mindful of good treatment and bad, and of all persons and objects which gave him pleasu- rable sensations and disagreeable sensations or sen- sations of fear, also of the circumstances and places where he exj)erienced these feelings and which were associated with them. His memory of persons, objects and of events happening to him and giving him pleasurable sen- sations, and of the places where they happened, makes him hope that he may anew be given plea- surable sensations on seeing again these persons, objects, occurrences, places, and even on the occur- rence of the slightest circumstance which reminds him of these persons, objects, events and places. His memory of the persons, objects and places which gave him disagreeable sensations or fear makes him apprehend that he may again expe- l"fite Miisrb o'F the Hoitsfi 5 rience disagreeable sensations or fear on his seeing again these persons, objects, oocurrences, places, or even on the occurrence of the slightest circumstance recalling to his mind these persons, objects, events and places. If he has experienced fear, or has been hurt by any object, he remembers it, he is afraid on seeing that object again and seeks to escape from it. If at some place he was frightened or hurt by a given object he is fi'ightened again on being brought to that i)lace. He gladly sees and desires to approach an object or person that has caused him pleasure. He avoids or tries to avoid the person who threatened or ill-treated him and the object from which he derived pain. So he is alarmed if someone shows him the whip with which he was previously struck. His memory makes his training possible, as it allows of the animal remembering the movements taught. The horse w^ll remembers the various signals or aids by which he was compelled to assume certain given positions with his body and go through the various paces and evolutions, and 6 THE MIND OF THE HORSE after having gone througli them several times, on the first signals he guesses the movements he is required to make and does them by himself. Excitahility to motion pecvliar to the horse. The principal characteristic of the horse is a peculiar nervous excitability, so that on the sligh- test sound, gesture, provocation, threat or touch he puts himself in motion and runs. The extreme excitability of his nerves or the facility with which he puts himself in motion at the slightest insti- gation or signal is his most precious quality for us. This quality is in harmony with the purpose for which he was intended, which is that of motion and of serving a useful purpose by motion. His excitability and the facility with which he is put in motion makes him amenable to our aids and punishments for exciting him to go and gives us the means of masterv over him bv the aid of our hands, because it is by means of his motion and during his motion that the horse may be brought in hand by the aid of the reins, i. e. may be THE MIND OF THE HORSE brought into that collected position in which it is possible to act mechanically on his body and to make him go through the movements we desire, and prevent him from making those he would wish. His excitability and facility to motion is the basis on which his training and our dominion over him are founded. We must endeavour to give this excitability and readiness to go to the horse which is without them, to the lazy one. The above is the quality which essentially distinguishes the consti- tution of the horse from that of the ass. Without it the horse would be on the same level as the ass, superior to the latter only in form and appea- rance. To remain still when free and alone in the open air is incompatible with his excitability and readiness to motion and must not be required from him. He will remain still if he is occupied in grazing, or if he is extremely tired, but only as hmg as he is not excited by some cause. His excitability prompts him to run on seeing anything moving, and whilst he is running he is induced to run still faster on seeing that someone 8 THE MIND OF THE HORSE is pursuing him. For this reason, if it is desired to catch a horse turned out in the open it is necessary to approach him slowly and not run after him. This constitutional quality api>ears in ditferent degrees in various horses according to their breed, and according as they are better or worse specimens. Senses, sensitweness, sensations. Usually the horse has delicate and acutely deve- loped senses, particularly those of smell and hear- ing. He sees from a distance and during the night time. In general hoAvever the sense of sight in horses is rarely perfect, as they on many occasions show fear even of objects with which they are acquainted, and in this way prove that they do not recognise them. The horse hears noises from afar. The tactile organ is the muzzle, he sniffe at the objects he desires to recognise through the nostrils, and touches and feels them with the muzzle. THE MIND OF THE HORSE 9 His delicate sense of smell does not allow him to eat things having a bad odonr or to drink bad water. The odour of decomposing substances and that emanating from wild beasts alarms him. I do not know how he distinguishes good plants from bad. Probably poisonous plants have a peculiar odour by which the horse is instinctively warned not to eat them. Ordinarily the horse has no great sensitiveness in the skin covering the body and the legs; his sensitiveness is, however, great behind the second bone of the shoulders, on the flanks, beneath the belly and on the inside part of the thigh. He feels the excitement or irritation known as tickling on being touched in these pai-t^. He gives signs of this by becoming restive, by kicking, pawing and trying to bite, and by these movements he endea- vours to prevent the irritation being continued. He experiences annoyance if touched roughly, and fear if touched unexpectedly. If touched roughly so that he experiences pain about the eyes, ears or head, he raises his head, turns it in another direction, recedes, attempts to bite, and employs 10 THE MIND OF THE HOESE every means to avoid being touched and bring about a cessation of the irritation. Pinching behind the second bone of the shoul- der excites him to bite, and this fact is turned to account by circus performers for the purpose of teaching him to seize and hold objects with his teeth. Threatening or touching him with the riding or driving whip has the eifect of stimulating him to move, if he can, and making him break away. The spur excites many horses to exertion. On many mares and on some horses it has a bad effect and is an injurious excitement, and they become restive and attempt to kick, bite or jump. Hysterical mares stop or kick on being touched with spurs. The legs and spurs continually applied are particularly exciting to many horses. Some of them are excited owing to the contact of the stir- rup hanging from the saddle, and others by feeling tlie saddle, the harness and fittings or the crupper. The cavesson is usuallv effective with all horses as it acts upon the brain ; the seat of intelligence and will. THE MIND OF THE HORSE 11 The frequent repetition of the act of touching diminishes and finally may remove the irritation or fear due to being touched, and may accustom the horse to the act. Sensations are involuntary, the horse cannot help experiencing them. He cannot help experien- cing fear, the tickling sensation and the other feelings called forth in him by objects. The effect of these sensations may be diminished by repea- ting the process of touching him very often and by letting the animal see that the object which inspires him with fear does him no harm. Aids and punishments should not be too often repeated so that the horse may not become accu- stomed to tliem, when they would fail of their effect. Senses, sensitiveness and sensations are usual- ly more powerful in a well-bred horse, as he is more highly strung. Over-sensitiveness of the mouth results in it being impossible to employ the horse with the bit and at times even with the snaffle, and excessive nervous excitability renders it impossible to main- tain masterv over the animal, as it results in his 12 TfiE MIND OF THE HORSft going ahead at too great a speed, without the power to restrain him. His degree of sensitiveness gives greater or less value to his sensations and determines his degree of responsiveness to aids and punishments. I^istmcts, indinations, feelings. He has the same inclinations, the same in- stincts and the same feelings as man. He is so- ciable, likes the company of other horses, and neighs to attract attention to himself and call them. On seeing them or observing them pass he is at- tracted; seeks to approacli them, feels regret on separation and would like to follow them. This mav sometimes cause trouble, but in manv cases it is an advantage. The example of another horse going into the water or passing close to an object which inspires him with fear is for him the most effectively persuasive argument when others do not avail. He is extremelv liable to be seized bv fear or dread from the slightest cause, and thinks imme- THE MIND OF THE HORSE 13 diately to save himself from all and everything that threatens him or which he believes to be threatening him, or which causes him pain, by dashing away at the utmost speed. His extreme susceptibility to fear is a grave inconvenience and a gi*eat evil on many occasions, but it is the factor by means of which masterv is obtained over him. Our dominion over the horse is based on his trust and confidence in us, but also on his readiness to obey, whicli largely de- l>ends on his fear of punishment. The instinct of fear, which is the instinct of self-preservation, in many cases so over-powers him that he docs not feel the aids employed nor the punishments inflic- ted and can no longer be controlled. A resort to actual force inspires him with fear, excites him to reaction and often desperate resi- stance with all liis strength, until either he frees liimself or does himself such injury as to be able to react no longer. Thus if he feels himself drawn by force towards an «>hject ^vliich inspires him with fear he backs, and it is in many instances impos- sible to get him to advance again even by severe 14 THE MIND OF THE HORSE punishment. He yields to the force exercised on him only if we succeed in inspiring him with much fear on the side on which he desires to go. When influenced b}' fright he may try to defend himself by kicking and biting. Like all animals he seeks pleasure and flees from pain. He seeks the satisfaction of his natural wants and of his instincts. The fact of his being under the influence of his instincts must not be attributed to him as a fault. We must seek to dominate him by preventing and guarding him against circumstances and situations which may call them into play and excite him. When he is not afraid or ill-tempered he feels pleasure on being caressed and stroked with the hand, particularly on the top of the head, on the neck, on the eyes, and this is a means of indu- cing him to regard us as friends and do as we desire. He is afraid of falling ; therefore, if he stumbles, he moves with energy for some time after and if he falls makes efforts to rise. He becomes easilv disccniraged however and if, after he has fallen, he THE MIND OF THE HORSE 15 has made some attempts to rise and lias not suc- ceeded he thinks he cannot succeed, gives up hope and lies motionless ; powerful stimulation is then required to induce him to endeavour to regain his footing. It is the instinct of horses as of all animals to incur the least possible fatigue. The idea that it is good to work is a thought suggested to man by reflecting on the necessity and utility of work. All animals instinctivelv know that it is better not to work aud theA' do not exert themselves with- ft out a sense of necessitv, or a desire to seek the ft- / satisfaction of their natural requirements or instincts, or escape a danger. The lion sleeps when he has fed and moves when he feels the pangs of hunger. The horse runs, springs, goes collected and with high action in exuberance of spirits when he is fresh imme- diately after resting. This he does in order to faci- litate the vital functions of his bodv. When this need has passed he goes througli the amount of exercise which is required for keeping liis limbs in i)rupcr condition and then does not move without 16 THE MIND OF THE HORSE a special reason, i. e. without something exciting him or inspiring him with a feeling of fear or dread. The animal when at liberty regulates his mo- vements so as not to expend more energy than is compensated by his supply of food; on growing tired he feeds and rests and after feeding and resting takes exercise as he feels the need of mo- vement in order to facilitate the secretions requi- red for organic function. The instinct prompting liim to spare himself fatigue makes him careless in his movements and at times he stumbles and falls. He was created for motion and requires motion. After good food and rest, a deficiency of exercise induces in him a state of nervous excitement which is due to excessive exuberance of spirits and he feels the need of jumping and running in order to sret rid of the nervous excitabilitv which tor- nients him. If he is unable to do so he grows vicious, as idleness is the root of all evil and suffers pliysically, as the want of exercise causes disorders in the body and congestion in the legs. THE MIND OF THE HORSE 17 Under the influence of this excitability or ex- cessive exuberance of spirits, he prances about without paying attention to either direction or distance and injures even the man who is friendly to him altliougli he may have neither reason nor intention to injure him. For this reason it is always well not to trust him and to stand near the shoul- der so as to ofi"er less facility of being hurt. Even wlien lame lie may feel this pliysical excitement, and jump, and injure himself, and he should be prevented from jumping by covering his eyes. Owing to this restlessness he acquires stable vices when in the stall, as it prompts him to kick and bite, and he thus learns to know his own strength and the weakness of man. There are horses who in this respect, whilst it becomes more intelligent in other ways owing to liis being always in contact with man. The wild liorse in also more wilful and more difficult to subjugate and hold in obedience. The entire strongly feels the natural instinct, and also jealousy, and is usually restless and irri- table. He is usually endowed with courage and is able to defend himself from ^^ild beasts. Several horses are on record as having defended themsel- ves when placed in the circus together with lions and tigers. They were however of a vicious nature. Mares and iicldings are usuallv docile. Entires '20 THE MI>"D OF THE HORSE reared in our climate are not adapted for the purpo- se of ridini>- as in general tliev cannot be mastered. or? »' Arabian entires may be mastered and mounted but under certain circumstances they may give trouble. It is not true that the horse instinctiyely feels the superiority of man. The wild horse, Avhich does not feel any such superiority, proves this. Tlie horse reared domestically feels the superiority of man because he sees it from his birth, but man scxm loses this superiority if he does iu)t know how to handle him in the right A\ay to maintain it. It may on the other hand be said that the « wild horse has instinctive fear of man (knowing instinctively that he is an evil creature) is averse from allowinu' himself to be caught and seeks to escape from man. Ideas and feelinf/s — Their orifiin Ideas and feelinf/s Which we maij call forth in the horse. The horse is intelligent, but only within a very limited range of ideas, Avhich ahvays relate to his THE MINI) OF THE HORSE 21 instincts of fear or self-preservation — to the satis- faction of liis needs sucli an feeding, drinking, etc. , and to the sensations lie receives due to objects. The ideas of tlie liorse arise : from liis instincts ; from tlie objects wliicli, coming under the ' action of liis senses, give rise to sensations in him ; from the movements made by ourselves or others which lie sees and observes; from the actions he has per- formed or has been able to perform. The sight of ourselves or of another horse mo- ving in front gives him the idea of following. The sight of others running gives him the idea of run- ning. For this reason we can give rise to the ideas we desire in him; by letting him see objects, cir- cumstances and movements Avhich call forth in him the required ideas; by making movements which call fr)rth in him certain ideas we desire; bv asso- elating one action with another and letting him see that by such and such an aid he is constanth' compelled to go through a certain movement. His desires, his feelings, his intenticms and his ^vill to make movements are caused by and are likewise due to his instincts; to the objects which 22 THE MIND OF THE HOKSE come under the action of liis senses; to the move- ments he sees and observes aronnd liim Mliicli he knows to have i»iven him pleasure or pain and which he therefore accounts for i>ood or evil. Caresses usually give him i)leasure, give rise to the idea that we are giving him pleasure, that Av e are friendly to him, and acc(n"dingly he is glad to see us and is disj)osed to alloAv himself to be guided by us. Bad treatment in the stable and outside calls forth in him the idea of fear, of our being enemies, of aversion, of tleeing from us, of opposing us, of hatred, of injuring us. The memory of an act he has performed which has been several times associated with another or folloAved by another act recalls the latter to his mind and gives liim the idea of perfcn'ming this act again or that this act will occur again. On seeing anyone take in hand the sieve in which oats have already been given to him several times, the sieve reminds him of the oats given to liim in it Avhich he has eaten, and arouses in liim the idea of having them and that it is intended to THE MIND OF THE HOESE 23 give him tliem again. By showing him the oat sieve you make him exj)ect something that is good. By placing him anew in circnmstances and po- sitions in which he was able to obev his own im- pnLses we give rise in him to the idea and desire of following out his own impulses anew which is an idea we should not give him and should not allow others to give him. When one is not yet sufficiently master of the horse to be able to hohl liim back it is requi- site that he should not be allo^\ed to pass on to the threshold of his stable so as not to give him the idea and temptation of entering. If lie has been in a position to carry out any independent action and lias been allowed to do so he alwavs remembers having been able to do so and for this reason conceives the idea and the will of doing so again. If he has been able or allowed to swerve once or go aside from an object which inspired him with fear he conceives the idea of being able to swerve in this way and desires to do so whene- 24 THE MIND OF THE HORSE ver lie sees the object wliicli arouses in him the idea and tlie feeling of fear until this idea has been removed by preventing him from swerving. If he has been prevented from carrying out any movement of his own accord, or from going info the stable when he desired, he conceives the idea of it being possible to prevent him, of his not being able to do it, and therefore of obedience, and he remembers it. We should treat the horse in such a way and place him in such a position as to arouse in him ideas of advantage to us and particularly the idea of his not being able to do as he desires and there- fore of obedience, and we must not allow of his being in a position to carry out his own impulses and acquire the idea of superiority over us. This is a rule which should never be departed from in training horses and which should always be o])ser- ved in our relations with all horses. Many horses merely from seeing that they have once been able to have their own way become intractable and are no longer amenable to control. THE MIND OF THE HORSE 25 Will, actionSj mofiveft of actions. How we can influence his w4JI so as to secure the actions we desire. The horse is master of his own movemeiits and acts by his own will ; iioino' or stopping and every other movement is due to his ^\ ill. Even when he obevs us he acts bv his own will; he obevs and perfin-ms an action which he is ordered to perform because he has accepted the idea of doina- so at our invitation or command. The horse performs a movement because there has first arisen in him the idea of doin.o' it and his will has then decided to carrv it out. After having conceived the idea of carrying out a move- ment by an impulse of tlie will he conveys to his nerves the command to execute it and these do so by calling into action the corresiionding muscles. From +his it is seen that in (u-der to teach him anv movement it is necessarv to first call forth in him bv some means the idea of the movement it is desired to teach him to make and afterwards excite in him the will to do it. 26 THE MIND OF THE HORSE When he desires to carry out any action due to his own will there is usually a brief interyal between the conception of the idea of performing this action and the act of yolition which results in its execution. This interyal allows us, by ayail- in»' ourselyes of suitable means with the necessary promptness, to preyent the execution of the action he had the idea of carryine; out. Usually Avhen on horseback it is possible to preyent \\\^ execution of an idea conceiyed only in a trained horse, as the trained, i. e. obedient liorse is n<^t so decided in carryine: out actions dae to his own Avill as the untrained horse and leayes a greater interyal between the conception of the itlea, and its execution, because \\\q trained horse has learned to obey the aids of the liand and the aids and punishments for exciting liim to motion which are effectiye in preyenting the execution of the idea by causing him to adyance, and not allow- ing him tlic time to take up the necessary posi- tion preparat(^ry to the action. The horse is master of liis limbs and if we desire that he should put them in motion accord- THE MIND OF THE HORSE 27 ing to our requirements it is necessary tliai we should give liim ideas and place him in circum- stances which make him see and feel tlie desira- bility and moral necessity of putting his limbs into motion in the given wa^' we wish. All the actions of the horse have a cause, a motive, and when it is not possible to see or to discover a motive for them, the motive actuating him is the memory of some object seen or heard, some action seen or done. Owners cannot under- stand why their horses oHer defence, as they do not know what their men liave done to the horses ; the horses however know the reason of their act- ing in til is way. The motives for tlie actions of the horse, deter- mining his will, which make him feel the necessity of making or not making a movement, are princi- pally his instincts, his natural inclinations, the desire to satisfy his natural Avants (to feed, to drink, to seek pleasure, to tiee from pain, to flee from an object which inspires him with the idea of danger or with dread), and the fear with which he is imbued by a superior power or a power that 28 THE MIND OF THE HORSE appears to him to be or wliicli he believes to be superior. Our power appears to him superior owing to the effect of his imagination and to the way in Avliich we emphn our power so as to make him believe it superior and to deceive him. Whenever he desires to perform or performs an action there is the reason that his instinct impels him to do it or that he remembers having done it or having been able to do it once before, or else because sensations awakened in liim by the outside M (^rld give rii=ie in him to ideas connected with his instincts and the latter prompt him to perform or not to perform one action or another according to the nature of the action, i. e. according to whether pleasure is promised him or pain is foreseen from its performance. The fact of finding himself at liberty excites liim to jump and run, the sight of others running excites him to run, the sight of an object which gives him fear impels him to turn aside, draw back and fiee, the sight of other horses excites him to run to them as their company gives him plea- sure. Motion or passage from one place to another THE MIND OF THE HORSE 29 is nsiially an action very easily called forth in him OAving to his peculiar excitability to motion. It must not he demanded of him that he should not feel inclined to do what his instincts tell liim to do. We must proceed so as to prevent his con- ceiving ideas or liaving oppiU'tunities and temi)ta- tions to perform tliose actions which are not good for us or Avliich run counter to obedience, and must prevent him from performing sucli actions. On tlie contrary, we shouhl place him under cir- cumstances wliich make liim feel the moral neces- sity of performing those actions which are of piofit to us and which we desire he should do. This is the manner of preventing him from performing actions due to his own will and of inducing him to carrv out the movements we desire. The recollection of having been able to perform an action \ onder, fear or a belief that he is in danger. Depressing the tail may mean a desire to kick or sensation of fear or cold. Kicking backwards when he is wearing blinkers indicates that he is afraid of what is behind him and does not mind even hurting himself. If he is afraid of an object towards which he is guided he holds himself back, turns ilm head and neck towards it and swerves, looking at the object and not looking where he is going to. Excitement, nervousness, restlessness, the impos- THE IMIND or THE HORSE 39 sibilitv of keei)iiig him quiet by the conciliating' voice when hokling him on foot with the bridle or cavesson means that he did not trnst the man who first had charge of him, that that man ill-treated him, or else that he has an excessively nervous or excitable nature or experiences great fear. When the horse appears intent in thought it means that he is meditating making reactions or that he has some disease. If he shows pleasure from Ijeing caressed it means that he is not ill-disposed and if he does not show pleasure from it, it signi- fies that he is in opjiosition and must not be tru- sted or that he is not accustomed to being caressed and does not care about it. His attention is directed to only one thing at a time. There are some horses who are not attentive, but most of them observe all tliat is going on around them. I remember a horse who gave signs of obser- ving the change of j>lace of a wren in a hedge. Usually the horse is attentive to one thing at a time. This gives us a means of conquering him 40 THE MIND OF THE HORSE by employinG; vavions aids and puiiisliiiicnts siirail- taiieoHsly. To defend oneself aii:ainst a do2' and prevent attack we need one stick to keep liim occn- pied and another stick to strike him. He pays at- tention to the stick liehl before liim and in the meantime he can be attacked a\ ith the other stick. This is the secret of Bahissa' s method of teaching- horses to allow themselves to be shod by keeping them occupied with the cavesson and not allowing them to pay attention to the man lifting and liol- ding their foot. ThiiKjfi he intdersfmuls- uafuraUij and icJticJt have influence upon him. A horse of a really vicious nature does not allow himself to be affected either by good treat- ment or by punishment, and only yields to actual physical force and compulsion, and then (mly for so lonii" as it lasts. For this reason the really vicious horse cannot be trained and cannot be used for riding. THE MIND OF THE HORSE 41 The horse who is not yicious likes to be treated well, and i>ood treatment influences hiin to obe- dience and forms a means of masterino him. Oa- resses on the eyes and on the occiput have a i^arti- cuhir effect like maonetism. Tliev liave the effect of quieting and of inspirini>- trust in us. A ijood influence over the horse may be obtain- ed by means of a conciliatinif, long-drawn and sonorous voice sound which has a soothing eflcct. It is made ^vitli a long drawn out oh! A loud, short, abrui)t and angry Yoice sound produces the eftect of a threat and keeps him from desiring to make a movement which is not proper or which it is not desired he sliould do. It is made with a short narrow eh ! Needless to say voice sounds should be avoided except in training. Our glance fixed continually on ]iis eye besides discerning his intentions keeps liim attentive and respectful and he understands (though not so well as the dog) whether it is a benevolent look meant to sootlie him or a menacing one to produce an impression upon him and prevent him from doing some action. He must always be looked at. The 42 THE MIND OF THE HORSE dog keeps his eye fixed upon the eyes of the game and we must do the same as regards the horse. So long as our eyes are fixed on him he generally does not seek to attack, if lie is not exceptionally vicious. Looking fixedly at an unknown dog or at bulls and wild beasts produces the contrary effect, acting as provocation and arousing them to anger. For this reason they must not be looked at but must be passed as far as possible without attention, and Avifhout running or making unexpected conspicuous movements which might call their attention to us. The horse understands the quieting and the threatening gesture. After having lost the fear of man he becomes sensitive to caresses ; they form a pleasure for him and he allows himself to be reassured by them; they have great effect in sooth- ing him. Caresses above the eyes and (ui the top of the head in particular, have a conciliative and as it were a magnetic influence. They quiet the animal, induce in him a state of pleasant drowsiness and inspire him with aifection for us. The companionship of another horse, or the sight of another horse going into the water or passing THE MIKD OF THE HOESE 43 uear an object of fear i.s tlie best means of per- snading him to do likewise and tlie best method of removing fear wlien others fail. The iron cavesson wliich is made to work by the lonnge has the greatest effect npon the horse if his nature is not incnrablv refractory, as the blow on the nose is transmitted to the brain. This pro- duces an impression upon him because it gives a shock to the brain, wliich is the seat of ideas and will, and because it prevents him from turning his croup to us and attacking us with his heels, and because he cannot free himself from our restraining power by running away. He understands naturally threatening gestures and punishments and is afraid of tliem; menacing him with the whip by showing it to liim and stri- king him with it, stimulates him to motion and causes him to run in the direction opposite to that whence he is threatened or struck. Threats, aids and punishments with the whip employed at a suitable moment are of great value; they result in giving him the idea that we are superior to him and this effect is so much the greater if it is asso- 44 THE MIND OF THE HORSE dated with the aids of the cavesson hy means of the lomif/e. Preveiiting him from followinsi: liis own impul- ses in whatever manner it is done has great in- fluence in giving him the idea of our superiority and therefore of the necessity of obedience. Work proportionate to his food and strength has an excel- lent influence in preventing the horse from becoming too full of spirits, rendering him quieter and less susceptible to fear, and allowing him to gain strength. A bad influence is exercised on the horse by fear with whicli he is sometimes completely over- powered so as to give no heed to aids or punish- ments ; by the lack of exercise and the consequent excessive exuberance of spirits by reason of which he feels the need to prance and jump and pays no attention to man, having no respect for him under the excitement of this need; by the bad treatment which gives rise to aversion and anger, working confusion in his mind and causing him to play the worst tricks of self-will; by the stimulus of the procreative instinct when he experiences and is overpowered by it. THE MIND OF THE HORSE 45 He must be diverted from yielding to these feelings by means of aids or punishments and his anger must be removed by caressing him aud speak- ing to him in a soothing voice and transferring him to another place, as while he is under their sway it will be impossible to do anything with him. Effect of good treatment on Im nattire. The conciliating voice, the kind look and cares- ses give him pleasure and have the effect of quieting liim, of inspiring confidence in us and make liim disposed to obedience. To give him oats is to form another good association for ourselves in his mind making liim desire oar presence, which becomes agreeable to him. It is advisable to give him a few handfuls in the riding school when he is first taken there as it puts liim in a good frame of mind and he goes there readily. He would acquire repugnance for the riding school if he were ill-treated the first time he went there. The beneficial effect of good treatment is to prompt and induce him to make the movements 46 THE MIND OF THE HORSE we desire liim to perform. Good treatment further serves the purpose of sliowing liim that he does well to make the movement he is making- if it is the one he is required to peribrm. To make the horse well disposed towards us and teach him to be glad on seeing us and to love us is the first thing to be done to the end of inducing him to do as we desire. Ejfect of piumhment. The fact of our being able to inspire tlie horse with a feeling of obedience results from the plea- sure he experiences from good treatment but also largely from the displeasure, fear and pain he suf- fers from punishment, frcmi which he receives the idea of our superiority. Eor this reason the vicious horse, who pays no attention to these two kinds of treatment, is not susceptible of training. All the various punishments applied for and associated Avith an action performed by the horse serve to show disapproval of it, serve to tell the horse not to do it, as they make him see that per THE MIND OF THE HORSE 47 forming this action brings him punishment, i. e. pain, and this gives him the idea of not performing the action so as to avoid receiving pain. The special effect of the aids and punishments serving to excite him to motion are the principal means of instruction as by their help it becomes possible to collect him and get him in liand and thus to master him. The term inmishment includes threats. Threats are pu- nishments in a weak degree. Punishment produces both fear and aversion and as aversion impairs the harmcmy which sliouhl exist between the horse and man, soon after tlie punish- ment lias been administered, and sometimes almost immediately after, it should be counteracted and effaced from the horse' s memory by the conciliating voice and bv caresses. This must be done with special attention to the particular nature of the horse. How to act on Jiis inind and feeling^-. The mind and feelings of the horse may be acted upon by giving him sensations and associa- tions with things calculated to call forth in him 48 THE MIND OF THE HORSE the ideas of the movements we wish to teach him to do and calculated to induce him to do them in the manner stated in the chapter How the horse learns and how he must he taught. In that chapter it is also explained how he is induced not to per- form the movements he would like to make bnt which we do not desire him to make. The means to be employed for acting npon his mind are those stated in the paragraph Thiuf/s exercisinff an inflKence upon the horse, and all the aids and punishments. Individual qualities and character. Santapaulina (seventeenth century) was the tirst to distinguish and classify the various characters of tlie horse and to observe that in training horses they must be treated differently according to their different dispositions. He established the fact of tlie combined occnrrence of the following qualities and of their opposites: sfronr/ — lif/ht — f/ood heart — sensitive: weaJc — heavy — had heart — dull. By sensitive he means a jnst dcgTce both of feeling THE MIND OF THE HORSE 49 and of intelligence; by dull he means little sensi- tive and little intelligent. This classification is a good one, l)ut it is ge- neric and conipi'eliends the mat0 THE MIND OP THE HORSE ment of the man to cease and sees himself the conqueror of man, and if this is repeated a few times he acquires the habit of attacking whoever approaches him. The first time that the horse attacks man, if it is not due to a bad disposition, he has a reason, but after having done so he attacks even without motive, without provocation, solely owing to his remembering having been ill-treated and having rebelled. Many horses if they are not bad by nature or if this vice is incipient and not inveterate may be dissuaded from attacking by showing them that thev are not ill-treated but on the contrary are treated Avell; by handling them in such a way as to avoid their attacks and thus show them that they do not succeed in injuring us; by giving them the idea of (^ur superiority by means of actions of ours calculated to impress it upon them; by pre- venting their attacks and punishing them. The mere fear of punishment is effective in bringing about a cessation of attacks in but few horses and it is requisite that good treatment should be the prin- cipal means. THE IVHND OF THE HORSE 61 Many others haviiijj^ once found themselvevS su- perior to man and having seen their gi-eater strength and the weakness of man can no h)nger be per- suaded to desist from attacks. In our countries entires are generally excited by their instincts to paw and bite and are not susceptible of correction. Some are bad even though not entires but these are rare. Many horses attack if no attention is paid to them and do not attack it they are being observed. Others attack heeding neither menaces nor punish- ment. Oppo.sifions (did reaction's against ituni (uid rider; causes; how they may l)e overcome. The horse offers opposition to man and to the rider by not doing what the man or the rider re- quires him to d<> and l)y desiring to carry out his own impulses against the will of man or the rider. These oppositions consist in the wish of the horse to have his own way; to stop and not to go any further when the man or the rider requires him to go on ; to refuse to turn when man or the rider 62 THE MIND OF THE HORSE requires liim to turn; or to desire to turn aside or backward a\ lien man or the rider does not wish it. By the term making reactions I understand the counter-actions of the horse with which he responds to the actions of the man or rider, that is to say, to their aids and punishments. The reactions of the horse against his rider consist in rearing, throwing up the croup, jumping, bucking, running away. If he reacts against the aids only and not against the punishments, the degree of mental opj)osition is not great, but it is great if he reacts against the punishments. These reactions may be carried out with more or less strength and cunning or even Avith the purpose of throwing or injuring the rider. Oppositions and reactions indicate that the horse does not feel obedience to man or rider or feels enmity. This may arise from many reasons. From not desiring to advance ; from his having no respect for the aids and punishments employed to make him advance; from fear of objects; owing to the fault of the man or of the rider. Also from injuries to his mouth caused by the liand; from choleric THE MIND OF THE HORSE 63 disposition : most of all from having been ridden or nsed before he has been taught obedience with rational instruction. The horse begins to make a reacti(m and learns to make many reactions from the incai)acity or impotence of the rider who tries to punish him and to conquer him and instead is conquered. The proper aids and punishments given at the right moment and with the strength required by the nature of each individual will overcome oppo- sitions and reactions in those horses that obev them. The oppositions and reactions of those horses which do not much mind punishments may be overcome, when they are not of a bad dis])osition, if we can get them to respond to them and go forward decidedly by means of instruction Avith tlie lounge. Wlien they obey the aids and punishments for setting them in motion and tlie aids of the liands, we can prevent thein from putting their bodies in the preparatory positions necessary for making reac- tions and therefore thev cannot make them. 64 THE MIND OP THE HORSE Special aptitudes. Every horse according to his mental nature, sensibility, intelligence and his physical qualities, is more or less adapted to a particular use or em- ployment. The employment must be suited to the physical and moral qualities of the horse, and it must not be sought to adapt the horse to an em- ployment unsuitable for him. If the light horse is put to pull a heavy car he will be unable to do good service, and will suffer. It is possible to em- ploy the heavy horse as a saddle horse, but he is not adapted for it whilst on the other hand the light and agile horse is well suited. Importance of a good disposition and good mental qualities in the horse for his instruction and his serviceahleness. Among the good mental qualities of the horse, the most important is a good disposition, as by means of this the horse gives in to us immediately, THE MIND OF THE HORSE 65 resigns himself to obedience forthwith, and is con- trolled by the aid of this feeling of obedience. The body or mechanism of the horse renders ns service if the horse's mind directs it to do so. It is im- possible to obtain service from the body if the mind is unwilling to command it. A good will or a good disposition is the first quality required to obtain useful service from the horse, as in order to render this service he must be alloA\ ed freedom ; he cannot do it like a galley slave with the hands whilst his feet are fettered. If he is well disposed and obedient, and willing by nature, he will serve us of his own accord, even if the structure of his body is such as not to allow of his being collected and thus actually coerced to do so. If he has a bad disposition, even the various coercive means will not avail to render him serviceable, owing to his unwillingness. With a bad disposition all tlie other good (|ua- lities of agility, strength, and power of resistance remain useless to us as he will not place them at our service. A horseman of little ability is safe upon a horse of a good disposition, and a horse- 66 THE MIND OF THE HORSE man of great ability in in continuous danger on a bad natured liorse. The second good quality is his willingness to move, his advancing or moving in response to the slightest aids. Locomotion is almost everything in the horse, as in this lies his serviceableness, and motion is necessary in order to put him in a good position and collect him so that lie may be me- chanically controlled. Idleness is the negation of all this and of the essential quality of the horse. It is at times due to weakness and to insutficient food. If due to this cause the horse on first starting lets us see that he would be willing to go, although he grows rapidly fatigued. It is also necessary that he should duh' feel aids and punishments, as these are the only means we have of acting upon him. I say duly because if he feels them too mucli, that is if their action upon him is in morbid excess they cannot be used as thev would make him run a^yav, and if lie feels them too little thev are of no avail. Great timi- « dity and fear are a grave incouA enience and a hin- THE MIND OF THE HORSE 67 drance to usefulness. A certain just deii^ree of cou- rage is a good quality in a horse. With it he can, if necessary, be made to go into danger, l)ecause he will be able to come out of it. The more in- telligence and memory the horse possesses, the bet- ter he will be able to learn, remember and exe- cute what he is taught. "^ '^ ^ !^ 'i^ '^ '^ '^ ip '^ !^ '^|! !^ 'ij> !^ '^ '^ '^^ '^ HOW THE HORSE LEARXS AND HOW HE MUST BE TAUGHT Hemark. Vague and erroneous ideas are gene- rally held as to the method of treating horses. Ri- ders are often observed to require their horses to perform an action, whilst themselves doing that which is suited to induce their horses to do the eontrary. In order to obtain what is desired from hor- ses, they must be treated logically in accordance with their nature and intelligence, and in order to be able to deal with them loi^icallv it is necessary to know their nature, and to understand how they learn. From acquaintance with their nature, and from knowing how they learn Ave come to under- HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 69 stand how they must be taught those things which it is desired thev shoukl learn. Their mental character is narrated in tlie pre- ceding chapter, and how they learn is explained in this. JIing him to come by chance into positions and circumstances Avhich nniv give him associations contrary to the mavStery we should have over him, wiiich might give him occasion to see and to un- 80 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS (lerstand that he is stronger than ns on foot and when ridden, that he can rnle instead of obeying. When once he has seen this it is verv difficult to t.' remove it from his mind and obtain service from him. In the generality of cases liis determined will to perform an action against our a\ ill under given circumstances of place and time is due to our ha- ving been opposed to him and to his having been able to perform it notAvithstanding our opposition, when it is not due to fear. His memorv recalls to him the association received from his having been able to make this action under such circumstances in spite of our opposition, and when the same circumstances present themselves he wishes to make it again. The determined will to perform a certain action is called the vice of performing this action. In order that he should not acquire any of these bad associations detrimental to us, namely seeing that he is stronger than we are, that he can do the opposite of our will, care must be taken that he should not tind himself so placed Jis to be tempted to do as he desires, and the attempt should HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 87 never be made to prevent what he wishes to do if we are not in a position and have not the means of absolutely preventing it. If owing to the time or place or other circum- stances we are not in a position or we doubt being able to overcome him, it is better to let him have his own way than to allow him to see that he over- comes us. This is the reason why he should be ridden out of the riding school only when he is in an obedient frame of mind and can be dominated. His having been able to perform an action of his own will against the will of man which op- posed him and was unable to prevent it is the worst of the associations which can be given to the horse. Saying no, and yet allowing them to do the thing forbidden is in the case of children and men an incitement to do what is prohibited. Nearly all the rebellious acts of the horse arise from his having acquired the experience of being able to act in spite of the opposition of man. If a horse has by his own desire turned to go to the stable and had not been prevented or could not be prevented, no attempt should be made to 88 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS prevent liiiii from doinc^ so, but he must be allowed to go. ^Vftei* that he must with cayesson and loun- ges be led out again to the point where he turned back to the stable and a man or more men must be there ready witli whips to force him away and to compel him to follow the men who draw him away with the lounges so that he cannot return to his stable. Tf he has already acquired the yice of returning to tlie stable or turning backwards at a giyen poiitf of the road this ifoinf must l)e passed several times a day for several days and he must always ])e prevented from turniiig until he sIio^a s that he no longer wishes to turn and it no longer cf'rform or not to i)erform it. Associations of jdcasure or of apjiroval and associations of jmin or disapiwoval. The instinct implanted in animals causing them to seek pleasure and flee fear and pain, to feel pleasure on being caressed, to feel fear and pain on being threatened and struck, gives us the means of telling the horse to make those movements v\e wish him to make and of inducing him to make them, and of telling him not to make those move- ments we do not wish him to make and inducing him not to make them. He is induced to think that it is good for him to make a movement we wish him to make, and is induced to make it b}^ accompanying it, associa- ting it and causing it to be followed immediately by a thing which gives him pleasure. He is induced to think that it is bad for him to perform an action he does and wishes to perform, HOW THE HOESE LEARKS 103 aud which we do not wish him to do, aud is induced not to do it by accompanying- it, associating' it with and causinii' it to be foUowed wtmediatelt/ by a thin.i^' or an act which i>ives him fear or pain. The horse is induced to come to us by showing him oats, i. e. a pleasure and a benefit to him, by giving them to him and by caressing him when he comes to us. He is induced to run away from us or fiom a place where he Avould wish to go by threatening him or striking him with the whip, i. e. by making him experience fear, pain or evil. The horse is caressed in order to make him well disposed and, by any means Avhatever and in anv wav whatever, it is sou£»ht to induce him to make the movement required. Imimduitehj on his making it he is caressed and the caresses are ac- ctmpanied by the conciliatory voice sound, oh ! Thus the idea is given him tliat by making this movement he obtains caresses, i. e. a pleasure. He can be given something to eat which he likes, but even caresses and soothing words are sufficient. If he makes a movement which he is not de- 104 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS sired to make he is threatened with a loud, short and angry voice sound eh ! and by gesture, and to this is added a punishment if necessary, and thus he is given the idea that the performance of such an action produces threats or punishments for him, i. e. the threat of pain, or pain itself. The association of the conciliatory voice sound oh ! of a kind look and caresses, i. e. of j)leasure, with an action he performs means to him approvaJ. The association of the short angry voice sound eh ! of menace, or of a punishment, i. e. pain with an action he performs, means to him dimpproval. He easily remembers it and at times once onh' is sufficient. When the horse performs a movement we wish him to perform he must be immediately made to know that he does well by doing so, by our signi- fying approval with a conciliatory voice sound, a kind look and caresses. When the horse does a movement we do not wish him to do he should be immediately made to know that he is not doing well by so doing, by means of a sign of disapjn-oval, by a threat, by HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 105 an angiy voice, by a threatening look or gesture or by punishment, and by preventing him from making it if it is a movement that we can mate- rially prevent. This is necessary in order that he should know what he must and must not do. At the smallest act of obedience which he does at our requirement he must be given signs of ap- 2Jroval by a conciliatory voice sound, a kind look, caresses and these things give him likewise the idea of their being a reward for having done it. Giving him an interval of rest after having obtained the performance of an action from him gives him the idea of relief and of pleasure asso- ciated with the performance of the action, and ma- kes him think that after having executed that movement it will be given to him. — Intervals of rest give relief to the body and also to the mind and prevent weariness. — Letting him lower his head and neck after having kept them in good position gives him a sense of pleasure and is a reward to him for having allowed his head to be placed in good position. — Another reward is the freeing of his head after he has made some movement lOU HOW THE HORSE LEAHNS required and u'ivino- him some time of rest before requiring liiiii to do it at>aiii. At every movement lie makes wliieli we do not wisb liim to make lie should immedinfehj be given signs of d'lsajyproval y of threat by voice, look, gesture or punishment. This however depends on the in- dividual mental nature, i. e. the disposition of the horse, and must be done moderatelv and bv de- grees after having acquired the confidence of the horse. We should not hasten to punish everything that the foal does but should see whether it is a case fiU' punishment by reason of the time and place and whether it is possible and expedient in . view of the consequences which may be foreseen. He must alwavs be oiven time to understand and be persuaded by flattery to do what is desired. In order to induce the horse to perforin an action which gives him no pleasure or for which he has a dislike the idea of fear and innmhment is employed if he does not perform it, and he is given the idea of avoiding a gTeater evil the pu- nishment, by doing it; or we may give repeated small aids of the cavesson, of the hand or the HOW THE HOB8E LEARNS 10 'i whip which are small punishments until he per- forms it and cease to apply them immediately on his doini»' so. The positions of his body which he is made to assume by means of the veiiis and the louuc^e are thus obtained. The first disapprovnl must be shown by means of more or less angry voice sound, threatening gesture and menace with the whip, and not by punishment. Punishment must be resorted to after the threats have failed to make an effect. The lounge is best adai)ted for showing (lmtp))rovaI, as it does not excite reactions as does the whip. Necessary conditions in order that the horse may learn. In order that the horse mav learn what we teach him the following things are necessary : that the horse should give us his attention ; that he should be well disposed mentally ; that he should have confidence and trust in us ; that he should have acquired the idea of obey- ing us; / / /1 08 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS / / tliat the association o/* ^^/erf,s?fre or of }}a%n^ i. e. of approval or disapproval, should follow immedia- tely on the action he performs which is to be ap- proved or disapproved; that the associations which are given him in order to teach him to make the various movements should be of things that he knows and understands and should be adapted to give rise in him to the ideas of tlie actions which it is desired to teach him; that the body of the horse should be prepared to make tlie movements it is desired to do, so tliat he may execute them and be brought to per- form them by degrees, in order that they should not be difficult to him and should therefore not arouse him to oppositions and reactions. Attention. It is necessarv that tlie horse should ^ive his altention to us in order to understand the associations given to him for tlie purpose of giving rise in him to the ideas we desire with a view to making him HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 109 learn. For this reason he should be instructed in an enclosed place where he does not see other horses, where he has no opportunity for paying attention to other things, save his instructor, which things may give rise in him to other or contrary ideas. If he is intent on other things he cannot pay attention to his teacher and cannot learn. His mental condition must be that of tranquility, he must not be under the influence of fear or of natural instinct, or of anger against us. Under the influence of these things he is dominated by them, he cannot pay attention to the actions it is desired to teach him, he seeks to make oppositions and reactions and he cannot learn. Confidence. The possession of confidence in us by the horse is liis believing and his being persuaded that we do not wish to do liim any harm, that lie will not receive liarm from us, that he sliould not be afraid of us, that be may trust us. Confidence in us is obtained from the horse by letting him experience 110 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS for a certain time that from us he receives good and not evil. This belief, this state of mind of the horse, renders him tranquil, gives him the possibility of being attentive, and the willingness to obey, and prevents him to be excited to anger and therefore resistance; it is therefore the first thing to be taught to the horse in order that he should con- sent to do what we desire. If in place of being cmifident in us he is afraid of us and fears us, if he is in a state of mental revolt, his thought is to escape or to respond by violence, to attack, not to pay attention and be inclined to obedience, and if he does obey he does so unwillingly because he believes himself mate- rially compelled, and he is readily inclined to take fright at everything. That the horse should have conjidence in the person teaching him is the most neoessan/ thing in order to be able to teach him and to allow him to learn. Everything is obtained easily from the horse if, from having let him see constantly that it is not desired to do him harm or to compel liim by continual physical force, his confidence has been acquired. HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 111 Confidence is obtained from the horse by trea- ting him well. The good treatment we adopt to- wards him associated in his mind witli onr person, gives him the idea that we are of benetit to him, that he may trust us, and may rely on us. It cannot be obtained by using severity and api)lying punishment at the very beginning when commen- cing to teach the liorse and Avlien the horse does not yet know us. If it is desired to obtain a favour ft-om some one wlio does not know us we do not begin by beating him, but on tlie contrary T)y doing pleasing and grateful things to him in order to acquire liis favour. Ohedience. Being in ohedimiee means feeling tlie moral necessity of doing that which is required and indi- cated in order, too, tliat no evil may arise from not doing so. Ohedience implies refcpect, resj)cct implies f^iWy fear implies .sKperioriti/, .superioritj/ implies (freater poii^et' which can compel, which can inflict punishment if the thing commanded is not done, and hence the idea of yielding to superior force. 112 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS In order to be able to teach liim it is absolu- tely necessary that the horse should have the idea of obedience. If the horse has not this idea of sii- periority, of respect for us, if he does not fear us, does not know, does not see that we can give him jjunishment, i. e. pain, when we need to compel him to do what we wish done, we are deprived of the means of mastering him. The idea and feeling of obedience are suggested to the horse from gi- ving him the idea of our superiority, from letting Iiim see that we can prevent him (in what way does not matter) from doing his own will, that we can threaten and inflict punishment, i. e/pain, on him if he does not do what we tell him to do. The idea of our superiority is not innate in the horse. The horse when wild lias only an instinctive fear of man which makes him flee from us preci- sely because we are the worst of all the beasts. In order to give him the idea of our superiority flireats or punishments should sometimes be used. The resort to threats or punishnwtits i. e. giving him pain, makes liim see our superiority but gives him likewise the idea of dislike to us, which is running HOW THE HOESE LEARNS 113 counter to the confideuce lie should have in us. Therefore he shoukl be shown our superiority, made to see that he can be prevented from doing as he woukl wish but with the least possible amount of menace and punishment. Punishment before his trust, i. e. his confidence, has been obtained, is misunderstood by the horse and regarded as bad treatment, and tends to make liim regard us as enemies. Therefore until the trust of the liorse has been acquired punishments should not be intiicted save in extreme necessity, and if we are compelled to use menaces and any punish- ment we must always shortly after make peace again and caress him, and never leave him for any length of time Avith the idea of dislike. This must always be done shortly after the punishment, and at latest at the end of the lesson, and he should not be allowed to go to the stable with the idea of aversion to us. The prevention of wrong actions performed by the foal should be by very gentle, graduated stages, every now and again. One should not hasten to punish every little thing meriting disapproval be- 8 114 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS cause he does many of these things before being taught, and tlien would have to be punished con- tinually and by this means we should make him take us for enemies and he Avould become despe- rate and revolt or would become accustomed to the punishments and these would no longer produce any effect on him. On the contrary many things must be tolerated and allowed to pass. The punish- ment should be a rare shade bringing out into greater relief the light of caresses. His seeing that when he obeys he is caressed gives greater value to the rare punishment, and diminishes the effect of producing aversion inherent in punishment. The associations of jjleasure or airproval should follotc immediately on the action jjcrformcd and reqtm'cd to be 2)erformed, and the associations of 2^ffi'i^ or disapproval should follow immediatelt/ on the action performed and not required. He would be unable to understand them if these associations were given some time after, and after HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 115 other things had happened. If thunder were heard some time later, and after other things had hap- pened, the horse Avouhl not be able to associate it with the idea of lightning, would l)e unable to understand tliat lightning and thunder involve an idea of succession, of cause and effect. This is the reason why the association of pleasure should al- ways follow immediatelif on the action performed and required to be performed, and the association of pain immcdiafely on that performed and not required. The i>unisliment being associated Avith his action which he is not desired to perform, his action comes to be regarded by him as the cause of the j)i^wi'*'lii^^iit? and in order not to receive the punishment, which to him is an evil, he con- ceives the idea of not performing the action which gave rise to tlie punishment. Many persons do not punisli the horse who has performed some bad action whilst on horseback, and puiiish him after they have returned home. The cases a\ ill be verv rare in whicli the horse can take these punishments for punishments. He will almost alwavs take them for ill-treatments without 116 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS reason, and they will not correct liini, but will only anger him and provolce him to revolt. I7ie associations which are f/iven him for the purpose of teaching him the actions tve desire to teach him to jyerform should be — of things that his intelli- gence can understand — in the wag he can understand them — and of things suited to give rise to the ideas of the actions we desire to teach him to 2^^^'form, to make him imderstand what we wish him to do. — The same associations should always he used to in- dicate the same actions, and the movements it is de- sired to teach him should he those which his body COM make, and for the making of which it has heen prepared. The actions it is desired to teach him should be associated firstly with things that he understands naturally or things which he has already learnt. He himself understands being drawn forward by short intermittent pulls with the lounge which are invitations to go forward from the association of HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 117 being threatened from behind by a whip, and so he learns to go forward. Whilst he makes this movement of coming for- ward, we associate with it a given sound of voice, and he learns that this sound of voice means that he is to go forward. He could not be required to understand the sound of the voice given as a signal or an order to advance without it having been first taught him in association with the intermittent pulls on the lounge which draAV him forward simulta- neously with the aid of the whip which threatens him behind. I repeat here what I have said elsewhere that voice sounds necessary in teaching should be dis- continued when the instruction is complete. Signals and aids should be used which are un- derstood by his intelligence. He does not understand words, but understands the various sounds of the voice or other special sounds associated with dif- ferent things and different movements. The same aids of anv kind, the same sounds of the voice and the same punishments should always be asso- ciated with the same actions so that he may re- member them. 118 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS A given sound of the voice should always be associated with and used to direct him to advance. Another sound of the voice to stop and halt. The movements he is taught should be those which his body can make, and not contrary to his mechanical structure. It is also necessary that he should have some little aptitude for Some actions it is desired to teach him, and that his body should be gradually prepared to perform them by suitable graduated exercises, so that he should not experience much difficulty in performing them. All that is t might him should be taught a little at a time hy g^mdation and after preparation of his hody. These things are also necessary hecatise their absence may cause oj^positions and reactions. The absence of preparation of the body and gradation in teaching is the cause of oppositions. By teaching him a little at a time, he is enabled to learn and remember. Teaching him many things together and in succession causes confusion. Teach- ing a little at a time and alternating rest and HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 119 instruction are necessary in order that the horse may not become wearied, grow fatigued and rebel. It is necessary to pass from the easier to the more difficult by gradations so that he should not find difficulty in doing it. In order that the horse may be able to use his body pliantly, and place it in the positions which are inconvenient to him, but which are necessary for the various evolutions, and for the purpose of mastering him, and that he may have no reason to rebel and revolt from these causes against the aids, which we must give him so as to bring him in such positions, it is necessary that his body should be prepared for them first. It is necessary to render him supple by gradation that he may place himself in the required positions without experiencing phy- sical pain which would excite him to oppositions and reactions. ' Santapaulina a noblemen of Naples (1696) spe- cifies the causes of the resistance on the part of the horse to performing an action as follows: — his not Moiving how — his not being willing — and he says justly that the latter alone can be 120 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS punished. To this may be added his feeling that pain is being caused to his body and this may even be regarded as the jji-incipal cause of his not being willing. This is the reason for the neces- sity of teaching the horse by gradation and stages so that he may learn to place himself in the va- rious positions and make the various movements without feeling pain in the legs or body. If he is to learn to make them promptly and well, this is another reason for teaching them by gradation. If his body is not gradually prepared to assume the various positions and take up the various pos- tures required for the different evolutions, and he is put into them without preparation, he has dif- ficulty and is excited to make oppositions and reac- tions the more so if we want to force him bv punishment. By powerful aids, well applied it is jjossible to succeed in controlling some horses even when un- prepared and not rendered pliant, and forcing them to make some evolutions and movements. But their aversion, resistance and revolt are excited because pain is caused to their body, and if their good nature HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 121 does not cause tliem to rebel, their legs suffer from it. It should uot be done, in order to spare the horse. That which it is desired to teach him to do should come of itself, such is the gradation which must be employed, and must always be accompa- nied by flatter}" and caresses so that the horse should not become tired, should not become impa- tient and should not grow angry. The first time that he is taught any action it is sufficient if he understands it and does it even badly and in a bad position ; this does not matter, he will improve it afterwards. All the actions which he is taught to do should be first taught in an easy position with liis head low and tlien in a better position, first at a walk and afterwards at a trot and gallop. Success in obtaining many, not to say all actions from the horse, of course within certain limits, depends on knowing how to prepare his bod}' in the mechanical positions adapted to perform them. If it is desired to raise a foot by taking hold of and pulling the leg whilst the horse has the weight 122 HOW THE HORSE LEAENS of his body on it, it would be very difficult to succeed in lifting it even witb great strength ^ as the horse is not in a suitable mechanical posture to allow of its being done. He is placed in a sui- table position for raising the foot by leaning one hand against the shoulder or haunch. Thus the weight of the horse's body is directed on to the other side, and the foot that it is desired to raise remains uncharged, and can be raised easily with slight exertion of strength. It is generally said that the horse will not raise his foot, and it is not understood that he has not been placed in a posi- tion suitable for doing so, and this is not the fault of the horse but that of the man wha has not studied hoAV the foot should be raised. The horse who does not know how to traverse should not be required to suddenly traverse by dint of punishments with hand, spurs or whip. He should be prepared for it by bending him gradu- ally, giving him time to grow accustomed to this bent posture and little by little making him tra- verse for a few steps until he grows accustomed to it and it no longer inconveniences him. HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 123 Resistance and revolt shoiild not be excited by repeated punishments, and if we perceive that the horse has conceived the idea of resisting or revol- ting, Ave ninst either cease at once to require the action he was being taught, or place ourselves in a position to be able to oppose and j)revent the reaction immediately and not wait until he has carried it out. When we do not succeed in obtaining an action we may be sure that it is not the fault of the horse but our own, who have demanded it from him without having prepared him beforehand or without the gradation which is required by his nature, or have demanded an action which at that moment was not possible for him. The horse should not be required to go through any action without proper gradation and preparation, much less sliould we seek to force him to such action by means of pu- nishments. The result would be resistance and re- volt, and the horse would attain the knowledge that he is superior to us, that he can refuse to do what we tell him to do. We likewise should not insist upon the horse 124 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS going through an action if we are not in a posi- tion and under circumstances allowing us to compel him, as being able to successfully resist us he w^ould become aware of his superiority and our inferiority. This is the reason w hy mastery should be obtain- ed in the riding school. Here we can compel him, whilst outside the horse is the master. Santapaulina says that the edge of a precipice is not the place to combat the fear of a horse. It is better to get off and give it up. Actions, aids, j^^t^iisJitnents, and associations wliicli the liorse understands naturally, with whicJi may he associated the actions it is desired to teach him to perform, and by ichich these may he taught him. Just as with deaf mutes it is requisite to make oneself understood by signs, so it is with the horse. The things which he understands naturally, and which he can understand on their being taught him, are various signs, and such signs are our dif- HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 125 ferent aids and punishments by which we make him understand what we desire him to do. He does not understand words, but the sound of Avords, or rather the various intonations of the voice, when they are simple and distinct. Eor him words are sounds, and for this reason all languages are alike. Of these sounds, whatever be the word used in emitting them, he naturally understands : — the so- norous conciliatory sound oh ! which has the effect of soothing him; — the loud short angry sound eh! which produces the impression of a menace and makes him afraid. The other sounds adopted for directing him to advance, to stop, or make any other given move- ments, such as to start off at a gallop, and others are learnt by associating them frequently with these actions, which he is induced to perform by means of other aids. He understands naturally; — a kind look and caresses, whicli have the effect of soothing him ; — a threatening look, gesture, or movement Avith the whip, or being struck with the whip; — which are things producing upon him usually the effect of 126- HOW THE HORSE LEARNS making him afraid, of making him flee in the op- posite direction, and at times, react. He understands — to advance if he is threa- tened or struck behind Avith the whip ; — to recede if treatened in front; — to go to llie left if threa- tened from the right; — to go to the right if threatened from the left; — the cavesson punish- ments; — the intermittent puUings of the lounge which invite him to advance, to follow the person who pulls; — the oppositions made with the lounge on the cavesson, which prevent him from advancing when he would wish to do so, and keep him in one spot or make him recede. Excited by punishment with the whip he is afraid and runs, but when this punishment ceases he understands that it is better to go slowly. He understands enough to avoid objects of sufiicient size to give liim the idea that he might be hurt by them. This is not contradicted by the single instances of his going against objects when over- come by fear, or by his breaking out of the en- closure in which he was placed if the sight of other horses excites him to go away. HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 127 TUnfis and actions wliich the horse does not nuder stand naturaJIt/ hut which he learns immediately hy means of association with the things ivhich he understands, and which it is essential to teach him, ownuf to their heiny a matter of jtrime necessity with a view to his instruction. His coming forward on being pulled fcn-wavd with the lounge although he understands it because it is a material action, may in the beginning give him the idea of being subjected to violence, and he may resist by receding. He is taught not to resist the lounge when pulling by threatening him or striking him behind with the whip, whilst being pulled in front with tlie lounge to make him ad- vance. The lounge \vith the cavesson and the v»hi]) are comjdementary, and assist each other in teaching the other elementary things it is necessary to teach the horse. His advancing towards us, his coming to us whilst he is going in a circle led by the lounge at some distance from us, is explained to him and 128 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS he learns it, from our pulling him with the lounge and forcing him to come to us by another person threatening him from behind with the whip. In order that he should come forward towards the man who holds the lounge and pulls him forward, this man must not have ill-treated him. If the man had ill-treated him previously he would have given him an association contrary to coming towards him, as the horse would be afraid of him, and would be right in not wishing to come. He does not understand having to advance at a given sound of the voice which it is desired to use to make him start, when it is employed for the first time. It is explained and taught him by pulling him forward with the lounge while he is simultaneously urged from behind with the whip, and associating with these aids the sound of the voice which it is desired to use as a signal to start. He learns it after these associations have been re- peated a certain number of times constantly in the same way. He does not understand before he is taught the sound of voice which is intended to make him stop. HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 129 It is taught him by stopping him, while he is led with the lounge, and preventing him from going on by oppositions with the lounge on the cavesson at the same time associating the action of stopping with the voice sound meant to make him stop. Oppositions made in front with the lounge on tlie cavesson or on the bridle or on the halter are appropriate for making him stop but he may not understand them or may not be willing to under- stand them. They are explained and enforced by a threat made in front. He learns this after the action of stopping him in this way with this sound of the voice has been repeated a certain number of times. Advancing and stopping are likewise learnt somewhat from the idea of imitation, because in pulling him forward he has seen the man advance, and when resisting his advance and stopping him has seen the man likewise stop. When these sounds are learnt they may be used without the other aids with which they have been taught him, and mav be used to teach him other movements which he does not know, and which it is desired to teach him. 9 130 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS The aids of the hand, of the iveight of the hody of the rider and other aids are meclianical, and after tliey have been learnt become mental or conventional aids. Except the associations which must be given to the horse in order to acquire his confidence , to teach him to advance at a given sound of the voice, to stop and remain still at certain other sound of the voice, and to free him from fear, the other actions which it is requisite to teach him in order to fit him for being ridden depend on and are taught by means of aids or indications with the lounge, the whip, the hand, the weight of rider's the body, the riding whip and the legs, which act in part mechanically and explain them- selves owing to the mechanical eifect they produce upon him, and in part mentally but clearly. By means of these aids, the horse comes to one side because he is actually drawn that way, and goes to the other because he is materially driven there. This is a great advantage, and if HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 131 these aids did not act thus mechanically^ I do. not know how the evolutions could be taught him. In proportion as his body, with increased instruction, becomes freer and more pliant, and his motion improves, these aids produce greater and more prompt eifect. After a certain amount of repetition these aids, in addition to acting mechanically y act likewise as mental, conventional or memorised aids, because he remembers their effect. The horse who has seen himself compelled several times by these aids to assume given positions, and to make given move- ments, on the same aids being repeated remem- bers them, and prepares himself, assumes those positions himself, and does of his own accord what he has already understood he is required to do on the first indication of these aids, not waiting for their mechanical action. Owing to his memory, the horse retains the effect produced on his body by mechanical aids. Opposed by one rein, he is sent to the other side, and this is a mechanical aid, but the horse associates the idea of having been sent to the ]32 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS other side, aud oi iiaviug been rcL^uirecl to go to the other side with the opposition of that reiu. He remembers having gone to the other side on the aid applied by the rein, and makes ready and lends himself to go to the other side at the slightest indication of action bv the rein uiven in this Tvav for this purpose. Thus if in teaching him this action, a force which we will call ten was employed to induce him to do it the first few times, when he has learnt it, a force of one is sufficient, i. e. a mere indication. When these aids become rtmntaJ aids their ac- tion is more rapid, they are quicker in transmit- ting the orders of the rider to the horse, and the horse is quicker to execute them because he comes to understand them more quickly. Thus he stops more quickly on the voice signal to stop than on the signal to stop given by the reins. This is the reason why in order to make the horse perform an action which he lias never performed, more capa- city, more precision of aids and more strength is required in the person teaching than after he has learnt it. After learning it, even if the aids are badly HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 13^ given, the horse does it just the same because on the first sign of the aid being given, although it may be badly given, he understands immediately or guesses immediately what he is to do. This shows tlie diiference between riding a trained horse and instructing a horse the first time. Tlie aids and punishments of the whip are understood by him naturaJJt/, he knows their mean- ing, Avhich is to go away from them, to flee them, i. e. the action of going and of going in the direc- tion opposite to that in which they are given. They are also mental aids because they act upon liis mind by giving sensations of pain. The aids and punishments with the spurs are not so clear. In many horses they excite reactions, and to explain them it is necessary to associate them with the whip aids, applying them together in order to show that they are signals to advance, that on giving them the spurs it is desired they should go forward. The cavesson aids act mechanicaUy and mentally and explain themselves. Tbeir action is powerful because it is exercised on the hrain, the seat of intelligence and will. 134 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS Associations of place and associations of time or succession. The learning' of the various evoliitions is faci- litated for the horse by associating them A\ith certain given tpoints in the riding school, i. e, l>y giving him associations ai 2)lace, h\ repeatedly cau- sing him to perform a given action at a given point, and by making him perform an action immedia- tely after another given action, i, e. by giving liim associations of time or succession. The meinorv of the place recalls the memory of the evolution executed at that 2)lace and the memory of the action first performed recalls that which was con- stantly performed immediately afterwards , and which he must j)erform after the first. Teaching the various evolutions by the aids of the hand and of the weight of the rider's body etc., at given points in the riding school causes him to associate such evolutions Avith those points and on the same aids being applied at those given points he better remembers the evolutions he has HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 135 been caused to make at those given points and when lie is required to make them again by the same aids at those points lie prepares for them himself Avith his body and performs them better. This association of the evolutions with given points of the riding school has the advantage that the h(n*se knows where he is to go to and goes there, and whilst he is going there, aids may be applied to improve his position and the execution of the evolution without their confusing him. Thus in making him traverse by a half turn the horse knows that he goes from the middle of the short wall of the riding school to the middle of the long wall. Whilst he is making this passage hand aids may be given him to hold him in and make him traverse without his growing confused and without their causing him to swerve from his path. If he is taught to perform the pirouette (turn on himself on the croup) by passing lengthwise down the middle of the riding school and stopping in the centre (where the pirouette is always per- formed) and then continuing to advance in the 136 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS same direction he acquires an association which after some repetitions causes him to remember that when he reaches the centre of the riding school he ought to make the pirouette, and he prepares for it himself and does it better. Foreseeing that he must make a pirouette he prepares his body himself and does it better, aiul he is not confused by the various aids which are given him for the purpose of securing his executing it in a good position. Promptness in executing evolutions is learnt by teaching him in this way and therefore by the horse understanding beforehand what he is requi- red to do from the aids which are given him in order to make him prepare his body for the various evolutions, which he already knows, owing to ha- ving made them many times. When he has learnt them he makes anv evo- lution in any desired place, because with the exe- cution of each evolution he has associated the various special aids which preceded his being put through it, and the aids by which he was made to execute it. HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 137 From making him^ go rej)eatedly througli a gi- ven evolution at a given point in the riding school the horse easily comes to believe that he is desi- red to make it whenever he is made to pass along that point, and when passing along that point he prepares for it and wishes to make it. This may be soon remedied by being intent on forestalling him and preventing him from going throngli the evolution, making him continue straight on. Thus he learns that in order to go through that evo- lution in that place, he must wait until told to do so by having tlie proper aids applied. These associations of place have the same advantage when giving him instruction with the lounge because the horse, from \\\q place v\iiere he has been made to go through a given evolution has learnt his way and is not confused by the various aids given him with the lounge for the purpose of improving the position of his body or maintaining it in a good position. With the lounge and with the whip he soon learns the evolutions which he is made to go through in the riding school, because they are constantly carried out at 138 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS certain points in the riding school and he asso- ciates them with these points. Thus at every indi- cation of an aid given at such a point he knows where to go, what he is to do and liow he is to do it. This holds good for every other evolution. As the bugle signal makes him expect that after it he will be given oats because this was done many times, thus the fact of repeatedly ma- king him go through an action immediately after another, forms an association which makes him remember and expect that after he has been put through a certain given action he will be put through another given action. This gives him the idea of succession in going through various move- ments, and, foreseeing the second action before he is required to go through it, he prepares himself for it, and performs it better. Por the actions which are prepared and gover- ned by various aids applied one after the other, he retains their succession and after the first or second aid, he understands what is desired and executes it without waiting to be given the other aids which would follow. ~yr HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 139 In order to make him start off at the gallop the horse has observed that the following move- ments were always made in succession ; — he has been collected with the reins ; — he has been slightly bent inAvards with the head and croup ; — the weight of the rider' s body has been placed on the inside stirrup ; — the hand has been raised ; — and an outside leg or whip aid has been given. — After this has been done several times, on the tirst aids he sets off at a gallop and does not wait fnr the raising of the hand iit the conciliatinii,' voice sound used to quiet him in case of fear he may be tranquillised on hearing it when afraid. Wat/ of teachinxf him to stand still alone. The horse can be taught to stand still alone, but we must not relv on his standing' still alone if we stand far from him. The overworked horse and the ill-fed horse can stand still if left standing. The well-fed and rested horse cannot stand still because it is contrary to the excitability inherent in his nature, which is only overcome by exces- sive fatigue. Even the much fatigued horse very often does not stand still when he is of an exci- table nature. If there comes to him the idea of going to the stable or if he is seized with fear, and is left alone, he escapes. It is said that the Arab horse waits for his master. This may be because he has grown up HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 153 toi^etlier witli man and because, not havini'' pastu- res, he must expect his food from man. Even the Arabs however tie their horses, and tie them to a picket embedded in the ground, passing tlie tetlier round the pastern of a fore-leg. (This method of tethering is perhaps better, or perhaps is a neces- sity in places without trees, and seems to have less objections than otlier methods of tying the horse). It is true that there are many other reasons for keeping him tethered, but if they keep liini tethe- red it must be presumed that even the Arabs do not believe that the liorse waits for liis master. It is possible to teach, or rather to endeavour to teacli tlie horse to stand still alone, in tlie fol- lowing Avay. He is placed in the centre of an iso- lated spot (preferably in the riding school) where there are no distracting causes, and is held (he may be held first by two men with two lounges) by a black thin cord so that it should not be very visible, attached in front to the cavesson or to the back of tlie head strap just as when he is taught to walk with a cord. You walk around him on one side and on the other, caress him, giving often 164 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS the conciliatory voice sound and then move away little by little, so that he does not notice it, conti- nuing intermittently to give him the conciliatory voice sound. As soon as it is seen that he is about to move, it is necessary to go up to him, ^and if he has mo- ved to put him quietly back into his place giving him the conciliatory voice. Oare must be taken however to prevent this and go up to him before he moves. After he has been put back in his place several times it may also be useful to make use somewhat of a threatening tone and slight puni- shment if he moves, if his nature allows it. Tliis punishment should only be given after we have tried to keep him still for a quarter of an hour every day for many days. The end of his lesson is the best time to teach this because he is then in a more obedient mood and is more disposed to remain still as he has been in motion until that moment. The conclusion of this instruction will however be that after having done much, it will be seen that the end is not attained, because it is contrary HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 155 to the natural excitability of the horse, which incites him to run from no greater cause than the stir of a leaf. Suhsiifuiion of other aids or other sif/naJs for those bi/ which the horse has learnt to 2)erform the actions taught. Having tirst learnt to perform an action, and afterwards to perform it at a given sound, gesture, or signal by hand or on a given aid, if it is desi- red, another signal may be substituted by associa- ting it with the tirst signal whilst the horse is performing such movement on the tirst signal, the movement being repeated until he has learnt to do it at the new signal. This new signal should be used in a clear and marked wav so as to make an impression on him, and he must at the same time be compelled to perform the action. Thus when the horse is isolated and standing still, being- held by two men at one, two or three or more yards from him with two lounges attached to the two side-rings of the cavesson, if whilst the voice 156 HOW THE HORSE LEAENS aid for movino- is given a forward gesture is made with an arm and hand as though to show the way, and these two signs are accompanied by a threat with .the whip behind, which compels him to ad- vance, he soon learns that at such a gesture he must advance without its being accompanied by the advancing voice signal. Thus whilst the horse advances at a walk, conducted by the two lounges, if we associate the voice stopping signal with a thoroughly visible and conspicuous signal, such as would be that of rai- sing the hand, and having him stopped directly by the two men holding him with the two lounges, this makes him understand that this signal is for him to stop. Touching or striking one of his forelegs with the tip of the whip behind the knee is an aid which means he is to lift that fore-leg and throw out his foot. Tor the touching and striking with the whip behind the knee may be substituted the signal of pointing the tip of the whip to the leg without touching it managing as follows. The whip is pointed conspicuously in the di- HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 157 rection of the knee, and a moment later lie is struck rather heavily behind the knee and also is given the voice sound used for making him go. This voice sound for exciting motion aids in exci- ting him to move his leg, because it is an order to advance, i. e. to move his leg which he already knows, and as the left leg is touched he raises it and moves it. After some repetitions he under- stands and remembers that pointing the tip of the whip in the direction of his leg means that he is to raise the leg and paw with it, and he does so without waiting to be given the whip punishment at the back of the knee, which was given at other times after the whip had been pointed to the knee. For the signal of pointing the whip to the knee may easily be substituted a gesture towards the knee with the extended arm and hand. Stan- ding to the left of him facing the left shoulder, a very conspicuous gesture is made with the exten- ded left arm towards the left foreleg in the di- rection of the knee and the whip is kept stret- ched out along our right leg pointed downwards so that he should not see it. The left arm is with- 1&8 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS drawn and again a signal is made in the direction of the left leg and the back of the knee is sharp- ly struck with the whip held in the right hand while the voice sonnd for going is given siniulta- neously. The whip is then Immediately liidden along onr right leg. After he has been made to repeat the raising of the fore-leg in this way several times the horse learns to raise it at the signal with the left arm and hand stretched out towards the leg, without waiting until the leg is struck with the whip. Im- mediately after he has raised his leg he must each time be caressed on the neck and eyes and given the conciliatory voice sound, in order to show approval of the action performed and tell him that it was the action desired. In order to teach him to raise the right fore-leg we place ourselves opposite the right shoulder, make a sign with the right arm and strike him with the whip held in the left hand hidden along the left leg. If we associate a word, (which for him is a sound) to the sign to which we have taught him to execute an action, the horse will learn to execute HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 159 the action at the word and we have the substitu- tion of the word for the sign. It is not true that the horse guesses what it is desired to make him do ivhen he is led with the lounge or ridden. The horse keeps well in mind the lounge and whip aids and the points of the riding school to which we go in order to induce him to go to other points, and the aids which are given him on horseback and which are employed to make him go through the various movements, and even the special motions we make in the saddle with our body unconsciously before giving him the va- rious aids required to make him go through the required actions. Erom these motions, constantlv made before giving him the aids suited to putting him through the various actions, the horse understands and foresees the action which it is desired to make him perform and the aids which will be given him, and does not wait for them but executes forthwith 160 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS the action wliicli it is intended to make him go through. In order to make him change hand when led by tlie lounge we cause him to slacken his pace and shorten the lounge folding it up, then we pull him towards the centre, and in doing so we our- selves go back. The horse which has observed all these things, on the first motion made with the arms to fold up the lounge has immediately under- stood that it is desired to make him change, and he comes to the centre to change without waiting for other signs or aids. On horseback his being made to go through an action is preceded by the various preparatory aids, and the rider, when he has conceived the idea of putting him through an action, unknowingly prepares himself to give him the required aids by making special motions with his body, or gives the first aid by habit without noticing that he does so. The horse which is attentive has understood from tliese special motions or from the first aid inadvertently given what his rider desires, and does it without Avaitiug for the other aids. HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 161 Thus he goes aside on every inclination of the body on one side ; he traverses immediateh^ on more weight being put upon one stirrup and does not wait for the hand and leg aid; he gallops immediately on being bent in and raised, and does not wait for the outside leg aid. Slackening speed and stopping on horseback is always associated with inclining the body backward,, and the horse, which has already observed this many times, has understood that the inclining of tlie body back- wards by the rider signifies stopping, and stops on the body being inclined backwards without waiting to be forced to stop by the hand. It is therefore not the horse who guesses the intentions of his rider but the rider himself who reveals his intentions to his horse by his inadver- tently-made motions or aids. This fact of the horse foreseeing what he will be called upon to do is good, because he prepares himself, but it is bad when the horse anticipates and makes the evolu- tions before the aids are given him by the rider as in doing so he holds back and does not make them in the fine raised position wliich would be 11 162 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS desirable. To avoid his thus making movements in advance it is necessary to prevent him making them, so as to show that he must not make them before he receives orders, i. e. aids. Things which the horse is taught for spectacular purposes. For teaching most of the following special things, as has already been said, it is better to have the horse held isolated bv two men with tAvo loun- ges attached to the two side-rings of the cavesson at one, two, or three yards or more distance from the horse as best suited to teach the action. It appears that the things which horses are now made to perform in circuses are of ancient date. Oaracciolo and Oorte of Pavia, writers of the IG.th century, in order to prove the intelligence of horses, mention the marvellous games which they perfor- med. They should have said that these games per- formed by the horses in the circus proved on the contrary the cleverness and intelligence of the men who had taught them. They did such surprising HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 163 things that at Aries a Neapolitan and his horse were burnt for practising magic, and the same fate befell Bankes' horse 31orocco which is mentioned by Shakespeare. Things are marvellous to those who do not see, do not understand hoAV they are done, and circus masters have kept up this idea of their marvel- lousness by keeping them secret. The circus master tells the horse in a loud voice to perform a given action. He gives thii< order in order to let the public hear it. Of course the horse does not under- stand it. But the circus master together with the words of command uttered in order to be heard by the public, gives the horse the signal at which he has taught him to perform the movement with- out the public perceiving or noticing it. Thus in the eyes of the public the horse has carried out the order uttered, but in reality he has carried out the order given by the signal. The circus master speaks to the horse in order to deceive the public and gives him the signal on which he has previously taught him to perform the movement commanded aloud. In order to teach 164 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS the various actions perspicacity is required in the master and it is further necessary to know how to choose horses of suitable intelligence. All the actions performed in the circus are done in this way; the spoken order is given in order that it should be heard by the public and the horse is made to carry out that order by a certain signal. The horse is taught to perform many actions, but separately on different signals, and afterwards he is made to perform a complex action, i. e. to perform several simple actions one after the other, so as to represent a reasoned process. A handker- chief is hidden under a heap of sand at a spot in the circus over which the horse will be made to pass. He is ordered to look for it and bring it and he is made to go at a walk to the spot where it is hidden. Having arrived at one step from the heap of sand among which the handkerchief is hidden the circus master makes the sign to stop and the horse stops ; by another sign he tells him to paw the ground^ and being at the right distance from the heap, the heap is destroyed and the handkerchief is found. By another sign he tells HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 165 the horse to seize it with his teeth and the horse seizes the handkerchief with his teeth and carries it. These actions have been taught separately and joined together by the circus master in order to make it appear that the horse has himself thought of looking for the handkerchief and bringing it, whilst the horse has performed the several actions on the several signals associated with them. By repeating these actions the horse also remembers them and does them better and more readily, and I think that the horse which has manv times sought the handkerchief comes to understand that the heap of sand contains the handkerchief. It is the same as regards making the horse write the name of a city or of a spectator. The letters of the alphabet designed on pieces of thin planking attached at a right angle to other pieces of planking to make them stand upright and easy to grasp with the teeth are arranged on the gTound in a circle at intervals of one vard or more. To produce the illusion in the spectators the circus master with a loud voice commands the horse to write a name and makes him walk round inside 16t> HOW THE HORSE LEARNS the circle formed Ijy the letters and he accom- panies the horse walking some steps away from him in a smaller circle. Whilst the horse, wal- king in the circle formed* by the letters, arrives at the first letter of the name which he is to write the circus master gives him the signal to stop, and, immediately after, the signal to seize the letter, and immediately after, the signal to come to him. When the horse brings him the letter the circus master draws back to the centre of the circle, takes the letter from his mouth and places it on the ground. This being done the circus master makes the horse walk round in the circle anew and bring successively the other letters in the order required to form the name. Thus the name is formed, but it is not the horse which has formed it. The horse has seized and brought the several letters on the signals to seize them and bring them. The signs with which it is usual to make the horse stop whilst he is walking in the circle are: to make a step towards him and stop opposite the shoulder or the head, as thus no motive for advan- cing or receding is given, and to point the tip of HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 167 the whip a little in front of the fore legs near the ground which is a threat against advancing, and to go and caress him. The signals for starting and advancing are : raising the whip, the master's turn- ing to him his side, walking and menacing him with the whip, SAvinging it round high and back- Avards and in the same direction as the horse is to go. When he has learnt to stop promptly on the stopping signal he can be ordered to point out the person avIio has a special coat or hat because the master Avill give him the signal to stop when the horse reaches the person Avearing it. For teaching to apparently choose and form words tlie circus master in making the horse go round in tlic circle holds him with a thin black cord attached hrst to the middle ring of a light cavesson and later at the back of the cavesson to show less. The cord must be thin and black for the purpose that the horse may not notice it and may believe himself free. The cord is left not stretched and is only used if necessary to oblige the horse to go in the circle and not outside and to stop. 168 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS Teaching the horse to he afraid of a man dressed in red, not to be afraid of a man dressed in ivhite, to be afraid of a given object or of a, given place. A servant dissuaded his mistress from the idea, which involved great trouble to him, of keeping a number of cats, by making them appear posses- sed by demons. He did it in this way. He gave them food, and whilst they were eating drew from his pocket a long, strong and thick rosary, and whipped them. After having made them run about for some time by beating them he replaced the rosary in his pocket and allowed tliem to eat. Thus the cats learnt not to eat on being shown the rosary aud to eat when the rosary was replaced in the pocket. This man possessed sagacity. Bad or good asso- ciations may be coupled with anything. A bad association may be coupled with red clothing and the horse may be taught to be afraid of the red clothing by having him severely ill-treated by HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 169 a man dressed in red. Good associations may be coupled with white ch)thiug and he may be tanght not to be afraid of white ch>thing' by causing him to be caressed and to be given something to eat by a man dressed in white. Evil associations may be coupled with any object and he may be taught to be afraid of it by presenting the object to him and having him frigh tened or beaten bv someone, and ceasinii* to beat him on making the object disappear from his sight. The appearance of the object before him is avsso- giated with his being beaten. The disappearance of the object is associated with the cessation of beating. An Abbot of Brittany in the thirteenth century had several fine horses. A nephew wanted to have a particularly good one and the abbot would not let him have it. As the abbot was accustomed to read his breviary on horseback the nephew taught the horse to make jumps Avhen the breviary was taken out by taking it out and exciting him to jump. When next the abbot went for a ride the horse did not fail to make jumps when he took 170 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS out the breviary and the abbot was afraid aud believed the horse had grown vicious and gave him to his nepliew. The horse may be caused to acquire dislike and fear of a given place by guiding him to that place repeatedly and there always having him beaten. Passing along the place in wliicli he was always l^eaten, this place recalls to his mind the punishments and makes him afraid and he desires to escape or turn back. The associations of fear and tliose of ill-treatment coupled with given objects do not need to be repeated many times in order to be learnt. With manv horses once is sufficient whilst the associations of caresses coupled with gi- ven objects must be repeated many times in order to be remembered bv other horses. Teaching him to seize with tlie teeth. As has been stated, in order to teach him spe- cial actions in which ^valking is not required the horse must be made to stand still alone, held by HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 171 two men each about one, two or three yards or more away from liim, with two h)uno'es attached to the cavesson. The idea of seizinjo- with tlic teeth and the ac- tion of seizing with tlie teeth are called forth in him by holding in front of his month an object, not a hard one so that he should not liaTc jin un- pleasant sensation in seizing it, but one which is thin and easv for him to seize, and bv luncliinjjc him behind the second bone of the shoulder where he feels tickling. Pinching him gives rise in him to the idea of biting, excites him to bite in order to stop the tickling irritation and the excitation due to the pinches, and tinding in front of his mouth the object held there, he bites the object. The voice signal to advance which he already knows may assist in exciting him to bite the object if associated with the pinches. As soon as he bites and seizes the object the pinching is stopped, he is caressed and spoken to soothingly, and is given something to eat which he likes ; so he understands that the action he is requi- red to perform is to seize the object with his 172 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS teeth. The first time he seizes it he lets it go imme- diately. Afterwards, in order that he should learn to hold it fast for some little time, he is pinched again immediately on his letting it go, and then he seizes it again, the pinching being stopped as soon as he takes hold of the object afresh, and so on several times. Subsequently it is only necessary to make as if one were about to pinch him by advancing the hand, and he seizes the object held in front without waiting to be pinched. This is equivalent to seizing at a signal, at an indication by the hand. Afterwards the object which he has seized many times is placed before him and this recalls to him the associated idea of seizing it and he seizes it forthwith and has learnt to seize the object on its merely being presented to him. The object he has learnt to seize has always been the same, but then one may proceed to make him seize others. Thus by small changes at a time, from the idea of bi- ting the horse has been conducted to the idea of seizing by various signals of diminishing conspi- cuousness. HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 173 The object which he is accustomed to seize is held in front of him lower, and he is made to seize it lower. It is placed on the ground, and he seizes it on the ground. It is taken from his mouth and he is caressed and given something to eat, and waits for it to be taken from his mouth in order to have this something to eat. We draw back a little in doing this and the idea comes to him of following after, with the object in his mouth, so that it may be taken out and he may be given the morsel to eat which has been given to him at other times. Thus bv varic^us successions of small modifications, from the idea of biting called forth at first he is conducted to carrying and })ringing an object held in his mouth. Teaching Mm to raise 7m lefffi aJternateh/ and hnocJt' at the door. Standing at the side of the left fore-leg whilst the horse is held by two men distant one, two, three or mor(^ yards from him Avith two lounges and looking at the horse's eye, with the whip 174 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS held in the right hand we touch the left foreleg just behind the knee or the shin and this touching is repeated with increasing strength until becom- ing vexed he gives a forward stroke with the foot. With this mav further he associated the ad- vancing voice signal in order to incite him to move his leg as said above. As soon as he makes this movement with his leg he is spoken to sooth- ingly and caressed, i. e. approval is shown and he understands that touching him with the whip be- hind the knee means that he is to raise his left leg and make a pawing movement. Standing at the side of the right leg and looking at the eye of the horse, with the Avhip held in the left hand we touch the right foreleg just behind the knee or the shin, and this touching is repea- ted until becoming vexed he raises his leg and makes a pawing movement. He is immediately caressed and he understands that touching him with the whip means that he is to raise his right fore- leg and make this movement. This raising of the leg is taught him in order to prepare him to go througli the Spanish walk (short trot with very HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 175 i high action) and to teach him to knock at the door. In order to teach him to knock at the door he is placed close to the door at such a distance that in making the pawing movement he touches the door and produces the noise of rapping. On making this pawing movement and on the above noise being heard he is caressed, and immediately understands rapping at the door. From touching and striking the fore-legs be- hind the knee in order that he may raise them, we may proceed to make him raise them on a sig- nal being given by pointing the whip towards them. The whip is very markedly pointed towards the back of the knee and held pointed for one moment and the voice signal for advancing being given the back of the knee is struck rather hard if he does not raise the leg. A few repetitions of this teach him to raise the fore-leg on the mere pointing of the whip towards the leg without wait- ing for it to be struck. From making him raise the left fore-leg on a signal by the whip pointed towards the leg we may 176 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS proceed to make liim raise it at a sign with the hand and arm extended towards the leg. We must look the horse in the eye and make a marked sign with the left hand and arm extended in the direction of the left fore-leg, holding tliem in that position a moment. The arm is withdrawn and after a short interval the left arm is anew markedly extended towards the left fore-leg, inciting the horse with the voice sound used for making him go and the leg is struck with the whip behind the knee. The whip must be held in the right hand, quite hidden along our right leg, and should not draw the atten- tion of the horse, not even at the moment when the leg is struck behind the knee. The entire at- tention of the horse should be attracted to tlie left arm extended towards the left leg, and in order that it should draw the attention of the horse the arm is held pointed towards the left leg before striking it, when striking it and a while after stri- king it. Thus the horse associates the arm exten- ded towards the left leg with its being struck, and after a few repetitions learns to raise the leg on seeing the arm directed towards the leg without waiting to be struck. HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 177 In this way the horse has learnt that pointing towards the leg, making a signal towards the leg with the whip or with the arm and hand stretched out, precedes striking the leg, and he does not wait for it to be struck, raising it forthwith. If the voice sound up, up is associated with striking him behind the knee he learns to raise the leg at this sound. The same method with suitable modifications is used to teach him to raise the right leg at the signal of the right arm extended in the direction of the right leg. In order to teach him to kick with a hind foot and strike at the door with a hind foot the liorse is held in an isolated position by two lounges, with his hind feet in the proximity of the door of the riding school and is excited with the tip of the whip at the pasterns of the hind legs until in anger he gives a kick that makes a noise agar inst the door which he hears. The teacher imme- diately goes up to liis head, caresses him, speaking to liim conciliatingly, and he learns that kicking or striking at the door is what he is desired to do. 12 178 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS TeacJdng him to do the Spdnish walk. In a preceding paragraph he has been taught to lift up the two fore-legs and paw with them alternately, and these are thus prepared for going through the Spanish walk. It is now necessary to prepare the hind legs, and this is done as follows. The horse is held by two men with two lounges and cavesson. The teacher places himself on the left side of the horse standing somewhat behind the shoulder, facing the body of the horse, and close to it: with his left hand he holds the reins of the snaffle firmly and equally on the withers, and with his right hand he holds the whip hori- zontally along the spine with the tip on the croup, one palm above the rump. In this position with the left hand he prevents the horse, more or less as may be required, from advancing, from which he is prevented likewise by the two men holding the two lounges, that he may advance little and make high movements. HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 179 While the teacher encourages him by repeated voice signals for exciting motion he raises the whip and beats with it small and increasing strokes on the croup, now on the right and now on the left alternately. (Striking always in the middle of the vertebral column does just the same as regards making him raise first one leg and then the other because after one he must move the other.) Thus the horse learns to raise the hind legs alternately, and allowing him to advance a little he will make a few steps of marked trot movement. This exercise must be re}>eated many times for many davs in order that he should learn to do the C I' Spanish walk, but it should be kept short only lasting a few minutes each time with intervals of rest during which his head is left free. He should be allowed to hold his head rather low when doing it, in order to facilitate his raising the hind legs, The holding back is necessary in order to force him to make short and high movements. If he is not held back he advances and makes extended movements. After he has learnt to do the Spanish walk held in this fashion he will do it when rid- 180 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS den if excited by aids for going and held back by the hand. I have described how circus masters teach their tricks in order to show how the horse learns but horses meant for ordinary use ought never to be taught tricks as it only spoils them and this is particularly true of what is called the Spanish walk and the school jumps. In the sixteenth century school jumps were much in vogue and all knights were anxious to sho>\ their skill in making their horses do them for the sake of being admired by the ladies who sat in the balcony as it was then the custom. Olaudio Corte a nobleman of Pavia, who was some time in the service of Queen Elizabeth, ju- diciously noted that school jumps had no practical utility, damaged horses and were not to be tauglit to horses intended for military use as they might mistake the aids of hand and sj^urs given to make them run and believe themselves requested to make school jumps with the consequence of the rider being easily killed by the enemy. In the eighteenth century Nicolo Rosselmini a HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 181 nobleman of Pisa who was the first to study the horse's mechanism made the same remark about too much union as it much diminishes the pace. What is wanted by the rider is that the horse should go well and that he should be able to control him. This was known to Xenophon as well as other things which seem to be ignored nowadays. Imitation is a means of teaching. Imitation is performing the same action as others perform, and arises from association of exam- ple ; it is a better means than any other of teach- ing and persuading a horse to go through an action in case of fear or repugnance. The example of another liorse going away from him gives him the idea of imitating him, of following him. This action is contributed to also, to a great extent, by the idea of not wishing to be abandoned, aban- donment being contrary to his instinct of loving and seeking the companionship of other horses. Seeing another horse pass or run in front invites and incites him to follow, even if he at first had 182 HOAV THE HORSE LEARNS resisted going forward. If he is afraid to go into the water, seeing a man or another horse go in is the most persuasive argument to induce him to do so. Seeing another horse pass over a small obsta- cle incites him to try to pass over it. The man who, having stood still with him, begins to walk, invites him to imitate and fcdlow him. The man who stops whilst walking in front or at the side of him invites the horse to imitate him and stop. This is due also in great part to the action of being pulled forward by the lounge which he felt Avhen the man was advancing, and from the phy- sical opposition which the man made him feel with the lounge on stopping, which things he re- members. If he is afraid of any object and does not wish to pass it, seeing the man or another horse go ahead is the best mode of persuading him to pass it and of getting rid of his fear. It is understood that the man must have gained the contidence of the horse. If he were afraid of the man he would not be encouraged to pass the object of fear becau- se he would be afraid even of following the man. HOW THE HORSE LEAENS 183 fc He should not be allowed to perform actions ivith an idea and in a manner contrary to the idea of obedience. The action of traversing may also be obtained from the horse who goes against the spur by ap- plying the spur on the side on which it is desired to make him traverse instead of the aid given on tlie opposite side, because he traverses on that side in order to go against the spur, if he ha* acqui- red the vice of traversing against the spur. This he does owing to his resistance and self-will and he should not be allowed to do it because it con- lirms him in the idea of disobedience and reaction. Teachimi him to leave off doing some action which is not desired. Teaching him not to perform an action which he performs but which is not desired is effected by associating it immediately Avith disapproval or pain, represented by threatening look, threatening 184 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS voice or gesture, and if necessary by piinisliment whenever he does so, until he gives up doing so. Dogs and cats are taught not to commit a nuisance in the room by rubbing their noses in the refuse. They remember this well, as it is a punishment which they dislike exceedingly. On foot the best means of giving associations of disapproval to the horse are the aids and punish- ments of the cavesson, because they act upon the seat of the intelligence and will and do not give rise to reactions as do the whip punishments. On horseback, in order to show disapproval of the actions he performs and is not desired to perform, he may be punished with a whip, by a raising action of the hand, and with the spurs, or even by all three together. The whip and hand raising punishments are better than the spurs if the horse is excited to react by the spurs and if it has not been possible to accustom him to yield to the spurs i. e. to advance instead of reacting against them. The raising action of the hand is a punishment, and shows disapprobation and is also a prevention of croupades in the horse that throws up the croup HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 185 on the spurs being applied. Associated with the use of the whip and the spurs it may break him of the desire to react against the spurs. Necessity of (living the horse the hahit of jierformiuf/ the actions taught him. The actions which animals perform are called forth either by the decided will to perform them or because the habit of performing them has been acquired. The actions performed by habit no lon- ger need the direct aid of the will ; tliey are gone through mechanically without thought and without being noticed; it is the body which makes these movements, acting only like a machine. In order to be able to rely on everv aid being obeyed and producing on the horse the eifect of causing him to do what he has been taught to do, it is neces- sary that he should have been trained to the habit of doing so. Then the horse has become a machine, and we may be sure that on touching the key we shall have the corresponding movement, and then alone he can be called trained. 186 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS When the horse is changed into a machine by habit, his disobedience will be an exception only in case of strong fear or strong excitement arou- sed in him bv other horses or by natural instinct. Habit is produced in the horse by methodical daily repetitions of the actions taught for a certain time and in accordance with his mental and phy- sical nature. Until the horse has been endowed with the habit of obeying the aids and performing the ordinary evolutions in the riding school he must not be allowed to be ridden by an incapa- ble person or outside the riding school, because he will be immediately spoilt. Repetition is necesfiary with a view to muMnfi him learn, muMng him rememher, and to maintain facility of execution. The renewal of the associations is the means of impressing them upon the mind, and the repetition of the execution of the actions is the means of teaching how to do them and of rendering their execution better and more prompt, finally making HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 187 tliem a matter of habit gone through without thought or requiring very little attention. The con- stant, methodical repetition of the actions taught is necessary w ith a view to impressing and obtain- ing prompt obedience to the aids and an easy execution of the actions. It is repetition which teaches, which keeps a thing in the memory, removes repugnance to per- form a movement, and causes movements to be made by habit without being noticed, and when the horse moves by habit we may be sure that on the aids being applied he will go through what is required. He learns even illogical things by dint of much repetition. Few repetitions should be made at a time of the same action, in order not to wea- ry and fatigue him, which ^^<)uld give rise in him to dislike and opposition to performing the action. The habit of performing what is taught only comes after many repetitions and after a certain time of continuing such repetitions. A certain pe- riod of repetition of greater or less length in ac- cordance w4th the memory and retentive faculties of the horse is necessarv in order that he should 188 HOW THE HORSE LEARNS acquire the habit of executing the movements. Therefore the horse' s training requires a certain time and cannot be completed in a few days. Dai- ly repetition of the actions learnt is further neces- sary with a view to maintaining the ability of the body for good and prompt execution. A musical performer or a fencing master who remains for some days without practice loses something of the excellence he had attained. How to maJce the Jwrse forget the actions taught hy had associations. Just as repetition and time are required to teach liim the actions we desire should be perfor- med, and to create tlie habit' of performing them, in the same way repeated prevention is required and time to make him forget the habit of perfor- ming actions which are not desired when once he has acquired it. In the horse which has acquired the habit of carrying out some undesired action or act of revolt against the rider this habit must be broken, and by constant repetitions of the con- HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 189 trary for some time the habit of doiug so must be removed and replaced by that of not doing so. The time which is required to bring about forgetfulness of the habit of performing an action which is not desired is proportionate to the length of the time the habit has lasted, and to the nature, talent and goodwill of the individual horse. In the old horse it is more difficult, and more time is required to remove the habit of performing an action than in a young one. To remove the bad association coupled with an object in presence of which he was beaten, or with the place in which he was beaten, he must be led up to the object ot to the place, always caressing him, as many times as are necessary to persuade him that in the presence of the object or in that place instead of bad treatment he receives caresses. If it is desired to ])reak a horse of the habit of performing a bad action the circumstances must be known under which he acquired ihv vice of performing it, and he must be placed under the same circumstances anew and prevented from per- forming the bad action under those circumstances. 190 HOW THE HOUSE LEARNS If he does not wish to pass along a place because he was ill-treated there or took fright, or an acci- dent occurred and he was hurt, he must l)e led to tliat place, and if he will not go, may be allowed to stand a little way behind and be kept standing still while caressing him and leaving him free and quiet. This must be continued for several days, bringing him gradually closer to the place, and on seeing that no harm is done him lie will gra- dually approach the place and pass it, and will lose the fear of that place and the memory of the fear. If it is a question of removing the habit of a movement of revolt, he must be placed under the same circumstances under which he has ac(iui- red the habit of performing it, and prevented from doing so, and this act of prevention must be repea- ted every day until he gives up trying to perform the movement, loses the memory of it and acqui- res the habit of not performing it. If he was ill-treated for some action which he performed and learnt to make movements of revolt with the special purpose of personal attack, care must be taken to hold him in such a way as not I HOW THE HORSE LEARNS 101 to be attacked, and to do nothing to him, not to punish him. Finding that nothing is done to him the horse may cease to make attacks hut this is a difficnH task to attempt and to obtain as the horse having seen his superiority to man very likely will always remember it. O D HOW THE HOESE IS TAUGHT OBEDIENCE. This Chapter contains the theorv and rational explanation of the mode of procedure which must be adhered to in teaching the horse obedience, which must be taught on foot. The practical me- thod of teaching obedience on foot is by means of the lounge which mode of instruction if practised proj)erly improves also the working of the horse' s mechanism. Teaching the horse to obey the rider is effected by the rider on horseback by teaching him to obey the aids of the hands, the aids of legs and spurs and the aids of the weight of the rider's body. This is explained in The Functions of the Hdiuh in JRidhuj (Edinhurgl} , 1888, Turnhnll and Spears. HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT 193 The knowledge of how to acquire the confidence and obedience of horses is a special aptitude of the peoples to whom horses are indispensable in their life in order to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy. The reason is that such people re- gard them as their most precious thing, as their possible saviours, and therefore ti'eat them with care and love. The horse, in order to furnish his maximum of utility, should be a friend to his rider, and in order that he mav be so the rider must treat him with the idea of justice. What is Obedience. Whence it comes. Obedience by permumon. To obey is to agree to do a thing suggested by another, it is to fulfil the will of others, to do w hat another commands you to do. Obedience may be the consequence of a jfhf/sical force which threar- tens and compels by fear that it may inflict pu- nishment or pain, i. e. by superiority of physical force, or of a moral force or moral influence, of a moral ascendant acquired by one person over ano- 13 194 JIOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT ther by means of good offices which have produ- ced gratitude and love. Physical force alone, as represented by punish- ment and pliysical coercion, inspires fear and cau- ses obedience, but on many occasions only for so long as it lasts, and it always awakens dislike and often even hatred and resistance. The timid do not rebel against physical force, because their fear overcomes their anger but the bold and spirited re]>el in consequence of the hdtred which the infflic- ted violence produces. Por this reason physical force alone is not suf- ficient to obtain obedience and moral force i. e. ascendancy of love is also reijuired to persuade the will to obedience. From the horse obedience must also be obtained by this ascendanci/ of love — be- cause it gives him tranquillity of mind ; — because as his service is required to be performed by him in a free state, his goodwill is required to perform it — because in order to be a willing servant he must be a friend to man, — because being so much stron- ger than Ave are it is not expedient to contrast our physical strength with his. HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT 195 The obedience which arises from the ascen- dancy of love is complementary to the obedience wliich is due to the ascendancy of physical force, each being complementary to the other, because the obedience due to the sole ascendancy of love would likewise not be sufficient alone to restrain the horse. In manv cases the inclinations and temptations to obey his own impulses, which are given him by his instincts, would be the stronger, and would overcome this obedience. Therefore it is necessary that obedience should be due to an ascendancv both of love and fear. In man likewise the mere moral ascendant, the mere feeling of duty has the power to force some few only to obedience. All others obey the moral ascendancy of anyone if behind this there is in reserve the material force whicli can ])hysically compel and punish them. By the two ascendancies of love and jear^ we give rise in the horse to the moral necessity of performing the actions which we tell him to per- form. This idea of the moral necessity of obedience gives the feeling of obedience, i. e. an obedience by persuasion. This is the result of the horses seeing 196 HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT that they are interested in obeying us because thus they avoid the evil of punishment and receive pleasure. In horses the ascendancy of love and fear is limited to the person who lias known how to inspire it, and to those persons who know how to treat them in a suitable manner for maintaining it. With them, as with children, the moral ascendancy can- not be attained or maintained by anyone who does not know the way. Obedience and disobedience in children depends iipon the behaviour of the Master, on his knowing or not knowing how to manage them. Necessity that obedience he hy persuasion and hy hahit. The horse controls his own movements and in order to render us service, should be left free ; he cannot do anv service when bound and he is ten times stronger than we are. Therefore it is neces- sary that his obedience should be sure and to be sure should be by persuasion, i. e. should be foun- HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAFGHT 107 ded on the two ascendancies of love and feav. In order to render it still more certain, that is, con- stant, it is further necessary that the obedience by persuasion should be conrerted into a second nature hi) hahit, by long continued acts of obedience and by long continued prevention of acts of disobedien- ce. An action which is performed by habit is per- formed without being noticed, without knowledge or wish. This is seen from the amount of eifort and time required to overcome an acquired habit. Obedience hy persuasion, having become a second nature by ludtit has indeed the etfect of making the horse no longer think of obeying his own will but only ours, and we may rely on the hahit of obedience just as we may rely that on touching a a key of a ])iano the corresponding note will be given forth. The greater power of the instinct of self-preservati(m or of fear or other instincts may cause obedience to be forgotten for a moment, but this will be an exception Avhere obedience by per- suasion has been developed and has become a hahit. 198 HOW OBKUIEN(^E IH rAUGHT By what means the horse is taught ohedietwe. Man, the principal feature of whose character is vanity, lias i>iven rise to the proverb : Self love is the hey to the heart. The liorse has no vanity and cannot be overcome by adulation, but he like- wise obeys i\\e principle that love is inspired by that whicli is useful and that pleasure is the useful thinjD' which creates love. Pleasure and utility ])re- dispose him to love and contidence and to the acceptance of obedience. His susceptibility to being rendered obedient and our power of giving the feeling of the duty of obedience to the horse arise from his instinct (common to all animals) of seeMnf/ that which gi- ves pleasure and fearing and fleeing that which gives pain, from his feeling j^leasure from good treatment and displeasure, pain and fear from pu- nishment. The means which serve to make him feel 2^l€asure and pain are our various aids and punishments. HOW OBEDIENCE 18 TAX GHT VM") The ascendancy of love is created OTer the horse by means of some aids, of good associations coupled with our person, i. e. good treatment and pleasures, and the ascendancy of fear is created by giving him by means of other auls and puni- shmeufs, as'SociaHon.s- of snjfn'ioritt/ coupled ^^ ith our person, i. e. letting him see that he can V>e pre- vented from following his own imi)ul8es, and that he can be given <(.s.socinfions of ptrin, i. c. jni)iis]i- mcnts if he performs actions which arc not (Jesircd and if he does not perform the nctions wich Jtr if< fold to do in a way i)roi)<>rtionatc to his intelli- gence. By this means benevolence and superiority are shcAvn him and his confidence and obedience are obtained. After obtaining obedience it is main- tained by keeping the horse l)etween carcases on the one hand and fhreatfi and pitnLshmcnts on the other if Avanted. If we desire to acquire influence over a person we do not begin by ill-treafwf/ that perscm, as ill-treatment would excite anger, hatred and enmi- ty, Ijut we begin by doing Jchid offices towards him. Thus, in order to obtain obedience from the horse 2()0 flow OBEDIENCK IH TAVdll'l' we must begiu by giving liim associiitious ol' plea- sure by adopting good treatment towards him, and obtain first the ascendancy of love which disposes him to obedience, and afterwards the ascendancy of fear which confirms it. This is all the more wanted as the horse is in the highest degree susceptible of fear and knows by instinct what a bad animal is the animal cal- led man and regards him as liis enemy and flees him. This belief must be removed by treating him well, by shewing him that he receives no harm from us, that he should not fear us, but that on the contrary he has an advantage from us in being well treated. Eor this reason before acquiring his confidence, i. e. his trust in us, we should not give him punishment but always good treatment and caresses. If punishments were given him in the beginning before he knew us the idea would be maintained in him that we are his enemies. This is less necessary with the domestically reared horse. With the horse reared at liberty, the acquirement of confidence requires a long time and may be lost by a trifle. HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT 201 Like everything else, obedience is not obtained from the horse in a day, but during a shorter or longer period of graduated daily instruction which inav last but a few davs witli a horse of a good nature. In teaching the horse obedience, we begin hv letting him do many thintjs of his own will graduall}' preventing some one or another of them each day until we come to leave none of them. His instruction can begin only after he has been taught obedience. Way of teaching him confidence. The horse is tranquillized and is taught to have confidence in and trust us and is disposed to obe- dience towards us, by speaking to him soothingly, caressing him, and by good treatments of all kinds, and showing him that our person brings him bene- fits. Ohsequium tif/resque domat rabidosque leones (by kindness the tiger and the ferocious lion are overcome), somebody has said. By good treatments the horse is brought to believe that we are friendly to him, that he may trust us. 202 HOW OBEDIEXf'E IS TAFGHT At first the horse who does not know ns, and probably has been ill-treated before, believes that we also will be like the others who ill-treated him. Therefore he may seek to escape and to attack us by kickinu" and making reactions. These reactions should not be taken into consideration but should be tolerated and not punished. Seeing that he is not punished he soon quiets down because he un- derstands perfectly well that to go quietly causes less fatigue, and he ceases to believe that we ap- proach liim in order to ill-treat him and acquires trust and ((Uitidence in us. Wa// of showing the horse our sKperioriff/. He is shown our superiority by gradually and little by little preventing him from doing as he would wish ; by giving him some punishment if lie does not do what we wish him to do, or if he does what we do not wish, but he must always be immediately pacified by caresses so that he HOW OIJKDIE^TE IS TAFGnT 208 should not remain in an inimical mood. Our supe- riority over the horse is founded : — on his sensiti- veness to and fear of punishment; — on liis seeing that he is prevented from doinii" what he wouhl Avish ; — on his excitability to motiatiuld induce him to obedience in order to avoid it. Without fear ot* punishment there is no possibility of subordination and obedience. The act of preventing him from obeying his own impulses likewise, although it is not an active measure like punishment, largely assists in giving him the idea that we are superior in strength to 204 HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT him. Thus if he is prevented from going to eat the hay he sees close by, altliough he experiences the desire to go and eat it, there arises in him the idea that our strength which prevents him from doing so is superior to his. It is the same with our preventing him from going to the stable, from following other horses. A good means of showing him our superiority is likewise our stimulating by aids, threats and punishments, his excitability to motion, and for- cing him to put himself in motion in spite of his opposed desire not to move. This excitability of his is the cliief means of compelling him to ad- vance, to perform the actions we desire to put him through, and of enabling us to collect him. S2Jec'ial means of •showinf/ the liorse our superiority and how to employ them. The instruction with the lounge is the best suited to teach obedience. Special means of show- ing him our superiority are: — the aids and pu- HOM^ OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT 205 nishments applied when instrncting him with the lounge ; — the pulls and oppositions of intermittent force which we make him feel with the weight of our body placed upon the cavesson by means of the lounge, in order to make him go through the movements we desire, and prevent him either making or preparing to make other movements by his own impulse ; — the application of cavesson and whip punishments which produce pain and fear in him and induce him to make the movements we desire, and not perform actions of his own will for fear of receiving such punishment ; — the threats which take the place of the punishment ; — the oppositions made by fixed force which we make him feel by tethering him to a fixed point and by holding him still against his will. As already stated, oppositions with the caves- son should be of short duration and intermittent, because if they were prolonged they would give the horse occasion to draw us away and to see that he is stronger than we are. The fixed power by which he is held back should on the contrary not yield, as if he once 206 HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT succeeds in breaking the rope to which he is tethe- red, he always wishes and seeks to break it. If he sees that he cannot break it, he acquires the idea of a greater power, of resignation to it, and no longer thinks of breaking it nor attempts it any more, having seen that he could not break it. If we tether him to a fixed and unyielding point and he desires to go away, and sees that he cannot, and if we are near to tranquillize him by a soo- thing woice, he associates with us his being unable to go away, acquires the idea that he cannot go away because we do not wish it, accepts the idea of being unable to go away and resigns himself to standing still at our mere signal to stop and stand still. Showing him our superiority by punishments should be the matter of a moment only, and after his confidence has been acquired so that he should not be brought to believe that we are his enemies and should not think it therefore necessary to de- fend himself from us, believing his life to be in danger. When first we are together with him he should always be given pleasant associations. If in HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT 207 an exceptional case it lias been necessary to punish him, he must always be pacified shortly afterwards by caresses and a soothing voice so that he should not remain averse from us and should not conceive the idea of hating us. This rule is subject to some exception with certain horses whom confidence de- prives of respect. In order to obtain obedience it is requisite that the horse should see that he is conquered and overcome by the man who is instructing him on foot; and he must not be induced to advance or make a movement by other horses which are ad- vancing and give him the desire to follow them. If the horse advances because other horses are doing so and give him the desire to follow them, he advances on his own account, by his own will and not from obedience to man. The companionship and sight of other horses should be made use of only to induce the horse to go into water, to pass near an object of which lie is much afraid, and to hear and see the discharge of fire-arms in the event of his being exceedingly afraid of tlieni. In other cases we ourselves must master the will of 208 HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT the horse, aud the horse must see that it is we who are mastering him. Importance of a good disposition for obedience. The first quality to be desired in a horse is a good disposition because this brings with it forth- with obedience and with obedience he may be forthwith controlled. It may be said that the timid horse is already obedient and does not need to be made so. But the timid horse is usually very ap- prehensive aud this is detrimental to his use. A certain degree of spirit is good in horses because it adapts them to more and better service. Spirit causes them to advance in difl&cult places and also to pass out of them safely, and it is necessary to do this sometimes with horses. Readiness to obedience and readiness to motion are the chief things to be desired in the horse. On a horse of a good dispositien and willing to go, we are safe and his instruction is easy. A good rider on a horse of a bad dispositicm and little inclined to go obtains very little and is always HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT 209 in danger. Given a bad will and a bad disposi- tion, other good qualities such as agility, strength and powers of resistance, are of no value because the horse will not place them at our disposal. The horse with a good nature yields service freely and out of hand. In order to get the sly and untrust- worthy horse to obey he must always be kept uni- ted and this very often cannot be done. Obedience is much more necessary in a strong, well-fed horse than in a weak and ill-fed one. With a weak horse there is still some possibility of liolding him back by physical strength but none witli a strong one. The bad-tempered horse who attacks is not suited for the pui-pose of riding because he is not afraid of punishment and is therefore not susceptible of persuasion to obedience. He requires many powerful means of material coercion, and if we succeed in overcoming him by them , after having been set free he again attacks man and is a continual danger to man. In our countries the entires are rarely reducible to obe- dience, and for this reason are not suited for the purpose of riding. U 210 now OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT Various ways of proceeding in teachinfi obedience, according to the various natures of horses. In teaching obedience attention must be paid to the various natures of horses, and the teaching must be somewhat modified to suit them. After having acquired the confidence of the choleric horse, we should not be ever ready to punish him because he would be angered by it and offer powerful resistance. The timid horse should not be punished because he will be entirely discouraged. Some punishment may be given even in the be- ginning to the spirited horse and will do good. The timid horse usually has a good disposition, submits to control, and needs to be constantly encouraged, because punishment deprives him of all spirit and bewilders him. The spirited horse is in lesser or greater degree disinclined to submit to control and resists it with a greater or lesser cunning and shows more or less rebellion and revolt, and some punishment may be administered to him. With the obstinate horse which is little inclined to HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT 211 obey and to go, in order that he should conceive the idea of obedience, we must show that we are not afraid of him and inflict punishment on him which causes him severe pain and makes him yield. As regards the really bad horse it is not ^torth while dealing with him as a good sel'vant cannot be made of an enemy who continually seeks to betray and attack. It is understood as already stated that puni- shment should not be given during the first time of instruction when what he does should be more or less tolerated so that he should not think that we are his enemies and wish to ill-treat him. At the beginning all horses, whatever their disposition, require to be treated Avell. Those who have been free at pasture are much more difficult to deal with than those raised in the stable. More policy is required and they must not be opposed openly because they have a great deal of self-will. The very sensitive and thorough-bred horses require to be treated with greater regard than ordinary horses. Their nervous system is much more exci- table. Great care should be exercised in applying 212 HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT aids and punishments to tlioroiigh-bred and ner- vous horses. A punishment may at times give rise in them to revolt which would not have oc- curred and may be the cause of their not growing quiet any more. The intelligent and cunning horse studies those who are around him and understands whether he can do as he pleases. When once he has understood his superiority it is difficult to rid him of that idea. Care must be taken not to let him understand it. Horses who have been ill-treated believe that everyone desires to ill-treat them. Tn going near them it is necessary to proceed with caution so as not to be hurt as they take the offensive, but they must not be punished for a certain time in order to show them that we are not enemies. They have a greater need of being well-treated and for a longer time than the others who were not ill- treated, so that they may regain confidence, forget and change the bad opinion which the bad treat- ment received gave them of man. Just as among men so among horses there are strange and capricious minds which will not do HOW OBEDIENCE 18 TAUGHT 213 rightly. If such horses are met with it is best to get rid of them at once. There are some which are subject to feeling excess of physical spirits. These must be given good exercise with the lounge until it has past and given their lesson afterwards. This likewise contributes to diminishing the very exces- sive sensitiveness they possess during this onset of animal spirits. Hoiv to deal with the op^wsitions and reactions mi(de hjf tJie horse when being taught confidence, obedience and our superioritij. How til eg can be overcome. It is natural and in accordance with his ins- tinct that the new horse who is unaccustomed to obey, should seek to resist everything which would fetter his liberty, and that he should object to be compelled to assume positions inconvenient to him, and to go in a different way from Avhat he does when he is at liberty, causing him more fatigue, whilst moving in his own way, low on the 214 HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT forehand, is much more couveuieiit to him. It is our duty to give him invstruction by such gradation that this inconvenience be reduced to the minimum and he shoukl be recompensed by caresses and good treatment. Thus he is given tlie least possible occa- sion for oppositions and reactions. It is natural tliat lie should resist and that he should react in order to try to avoid being forced and compelled to perform the actions w^e desire. It lies with us to avoid his reactions by approaching him and standing at his side near the shoulder maintaining this position in all the moAcments lie makes, and giving him instruction under the gui- dance of two or three lounges. In the beginning we are very likely to have oppositions and reac- tions from the new horse becanse he has been pro- bably ill-treated or treated in an unreasonable wav, and he has learnt to oppose and react. He will soon cease otfering oppositions and reactions if well-treated and not punished, because he will see that there is no motive for making reactions when he is treated well and will acquire trust and conli- dence in us. HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT 215 Prom this moment onwards there will be no more oppositions and reactions if we proceed w ith the necessary gradation, and in a manner suited to the individual mental and physical nature of the horse being instructed. In the beginning his oppo- sitions and reactions should be tolerated, we moving around him in such a wav as to avoid beinj? atta- eked, and treating him passively by preventing onl}' what we can, and never punishing him with the whip in order not to excite his anger as pu- nishment with the whip would make him think that we are liis enemies and he could not acquire trust and confidence in us. Rare and moderate cavesson aids alone must be used as they have an imposing effect without irritating or exciting anger and therefore reactions as do the whip punishments. If the first move- ment of resistance and every other act of revolt is punished with the whip he tmly revolts the more, whilst if the} are not punislied but are taken no notice of, he in most cases abandons them. Most cases of opposition and reactions are aver- come by patience, by not taking any notice of 216 .h6W obedience is tAUGHl? them, as by not doing anything we do not excite in him dislike and anger. He should be chiefly made to see that his reactions do not hurt iis and do not matter to us. If lie sees that he hurts us by them, or if he breaks the cavesson or lounges, he will be excited and take pleasure in the action. In order to avoid his attacking us when instructing him on foot with the cavesson and lounges, it is requisite we should know how to approach him, how to move around him, so as not to olfer the possibility of attack. Causes of oppositions and reactions while he is being taught confidence and obedience. Hoiv they may be avoided. The causes of oppositions and reactions shown by the horse are: — the want of gradation in showing him our superioritv, in preventing the actions which are not desired whilst giving instruc- tion ; — requiring from him those actions to which his body has not been gradually prepared — ex- cessive spirits, — fear, — and his instincts; — HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUOHf 217 inflicting on him many punishments which make him think we are his enemies, and make him feel the necessity of defending himself. We must avoid any lack of the necessary gra- dation and not give him lessons when he is in excessive spirits and in places where he may be afraid or when he is dominated by his instincts, and must not excite him to anger by inflicting punishments. When in a state of excessive spirits or under the domination of his instincts nothing- should be taught him or required from him, but he should be given exercise to make it pass oft' and distract him or if it is the exercise which excites him, his attention should be drawn off in some other way. By failing to do this we should have oppositions and reactions, and he afterwards retaining the memory of having performed them Ayould desire to do them again. Removing every motiA e of discontent and of enmity in the horse by every kind of good treatment, by making him see that it is not desired to ill-treat him, and he is not ill-treated, is the method of avoiding as far as possible oppositions and reactions. V. 218 HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT He should not he given any occasion to lose obedience. We ourselves are guilty of teaching the horse the greater part of oppositions and reactions as, by our illogical method of treating him, and by placing and allowing him to be under circumstan- ces ^Yhicll produce in his mind associations in con- flict with the idea of obedience, we give him occa- sion to see that he is stronger than we are, that he can do as he will, and that we cannot prevent it. In order to preserve in the horse the idea of our superiority and of obedience when it has been taught him, there is required on (uir part suitable treatment which consists in avoiding giving him the opportunity, and placing him or allowing him to ])e under circumstances wliich admit of his doing as he likes and do not allow us to prevent him. In order to avoid these oppportunities we must avoid doing many things. He must never be given occasion to struggle with us so that he should not see that our strength is slight and apparent HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT 219 only, that lie is the stronger and can oppose and overcome us. He should never be opposed, and it should never be sought to prevent him performing an action he desires if we are not favourably placed and do not possess means and strength sufficient for success. Our requiring from the horse that he should not perform an action and the horse succeed- ing in performing it teaches him that he can obey his impulse against our will, it makes him understand his own strength, it teaches him to have no respect for us, not to esteem us, and to disobey us. It should not be required that he should perform actions which from want of preparation of his body he cannot perform without experiencing pain. Nothing should be required which we have not the power to compel him to do. His anger should not be excited by our losing patience and inflicting ill-timed punishments. He should not be allowed to acquire the habit of doing things which are not good for us or which are not desired. He should not be required to do what is against his nature as for instance to stand still when at liberty in the open. 220 HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT Things should not be allowed to happen which would 'Ave him occasion to see his strength and his being" able to do as he wishes. The use of weak cords which break gives him the idea that he can break them and he always seeks to do so. His passing near the stable before he is brought to obedience may give him the temptation of going there. If he cannot be prevented he immediately learns that he is the stronger, that he can go to the stable and act as he desires against our will. At the beginning many things should be tole- rated and allowed to pass when requiring from him that to which he is not accustomed, and all that we do for the purpose of preventing him should be done passively, and by yielding elastically and intermittently with the weight of our body placed upon the cavesson through the lounges. He should not be given provocation by severe punishment witli the whip, but should be punished only with the cavesson and moderateh^ and solelv when ne- cessary. We should not prohibit an action and then allow him to execute it. We must proceed without HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT 221 prohibiting many things, but if we do prohibit them, it must be maintained at all costs and in any way. When we enter into a struggle with him we must conquer and must not lose; and if by chance we lose on a certain occasion, in a certain place und under certain circumstances, we must lead the horse back to the same place under the same circumstances and give him the same occa- sion to act and hold prepared what is necessary for overcoming him. In order to do this the necessary men must be at hand and they must be capable and know what to do. Time required for teacMng the liorse obedience. In teaching him this, his mechanism must not be spoilt. Obedience must be taught gradually and must be rendered a matter of habit. For this a certain period of time is required. This time however is not only employed in teaching obedience but also while teaching liim obedience by exercising him with the lounge his action is developed and made 222 HOW OBEDIENCE IS TAUGHT more regular, he is taught to put himself and go in a good position, and in those positions which are necessary to us in order to have the mastery of him and dominate him when we shall ride him. Thus whilst his mind is iui^tructed his body is also trained, and owing to the mutual influence of the one on the other, by means of his mind his body is trained, and by means of his body his mind is instructed. Gradation is necessary in instruction in order to avoid oppositions and reactions and also for the purpose of maintaining the strength of the back- bone and legs of the horse. The muscles and in particular the tendons require great gradation in order to adapt themselves to the positions in which we need to place the horse without suffering from them. Instruction should be given in such a way as to make him gain strength, vigour and elasticity, and not to diminish these or hurt the horse. ^> rrtrrTTrrrrrrrrrrtm r E A E. THE :srATURE OF FEAR IN THE HORSE AND HOW IT MUST BE DEALT WITH. HOW HE CAN BE TAUGT NOT TO BE AFRAID What is fear. Fear is a sudden involuntarv nervous comnio- tion produced by the conception of an idea of being in danger, or believing oneself in danger. In the horse it is occasioned — by objects which he sees, — by noises he hears — by punishments, — by real evils, — by feeling himself touched by objects bv which he is not accustomed to be touched, the more so if unexpectedly, — by animals that threa- ten him, — or objects coming against him. — It is due to the instinct of self-preservation com- mon to all animals. 224 FEAR Being in danger or not does not make any difference in the fear. Fear is inspired by being in danger as in the absence of danger, if there is a belief of being in danger. Fear arises from belief of danger, and remains fear even if there is no danger. Fear differs in degree in horses according to their individual nature, and at times is capri- cious. They occasionally are afraid of little things of which they should not be afraid, and have no fear of big things which one would think would inspire them ^vith it. It must depend on the man- ner and degree of impression produced on them by the objects, and on the state of their mind at the moment of their receiving the impression. Fear is contagious. Where there are many horses if one is afraid and turns back the others imitate him. How fear arises in the horse. The idea and feeling of fear arise from expe- riencing a sensation which calls forth the idea of danger. In the horse the idea of fear is very easily aroused, because his nature intended for running, FEAR 225 lias made him peculiarly excitable and he has an imagination which magnifies everything, and has become proverbial. It may be said that fear does not arise, but is innate in the horse. To call it forth the motion of a leaf in the wind is sufficient. Signs of fear. Eear is rarely so powerful and sudden in its onset as not to allow of being perceived first. Even in cases of sudden fear there is a moment of fore- warning which is very brief, but which may be per- ceived by the practical and attentive eye, which all those who handle horses should have. Usually the horse gives forewarning of fear by signs of gradually increasing intensity if it is not excep- tionally and peculiarly sudden. The signs of fear are shown by the horse in a gradually increasing degree, and in the direction of the object of fear. These signs are : — assuming an attitude of attention by looking and listening, — pricking up the ears restlessly forward and backward, and in the direction in which he thinks he has heard a 15 226 FEAR noise or seen an object which has alarmed him ; — bending the head and neck on one side in the direction of the object of which he is afraid, — swerving towards the opposite side, wliilst looking at the object of fear; — holding back or slacken- ing the pace, — making movements of snrprise — attempts to stop, — or raising high the head and neck, — and also rearing. This last means that the object of fear is advancing towards him or the horse towards it. If he rears he tnrns back by swinging ronnd on the cronp whilst rear- ing, which means that he was unable to turn back in a low and therefore to him more (conve- nient position. Looking backward, throwing tlie ears back to listen behind, kicking and running away mean that the object of fear is behind him. Pressing in the tail, raising it high, snor- ting, turbidity in the eyes, and the voiding of excrement are signs of great fear. Whilst riding besides seeing the fear by the signs, it may be felt by the rider who can feel the heart beating quickly under his seat and tlie attempts made to slacken the pace by the spine. FEAR 227 Effects or reactions caused hy fear. The greater part of the acts of disobedience, oppositions and reactions in the horse, and the accidents which happen to him are the effect of fear. The instinct of fear makes the horse feel the necessity of getting away from the object which gives him fear, and he does so by swerving on one side, turning back, and fleeing in the opposite direc- tion. He prepares himself for swerving by bending the head and neck towards the object Avhicli excites his fear, looking at it, and thus prepares the cen- tre of gravity of his body on the side opposite to the object and executes the action of SAverving by making a lateral movement with the hind legs. If he is unable to flee, fear may excite him to react against man, animals, and other objects. He kicks against objects which touch him and produce fear until he removes them or hurts himself, and can- not kick any longer. These actions caused by fear may be called reactions of fear. 228 FEAR Fear renders the liorse dangerous. Great fear bewilders his mind, and dominates it, so as to pre- vent him from feeling aids and punishments. He does not see nor look at anything but the object of fear from which he tlees, and very often in or- der to avoid an imaginary danger created by fear, he will dash over a precipice. He will go over a precipice backwards from fear of an object ad- vancing towards him, or also for fear of punish- ments inflicted on him in front. When frightened by a noise he does not know where he is going, but he runs. There are horses which from fear of things thrown and animals which they see moving and running suddenly give way in the forelegs so as to almost fall. Many when they have fallen become so discouraged that they do not get up vo- luntarily, and must be excited to get up. Fear makes them go through extraordinary motions, and jump over unusual obstacles, thus making many horses appear more willing to go and of a better breed than thev are. Dealers fris^hten their horses in order to give them a fine and wil- ling appearance in their gaits. FEAR 229 In which horses fear is most dcmgerous. In those with excessive timidity and nervous- ness. These are extremely dangerous, because there is no means of tranquillising and mastering them. With one of these horses the best that can be done is to get off and lead him by hand or better still never to ride them. The man on foot can hold him, and even the horse quiets down much better with a man on foot at his side. In the light and strong horse the actions of revolt due to fear are more dangerous, because the hor- se being agile needs little preparation to make them, and they are powerful and almost sudden. Oi'dinary horses if they take fright are less suscep- tible of being tranquillised and persuaded, and are much more dangerous than thorough bred horses. Fear is an evil tohich has its useful side. If the horse were not afraid of the objects and dangers, he would not avoid them, and would be 230 PEAR injured by them, and if lie were not afraid of pu- nishments it woukl not be possible to get the mas- tery over his will, and reduce him to obedience and submission. Horses raised at liberty are afraid of ditches and holes, and do not fall into them, because they have already had experience of them, have already put their feet in them, hare already hurt themselves or fallen, and are on their guard against them. This fear is an evil which tends to make them avoid greater evils. The horse which always goes along the road and becomes accusto- med to pass over the dark patches formed l)y pud- dles or wet road, and has never met with an acci- dent, will, if the coachman guides him to it, go into a hole which to him has the appearance of wet ground, and of his own accord will not think of avoiding it. In this case his not being afraid is no advantage, and it would be better if he were. Causes of fear. The fear of the horse is caused : — by a real evil which has happened to him in the presence FEAR 231 of an object to which he attributes it; — by a threat of harm, of danger from some large object which is advancing towards him; — by his sin- king into the ground, by his slipping on the ice, and thus becoming afraid eyen to move. It may be and is often caused by a small harmless object such as a leaf or weed bending in the wind. All the objects whicli he has never seen may call forth in him tlie idea of fear. Defective evesight is very often the cause of ihe fear of objects. It seems tluit liorses having a perfectly good sight are few. 1 remember a hor- se which if any object whatever Avere placed on tlie ground, and he were led along close to it, was always afraid of it the first time, luit not the second. On changing the ])lace of the same object, and putting it twenty yards furtlier away, the lirst time he passed it he was always afraid of it again. Tliis means that his eye was unable to recognise the same object, and that on the second time of his seeing it in the new place where it had been put, he was not afraid of it because he had seen it once before and remembered having seen it there. 232 FEAR Often fright is produced by excessive nervousness which makes him afraid of every thing and espe- cially of moving things. Excessive nervousness may originate in defective eyesight and one may be mistaken for the other. His being kept still by actual force near an object Avhich inspires him with fear much increases the fear he experiences of it. Peculiarly great fear of an object is usually a sign that he was ill-treated when afraid of the object, and was left in a state of fear and revolt, a thing which should never be done. He may take fright at any object of avhich he was not afraid if it was associated v/ith the act of striking him with the object itself, or in the presence of ihe object. He fears the whip because with it he lias been threatened or beaten. He fears the man who has beaten him because he remembers having been beaten by him. Eor this reason he may be taught to be afraid of any desired object by merely stri- king him in the presence of that object. J FEAR 233 Circumstances which diminish the horse's fear. In the company of a man in whom he has confidence, and to whom he is obedient, he is mnch less liable to experience fear, and is more easily tranqnillised, becanse he believes that in his compan}^ no harm will ever happen to him, having already experienced during some time that in his company no harm was done to him or has happened to him. The varions circumstances and ways in which objects are presented cause a lesser or greater de- gree of fear. He is less afraid of a motionless object than of one in motion, — less afraid when standing still than when in motion, — in a place familiar to him than in a place where he has ne- ver been, — when he is tired than when he is rested or when he is in excessive spirits, — of a faint distant noise than of a powerful noise near at hand, — after he has been guided round and about a great deal, and has seen many and various objects than when he has seen few only. Usually 234 FEAR the males have less fear than the females. Some aie less afraid with blinkers, others without. Circumstances which increase his fear. When he is well-fed and rested he is more liable to fear because he is then more excitable; — when he is not accustomed to seeing objects and they are . new to him, — and when he is ill- treated in the presence of them. When he is ill- treated by man he is always in a state of alarm and suspicion of eTerything, and is afraid of eve- rything. If a punishment was associated witli the object which caused him fear, the fear greatly in- creases and the horse gi-ows more and more appre- hensive, and after the punishment has been repea- ted several times because lie was afraid of that object, he will no longer pass any other object of which he is afraid. Punishment increases fear be- cause in itself it inspires dislike and fear. The horse Avho has been punished because he was afraid of an object is so much the more afraid when he sees it again, and regards it as the cause of the PEAB 235 pnnisliiiient suffered. He will be more ready to turn back and will forestall the rider next time he sees the object of fear. He has greater fear of an object that moves, — which is moved by the wind, — of an animal running, — on liearing noise and not seeing the cause of it, — of an approaching and increasing noise, — in the place where he has never been and whicli he does not know, — wlien he is in a dark stal)le and in an isolated place and is not accustomed to seeing many things. The object wliicli causes him fear if coming to meet him ma- kes him more afraid tlian if* he sees it sideways. For this reason it is best to bend liis head sideways and make him see the object of fear from one side, because on seeing it sideways he swerves and turns aside, whilst on seeing that it is coming to- v»'ards him he turns back and this is worse. Whilst he is in motion he is more afraid and grows more excited than whilst he is standing still. At the trot he is more afraid than at a walk, and at the gallop more than at the trot. For this reason when he is afi-aid and is excited by it to run, he 236 FEAR should not be allowed to run because lie would grow still more afraid and would acquire the bad habit of starting off running at every noise or object which inspires him with fear. He is more afraid alone than in company. If when afraid he is alone and does not hear the voice of the man to which he is accustomed, he becomes still more terrified and takes still more headlong flight. A near object causes much more fear than a distant one. Therefore to accustom him not to be afraid of an object we should first make him pass it at a distance and then by degrees make him pass closer, A loud noise causes mucli more fear than a slight noise. Therefore we should make him hear it at first at a distance and then nearer by degrees. Eear always becomes greater on the recurrence of the occasion, on its being caused by the same object. The more often he has occasion to be afraid, the more the susceptibility of the horse increases to take fright at every other object and imagine fresh fears. The more the being afraid is repeated, the stronger the fear becomes and the FEAR 237 more difficult it is to persuade the horse not to be afraid. If on meeting an object which causes him fear he was able to turn back, it becomes more difficult to prevent him doing so another time, because with his being able to turn back from fear of the object, the horse has associated the idea of having been able to turn back and of desiring to do so, and if it is allowed to be re- peated, he acquires the habit of doing so. Care must therefore be taken that he should not be able to turn back whilst he is afraid. He should not be allowed to remain afraid for any time, but we must try to remove his fear immediately as it is easier to remove it at once. After some time is past the fear has taken root in his memory. Various Mnds and degrees of fear. Althoujjh the feelincr of fear is always the same, it may be said that there are diifercnt kinds of fear according to the peculiar nature of the objects which produce fear and their liability to j)roduce a lesser or greater impression on the ima- 238 FEAB gination of the horse. The degree of intensity of the impression depends on the greater or lesser susceptibility of his mental nature. In general his excitability, his all magnifying imagination and his timidity which makes him nervous at every- thing, inspire him with fear of all objects whatso- ever. He is afraid of every object new to him which he has never seen, of the places where he has never been, of stones on the ground, white, black or red, of water puddles, sheets or coverlets stretched on ropes in the air or on the ground, of sacks, of leaves falling from the trees, of paper rolled bv the wind, of reeds or shrubs bent and swayed by the wind, of smoke, of fire, of light- ning, of falling water &c., &c. He is afraid of objects that he sees suddenly whether they really appear abruptly, or whether he sees them suddenly on turning his head to one side. He is afraid if we run up to him, if we stretch our arm quickly, instead of going up to him slowly and raising the arm gradually; if he sees anyone run or throw objects; if he sees a cask or barrel rolling; if he hears the noise of firing, thunder PEAR 239 &c. ; if he sees lightning or fire. He is afraid of bad odours, of discharged powder, of decomposed bodies, of the skins of wild beasts, of bituminous substances, of being touched suddenly, and of the dogs and other animals that run near him and between his legs. Feeling himself drawn by force towards an object of fear before he has been persuaded to ap- proach it little by little, makes him extremely frightened and he draws back. Feeling himself compelled by physical force to stand by the object of fear, inspires him with peculiar terror and he revolts and seeks to free himself until he has either succeeded or has done himself such harm as to be unable to resist further. Usually harnessed horses on falling and remaining entangled in the harness or Avitli the carriage, either become violent and break everything or lose all spirit and let them- selves lie as though dead. In the stable the horse should be tethered in such a way that he should not be able to get entangled with the rope of the halter if it is atta- ched to a fixed hook so that he mav not be seized 240 FEAR with fear and hurt himself iu the attempt to get free. If a horse harnessed to a cart in driving away the flies happens to get his bridle entangled in a hook on the shafts, he has a bad fall and becomes extremely afraid. Running into ditches, breaking the shafts of the vehicle to which he was harnessed and being left alone by man, leave a powerful impression, and with some it is difficult to cause them to forget it. Being accustomed to feel the man always with him, his being alone and abandoned and unable to hear the voice of the man any longer gi'ves him great fear. We must seelc to dispel Ms fear. The horse is by nature suspicious and appre hensive and it is natural for him to be afraid. It is our dutv to seek to overcome this. It is the t.' chief part of his instruction to teach him so far as possible not to be afraid or to be afraid as little as possible and to remove the fear of objects of which he has become afraid. FEAR 241 How fear may he removed. It is the idea of many that fear should be pu- nished. By so doing the fear is increased instead of being overcome and the horse becomes ever more afraid. His fear cannot be removed by inflic- ting punishment because the punishment inflicted in presence of the object which has given rise in him to the feeling of fear, owing to his mode of judgment as stated in the chapter « How the horse learns » , is an association of pain coupled with the object of fear and he believes it to be caused by this object of fear. Therefore when he again views this object he expects that he will be pu- nished anew. Thus by inflicting punishments on him his fear has been increased and he has been given a "second fear, that of punishments because punishments in themselves inspire fear and dislike. The fear may be removed only l)y persuading him that the object of which he is afraid does not do him any harm. This ijersua.sion can only come to the horse from seeing that whilst he has 16 ^42 FEAR any fear of an object, no punishment is ^iven him and no harm happens to him, but on tlie contrary he receives caresses and good treatment. The re- medy for fear therefore, in addition to not puni- shing him, is every kind of good treatment, of pleasing things, and of those things which are calculated to re-assure the mind and to inspire courage, and to make him think that he is not in danger. This good treatment and these things sui- ted to re~assure the mind, may be called for con- vfeiiience vnedns of persuasion. Means of 'persuasion. The following serve for persuading the horse not to be afraid, being means of re-assuring the mind, or means of persuasion: — not giving him threats or punishments; — the presence or com- panionship of the man who has acquired his con- fidence and who has inspired him with the habit of obedience; — the act of speaking to him soothingly, — caressing him, — treating him well — leaving him quiet, — not exciting him in any FEAR 243 way, — a^oinLi: near liiui niowh' and patiently; — not making rapid and sudden movements (an arm raised abruptly is sufficient to alarm him whilst he is in a state of fear); — the fact of the man who has his confidence placing himself between him and the object of fear, or this man walking in front of the horse; — the placing of another horse between the horse which is afraid and the object of fear, or making the other horse walk in front. Finding himself always caressed and seeing that no harm comes to him on seeing the objects which arouse fear in him, after a time his fear diminishes greatly, and even if the idea of fear arises in him, he allows himself to be re-assured by the means of permmsion. Blinkers are not means of removing fear. They prevent his being afraid of those things of which they obstruct the view, and are not suited to remove fear. Very often his being unable to see increases his fear, but mostly it prevents him from being afraid. 244: FEAR On what conditions fear maj/ he removed hy the means of persuasion. The application of the principles here exposed requires a j>reTious study of instructing the horse with the lounges. Eear may be removed by the means of persuasion on the following conditions : 1. That during the time that the horse is under the impression of fear, he shall receive no punish- ment and shall suffer no harm or real injury in any other way. — It is not possible nor right to reqnire that he should not be afraid of the thing which does him real harm if he feels it. (He may be hit by the harness, and, being excited, not feel it). Real harm may be caused him by some object falling on him, or the same object or animal run- ning against him, striking him or throwing him down ; it may occur from the subsidence of the ground, from falling in a ditch, from the carriage to which he was harnessed breaking down, or be- cause the tracings break, &c, Xot only must no punishment be given whilst he is under the im- FEAR 245 pression of fear nor any association of real harm, but not even sensations of unpleasant things must be caused and it must not be desired to keep him absolutely still by physical force as this alone gives him great fear. 2. That the man who undertakes to persuade him not to be afraid should have acquired his conlidence and be trusted by him owing to pre- vious ii'ood treatment. — The horse must have acquired the belief that in the company of this man no harm Avill liappen to him. A man strange to the horse and \\ liom lie does not know will uot.be able to persuade liim not to be afraid, much less the man who has ill-treated him, as he himself is an object of fear to the horse and ma- kes him afraid by his mere presence. 3. That the man should have taught him to obey. Obedience produces respect and respect gives influence to persuasion. 4 That the man should be on foot and should hold the horse with cavesson and lounge, and slvould be accompanied by two men holding side lounges attached to the cavesson because the horse 246 FEAR allows himself to be re-assured much more readily by men on foot next him than by the rider on his back. The cavesson produces a powerful im- pression without exciting fear or resistance, and on foot it is possible to produce this impression, to hold him and to prevent him bolting, Avhich things would not be possible on horseback. 5. That the man should be capable and should show patience and indulgence. Without these conditions little can be done to persuade the horse not to be afraid even by an able man. As it is requisite to give the horse con- fidence and make him obedient before undertaking to teach him not to be afraid, and tliese two things cannot be obtained in a day, time is requi- red to persuade him not to be afraid. This time ^^ill be longer or shorter in accordance with the nature of the horse and the ability of the man. Mode of teacJiinc/ the horse not to he afraid of a given object. Before undertaking to teach the horse not to be afraid of the objects of which he may be afraid. PEAR 247 we must place ourselves and the Uorse under tlie above stated conditions, and chietly must have obtained his confidence and inspired him with the feeling of obedience. The means of persuasion must be used with discernment and patience in a closed place where no accidental harm may befall him and where he is not liable to have distractions. In this place he must be taught not to be afraid of the greatest possible nuuiber of objects, one by one, because this serves to diminish his suscepti- bility to fear. It is requisite to proceed gradually and begin with objects which can inspire little fear, passing on to others of which he will be imnv afraid. The way of doing is to lead hini on foot hol- ding him by the lounge and cavesson, and with two men holding two side lounges buckled to the two side-rings of the cavpssuu, Thus he njust be led to see and pass near the object of which he is afraid placed on the ground or suspended in the air, always talking to him soothingly and caressing him, and never inflicting punishment in order to show him that the object which inspires hipi with 248 FEAR fear does him no harm. He should never be com- pelled to approach the object by physical force, but should be induced to approach it gradually following us and by persuasion. The most suitable place for doing this in the beginning is the riding school, because as he re- ceives lessons there everv day it is familiar to him, he knows it well, and it is like his house, and in it he will be much less afraid than in another place. The most suitable time is immediately after his lesson, because then he is quieter, and also because directly after leaving the stable the eye is more susceptible to fear because the stable is usually not brightly lit. This may afterwards be carried out in an enclosure or in a field, where however there must be no disturbance, and finally he must be led about the streets. In leading the horse around in order to let him see the object which it is desired to accustom him not to be afraid of, he must be conducted at a slow pace, because a rapid pace excites him; at the same time he must be spoken to conciliating- J FEAR 249 ly aud caressed, and a direction taken so as to pass on one side of the object and not to go straight towards the object of fear, which would make him think that we wish to make him pass over it and would arouse extreme fear in liim. We must also stand between him and the object of fear in order to give him the idea of defending and protecting liim. Quietness in walking is necessary and has influence in tranquillising the mind. When the horse walks quickly or runs he is more liable to excitement and to acquire gi*eater fear. He must be ha])ituated to pass at the trot close by the object of fear only after he has be- come indifVcrent to passing close by it at a walk, and if by chance he should give signs of excite- ment he must once more be made to pass it at a walk, but this should not happen, and means that the gradation used was not sufficient. If before approaching the object he gives a sign of fear and desires to stop he should be al- lowed to stop, and caressed, and should be allowed to stand still for some time and look at the object so that his impression of fear may pass away. 250 PEAR After some time we may make as if advancing in front of him in order to see Avliether he will approach the object. If he will not approach it, it should not be attempted to compel him to go forward by physical force because this in itself gives him great fear and increases his fear of the object. On the contrar}^ a detour should be made and he should be conducted far from the object, we walk- ing in front and on his side towards the object. If he desires to draw back and run away the two men who hold him with the side lounges must oppose intermittent resistance putting the weight of their body on the lounges so as not to allow him to draw back much. Were they to oppose with continual resistance they would be dragged away as the horse has strength and men have little. Each day on our repeating the process of guiding him to the object of fear he will approach nearer to it, will pass it more closely and will end probably by not being afraid of it. Just as all the things which it is desired to bring the horse to perform must be done little by little with the most careful gradation, so it is with FEAR 251 tliis matter of getting him to pass near an object of fear, which is a greater requirement than the others. Whether we rid him of fear will depend upon our adopting a right way of procedure, but largely also upon our properly graduated steps. If his fear of the object is great it is necessary to begin to pass it and let him see it from a great distance and approach it by such gradual steps as to ayoid arousing fear in him. Tf it is desired to proceed more rapidly and less gradual steps are employed than his susceptibility to fear requires, his fear being thus aroused, we shall liaye lost instead of gaining, and it will be necessary to return to stan- ding and passing at a greater distance from the object in order to approach it again little by little During a certain time it is necessary to walk in front of the horse and on the side towards the object when passing close to it, but afterwards lie must be accustomed to go alone, we standing at his side at the height of the shoulder, and fi- nally the horse being on the side towards the object. In order to persuade him to go into the Avater 252 FEAR the first time it is better to let another horse precede him or for us to go ourselves into the wa- ter first in front of him. The various forms of fear are overcome by our passing again and again, a greater or lesser num- ber of times, together Avith the horse, near the object which causes him fear, but without forcing liim to go close to it, letting him see that he suf- fers no harm from it. When showing him the object which causes him fear nothing more should be done than speak to him soothingly and caress him, let- ting him stand at a distance, not forcing him to approach. The approach must be eft'ected gradually and without forcing him, in proportion as the fear diminishes. When on the road he encounters an object which causes him fear the best mode of persua- sion, if the fear be great, is for us to proceed in front of him and place our person between the object of fear and him, by which he feels liimself as it were protected, or else to have another horse put in front of him and make him follow. Being preceded by a man in whom they have confidence PEAR 253 is with many horses a more powerful means of persuasion than following another horse. To rid him of the fear of passing over white and black stones paper must be placed on the ground, and we, holding him by the lounge, must first pass over it, but not force the horse to do so. He will pass over it after having seen us do so many times. If it is sought to force him he grows afraid, and it is of no use if he passes over it by force, on the contrary it leaves him a bad impres- sion of violence and fear. The same must be done to make him pass near or over pools or other conspicuous spots or parts of the ground, and eve- rything which may cause him fear. But we should keep towards these things and in front of the horse and pass over them in front of him and first. It is further necessary to accustom him to being touched by the whip aud other objects in all parts of the body and to liaving the lounge, reins and saddle fall on the ground without taking fright. In order to accustom him to the harness and trappings he must be made to move at a walk, led by the lounges and afterwards by gradual steps 254 FEAR at a trot in a circle until he has become indiffe- rent to them. By repetitions and gradation the feelings of fear due to his being touched diminish and disappear. Teaching him not to be afraid of objects and to be touched in all parts of the body should be proceeded with after he goes well at the lounge. Great care must be taken that on the first oc- casions of his being afraid of any object no harm should happen to him owing to any cause foreign to us. Tlie horse would associate it with the object and would be much more afraid of it, and it would be much more difficult to remove the fear. He must not be allowed to go under water the first time he is made to go into the water to teach him to swim. It will not be possible to persuade hin to go into the water a second time. In cases of gi'eat fear the company of other horses should be used as a more effective means of persuasion. In past times particular care was taken to teach the foal not to be afraid during the year of his teaching. In the company of a ridden horse he was sent everywhere to see whatever might cause him PEAR 265 fear, and to learn to know all the objects in all places where he might have been afraid. At that time this was much more necessary because horses were reared at liberty and were half wild. Xoav this is less necessary because their rearing is dome- stic, but the}' still are afraid of almost everything and must be taught to know every kind of object and accustomed not to be afraid, instead of this not being thought of, as js generally done. They should be led round the streets so as to get used to seeing the various objects after they have been taught not to be afraid on foot with the lounges and cavesson in a closed place. Teaching the horse not to he afraid of an object after he has once become afraid. The horse has learnt to be afraid of an object because the object has aroused in him the idea of fear, and he was allowed to remain in this appre- hensive frame of mind instead of its being imme- diately dispelled by the above means of persuasion, or still worse, he has learnt to be afraid because 256 FEAR his idea of fear has proved true and been confir- med by associating the object with bad treatment and punishment. The way of removing fear and the rules for doing so are similar to those for teach- ing him not to be afraid of a given object. With the lounge and cavesson on foot, and with the aid of two skilled men with two lateral lounges, the teacher, who holds the middle lounge should walk in front and lead him to the object of fear putting him in tlie same place and under the same cir- cumstances, and there letting him see that he no longer receives ill-treatment and punishment, but on the other liand is spoken to soothingly and ca- ressed, just as was done in teacliing him not to have fear of other objects. The onlv difference is that more calmess, more patience, more gradual procedure, more time are required in order to make him give up the fear associated with an object and produced by bad treatment inflicted on him in the presence of this object, because it lias taken much deeper root in his mind. If the exact circumstances cannot be reproduced they should be artificially imitated as FEAR 257 well as possible. If ke has taken fright where there were several objects together, we must be careful to understand which object it was which made him take fright because very often among many objects the greatest impression may be made on the horse by that which makes the least on us. Teaching the horse not to he afraid tchile ridden. It is not possible whilst riding to teach the horse not to be afraid of objects, but after having taught him not to be afraid with the lounges and cavesson on foot, the lessons given on foot must be repeated on horseback, because when ridden the horse is in a new and different position suited to make him subject to fear, namely he has not the man at his side to reassure him completely and continually. Eor this reason the first times when mounted he is made to pass alongside objects, the rider should be accompanied by a man on foot in whom the horse has confidence, and this man walking alongside should reassure the horse and prevent him turning back if necessary. 17 258 FEAR The rider alone could manage it, holding him collected and in hand, but this would not achieve the effect and object of making the horse pass it himself without the aids of the rider. The real object of teaching him not to be afraid is that he should not be afraid, not that he should be held by the reins and by the riding aids and physically prevented from swerving or turning back. The ri- der will hold him in hand and prevent him swer- ving and turning back when alone only in order not to let him acquire the idea that he can per- form these acts of his own choosing. The man on foot in proportion as the horse appears to have less fear should walk at a greater distance from him and cease to accompany him. The rider should give him alone this exercise of riding him to see objects which may give rise to fear, at the end of his training, after the horse has been taught to be united and held in hand, in order to be able to prevent him from turning back if necessary, so that he should not see that he can turn back. FEAR 259 Punishments given to tJie horse which shows fear while ridden. ' No punishment should be given to the horse whilst in a state of fear, in order not to increase his fear. When riding we may, by way of excep- tion in special cases, inflict punishment, not because he is afraid, and not to punish his fear (which should not be done because it would only increase it) but in order to collect the horse and get him in hand and keep him in hand, so as to prevent him making reactions due to Iiis fear, swerving, or turning back, and thus leading us into danger, and learning an association, detrimental to us, of his having been able to turn back, which would give him the idea of desiring to do so and of doing so anew on other occasions. Punishments inflicted while he is afraid must usually be severe, because fear overpowers him and prevents him feeling them much. We must not wait to inflict punishment until the horse has stopped, but it must be given as soon 260 FEAE as he shows the first sign of being afraid of an object in order to bring him in hand and prevent him stopping, because if he is able to stop it will be very difficult to prevent him turning back. To prevent him from swerving or turning back his head and neck should be bent in the opposite di- rection to the object of fear because he is thus hindered from shifting in this direction the centre of gravity of his body and preparing to swerve. Bending him towards the side opposed to that of the object of fear has also the good effect of ma- king it seem to the horse that he is removed from the object of fear, because he sees it as though it were on one side and behind, and is less afraid. If he is allowed to bend his head and neck to- wards the object of fear whilst riding and aids and punishments are apj)lied, he thinks it is desi- red to make him go towards or upon the object of fear, and is so much the more afraid. It is understood that the whip punishment should be inflicted on the side opposed to the object of fear and on the flank. Given on the same side as that occupied by the object it would cause 1 FEAR 261 his fear to increase, and make him swerve still more. Punishment on the shoulder is of no use when it is sought to induce him to advance. He must be punished with the whip on the flank or under the belly. This can be done with a horse who is afi'aid if he is well trained and if he yields to the aids, and it must be done in single cases as a tempo- rary remedy for a grave evil (swerving, turning back) but it is an evil as it much increases the fear, and avails a few times only, because the liorse will remain greatly in fear of the object, and would alwavs seek to swerve or turn back. This he will succeed in doing, because he will be intent on discovering the object of fear, and will see it before the rider, and will have turned round before the rider has seen it or has thought of col- lecting him and getting him iuv hand. The untrained hoi'se cannot be prevented from swerving aside by bending him in the direction opposed to the object of fear, as not being accu- stomed to bend his body he feels pain, is bewil- dered by it and stops. For this horse it is better 262 FEAR to hold him on both reins and give him severe punishment in the pannch on the side opposed to the object in order to get him to advance. For these reasons, and in order that the fear should not have time to take root in his mind, it is necessary immediately or as soon as possible after he has experienced fear of an object and has had to be punished to prevent him from swerving, to lead him on foot with the lounges and cavesson to the object, and teach him not to be afraid of it in the manner already stated. With a horse which has not been well maste- red, and cannot be got in hand, the best thing to do is to dismount, walk in front of him, and try to induce him to to follow; possibly he will not advance even in this way, because he is accusto- med to have his own way. If punishment were given to this horse in order to get him in hand, it would not be successful, because not being accu- stomed to it he would grow the more afraid, and might be excited to violent reactions. Great abi- lity would be required in the rider to surprise the horse with severe punishment the first moment of FEAR 263 his showing fear, but even thus, the risk of arou- sing resistance would be great, and the probability of being successful small. Eor the purpose of pulling him forward, the reins being unsuited, the horse in training should have beneath the bridle a light cavesson but strong, with two metres of black twisted leather cord so as not to show too much, and double at the end in order io receive the hand. It should be faste- ned beneath the throat like the halter used by postilions. This cord would be useful when it is desired to walk with the horse, and when it is necessary to pass a bridge or dangerous pass on foot, and the horse should be accustomed to walk beside us and behind us, for which reason he should never have been punished by us from a position in front of him. When walking alongside of him, if it is necessary to stimulate him to advance, this must be done with the whip in the left hand and behind, so that the aid is given him from behind. If we walk in front of the horse the pulls should be intermittent and gentle, and it should not be attempted to draw him by main force, as 264 FEAB this would cause him great fear and make him pull backwards instead of coming forward. If whilst riding him it has been necessary to make him go close to an object of fear, holding him collected and in hand by means of punish- ment, immediately the object is passed he must be pacified with conciliating words and caresses in order to remove the aversion occasioned by the pu- nishment, and the association of the punishment with the object of fear. Afterwards he must be made to pass again and again quietly, riding him if he is but slightly afraid, and accompanying him on foot and standing between him and the object of fear if the fear is great, passing close to the object which causes him fear, and speaking to him continually in a conciliating voice, and caressing him until he becomes indifferent to it. Many good horses can be managed the first time they are afraid even when ridden. This can- not be done with those who are very excitable and nervous. They would be excited by many repeti- tions of going to and fro near the object of fear. They should be made to pass it a few times a day, and with some interval, not consecutively. FEAR 266 If the horse is afraid whilst in hand, he can be prevented from swerving or turning back. If he is afraid whilst out of hand, but is very sensi- tive to the aids for exciting motion by applying these aids and holding him he may be brought in hand at the moment he is afraid and prevented from swerving. If he is very much afraid whilst out of hand, and pays little heed to the riding punishments, it is no use applying them, as they do not suffice to keep him in motion, and may excite him to violent reactions. In this case it is best to stop him, to caress liim, and to talk to him soothingly, keeping him standing still, and seeing whether liis tear subsides, and he can be persua- ded to pass by the voice signal to advance. If he cannot be persuaded, the rider must dismount, walk in front of the liorse, and on the side towards the object and try to make the horse follow. The way of operating with the hands in order to i)rcvent tlie reactions due to fear on horseback, is explained in The Functions of the Hands in hiding. To be able to carry out this prevention of the reactions of fear it is necessary to have studied: 266 FEAR Low to feel the moYements of the horse's spine under the saddle ; — the acting of the horse' s me- chanism in order to recognize from the movements of the spine which actions the horse intends to do ; — the way of applying the several aids and puni- shments and at the right moment; and to have taught the horse to go forward promptly when the aids and punishments for exciting motion are ap- plied. — These things are explained in the Arte di Cavalcare. Degree of possibility of allaying fear. Fear may be allayed in many horses, who are not nervous, in the way above described and on the conditions above stated, among which confi- dence and obedience are particularly necessary. It cannot be remedied in nervous horses because they are continually overcome by it and cannot forget it notwithstanding the use of the means of persuasion. If it is seen that the means of persuasion are of no avail for removing the fear of a horse, it is better to give him up before he has led us into danger. FEAR 267 There is great difficulty in removing the fear produced by any material harm he has experienced from an object, or from a serious threat of danger. If he found himself sinking in soft ground, if an object has actually struck him by falling on him or running against him, it will be very difficult to get him to forget his fear of it. If a large barrel were rolled towards him, he could not be persuaded not to swerve aside in order to avoid it. In order to persuade him not to be afraid of a rolling barrel it must be rolled alongside him and not towards him. Rolling it against him would be the way of teaching him to be afraid of it. We Ttmst prevent occurrence of (tccideoits to tlie foal which is taught outside the riding school in order not to give him had associations ins^nring him with fear. The foal must not be given bad associations of fear with respect to the actions it is desired to teach him to perform and with respect to the places through which it is desired to make him 268 FEAE pass. We must first examine the places through which Tve intend to ride him in order that he should not find himself under circumstances which may give him bad associations or associations adverse to us, and render him frightened and diso- bedient. The various places with their different appearances and circumstances should be known and taken into consideration by the teacher who desires to teach the foal not to be afraid, and should be arranged in progressive order according as they are more or less adapted to excite fear. The tea- cher should then begin by making him pass gra- dually from places which are less calculated to make him take fright to those places which may give him gi*eater fear. If the first time he were made to pass over a bridge the bridge were to fall, he would associate the fall with the bridge and would not pass over a bridge a second time. If it happened to him to sink down into soft ground so as to hurt his legs or remain embedded in it, he would become so frightened that he would be unwilling to advance wherever he felt the ground yield though ever so FEAR 269 slightly. If in making him leap an obstacle his mouth is hurt by the hand or if he is made to leap over an obstacle beyond his strength or his ability, and he falls, he is given an association of evil in connection with leaping and acquires fear and dislike for leaping. If on catching sight of an obstacle which is new to him, of which he is afraid, and which he does not venture to leap he is puni- shed, his fear and his dislike to jumping it grows so much the more, and he is rendered so much the more rebellious and caused to recede. It is of course understood that the horse who knows already how to jump and has been habi- tuated to leaping over obstacles in the open coun- try does not come under this head. He may be punished to get him in hand and make him jump, and he understands that he is punished because he will not jump. He should always be given short punishments, after which with conciliating words and caresses the aversion produced by the punish- ment should be removed, not onlv with a view not to leave him in dislike of us but also not to leave a bad special association of punishment con- 270 FEAR pled in his mind with the place in which he was punished, in order that on passing there anew he should not be afraid. There is great liabiliti/ to error ivith respect to the siisceiHihility of horses to fear and their excitahility to motion. In order to know the mental qualities of a horse a certain amount of time and many tests are required. The horse dealer puts him through tests which last a moment only and even these are rendered of no value bv his men who are cle- ver and have already trained the horse in their way. They all keep the horse's attention engaged so that he should not show his vices and fear, and they do not allow him to stand still if, on his standing still, defects could be perceived in his legs which cannot be seen when he is in motion. Ge- nerally the horse is intent on everything that surrounds him and that he meets, but the dealer witb liis men causes his attention to be distracted and to be engaged with them, and the horse has FEAR 271 no time to observe objects and be afraid of them. Chance may likewise contribute to deceiving the purchaser. At times the horse looks at a thing of which he is not afraid, and on the other hand does not look at something else of which he would be afraid. Thus it may be thought that a horse is not afraid of a given object because on passing in its vicinity he showed no fear, but in reality he was not afraid because he did not look at it. On ano- ther occasion he may chance to look at that par- ticular object and will be afraid of it, and it will then be thought that he is afraid of another object because, as he did not show fear of the one in question on the first occasion, he is regarded as being without fear of it. At times horses are met with which always show signs of fear and swerve on one side onlv and not on the other. It may be concluded that it is due to a defect of vision on the one side, but it may also be the result of a habit of always looking towards that side. It may be thought that the eye-sight on the side wliere no sign of fear is given is perfect, and yet it may 272 FEAR not be so. Of many things which are in view at the same time it may be that more impression is made by the thing which in our view would be hekl less likely to cause it, and the horses are re- garded as being afraid of a thing which does not cause them fear, but which in our opinion should cause it, whilst they in reality are afraid of some- thing else. For this reason mistakes are often made as to the susceptibility of horses to fear. The dealer's horse when handled by his men appears very animated, starts forward on the least sign and shows fine movements. The day after when handled by the buyer or his man, the same horse seems sleepy and sluggish, the buyer being very much astonished and thinking that he is ill. He does not know that the dealer has temporarily enlivened the horse by administering a good whip- ping with a copper-wire tipped whip to the accom- paniment of a certain sound of the voice. Thus the horse wliilst he is with the horsedealer well remem- bers the sound of the voice in question and moves promptly ami rapidly, not waiting for what he knows will follow, but with the purchaser he is not afraid and does not move. PEAR 273 In riding it mvst he souf/hf to anticipate the fear of the horse in order to be in time to prevent his reactions of fear. Even after having taiighl the horse not to be afraid of many and varions objects, and after ha- ving given liim the habit of not being afraid, he may still experience fear of many things and under many circumstances, although in a lesser degree, because it is his nature to be easily acces- sible to it. A pig or a dog running towards liim or between his legs, an object suddenly coming to meet him, a man who unexpectedly jumps on to the road from a side ditch, or any other accident mav occur at anv moment and cause him fear, and this fear mav excite him to swerve aside or turn backwards. It should therefore always be borne in mind tliat the horse mav be afraid and we must be alwavs intent on booking out in front for the things which may be encountered ahead or which may be met J8 274 PEAR with along the road on both sides, and even for those which may come from behind, although of them he may be less afraid. We should also atten- tively follow the horse's motions as felt from the seat, and by the hand, and observe the signs of fear given by the ears and the head which during fear is bent in the direction from which the horse believes that the object of fear will approach. When it is foreseen that he may be afraid, the horse must be collected at once by hand aids and aids or punishments for exciting him to go and his head must be bent in a direction away from the object of fear, in order to make him see it sideways, so that he may be less afraid, as these are the only means we possess of preventing him swerving on one side or turning back and running into danger. If we were to perceive from a distance a spe- cial object coming towards us on the road, which we thought the horse might be very much afraid of, so that it would not be possible to hold him, it would be better to turn back and go into a side field, waiting until the object had passed, rather than give him occasion to turn back. With horses FEAR 275 it is always to be remembered that, as in other things in life, prevention is better than cure. In ridhif/ tJte fact of the rider Tieepinff the ho7'se' s atte^ition fi.ved on himself assists in preventing fear. When his attention is engaged with the rider tlie presence of an object of which the horse would be afraid is not noticed, and he is not seized by the idea and feeling of fear. Therefore the first precaution to take when ri- ding, besides that of trying to discover the things which may cause him fear, is the rider keeping his horse attentive to himself by some aids (voice, hand, whip, spurs) applied at intervals now and then to make the horse remember that he has somebodv on his back and is not alone and as soon as he shows -a sign of incipient fear, collecting him immediately, and endeavouring to remove the idea of fear by conciliating voice and caresses, and by preventing him with the reins from looking at the object of fear, bending him in the other direction, 276 PEAE and persistently urging him with aids and punish- ments for exciting him to go so that he may not stop and get out of hand, as then he may turn to one side or back. Drawing off his attention and keeping him occupied and engaged with us is the best means of preventing the horse from being afraid, and even up to a certain extent from making reactions for other reasons. Some horse dealers know this well, and are very skilful in doing it. Three or four of their men walk around the horse which they are showing the buyer, and all of them do something to him, and the horse, having his attention engaged by many different actions and men, goes straight forward without showing fear, | and without doing anything. He is afterwards afraid when with the buyer, because the buyer does not do the same to him as the dealer' s men did. Pretence of fear. The term « pretence of fear » is used when the horse passes an object while held in hand without FEAR 277 showing signs of great fear, and does not pass it, but turns back when he is left free. I should think this to be fear in no very great degree during which he has been allowed to turn back, and there- fore he always conceives the idea of turning back from having done so. It must be dealt with just like fear itself. We must look out beforehand as far as possible for objects which may give him ground for swerving and turning back and must get the horse in hand, as in all cases of fear, to prevent him from swerving and turning back, but he must afterwards be taught not to be afraid in the way above stated. Teaching the horse not to he afraid of railway trains, fire arms, and motor cars. As alreadv stated it is understood that this like everything else relating to fear, and all mat- ters which it is desired to teach him, can only be done after he has been rendered confident and obedient. To teach the horse not to be afraid of things which cause him great fear, such as rail- 278 FEAR way trains, gun firing, and steam motors (which make a great noise and have rapidly revolving wheels) time is required and a carefully graduated scale of instruction. The company of another horse, and still better of other horses who are not afraid of these things is very useful, simplifying and fa- cilitating the task of teaching him not to be afraid if possible. Artillery remounts learn quickly and with few exceptions by being always together with old horses. Bach horse must always be taught se- parately in overcoming his fear. By putting toge- ther several horses who are frightened, they com- municate their fear to each other, and consequently grow more excited and still more afraid. In order to teach the horse not to be afraid of things which cause him great fear, the things already stated must be done in the way already explained, but still more gradually. He should be in the company of other horses a little way ahead and nearer to the object of fear ; he must be held facing the object (train, machine &c.) by two men (of course without blinkers, bec*iuse in order to persuade him he must see the object of fear), hold- FEAR 279 ing him on each side with two lounges attached to the side rings of the cavesson and the man, who is teaching him not to be afraid, should stand in front of him with another lounge and close to him so as to be able to stroke him on the head and on the eyes. Thus, the teacher remains between the horse and the object of fear. Holding the horse with the croup towards the object may give him less fear, but it is not so well because he, being in a position favourable to bolting, might drag the men with him, and he would have learnt that he can run away, which would be very bad. The men on each side should stand a yard or two away and slightly in advance of the horse's head. They should not do anything, save offer an elastic and yielding resistance, if the horse draws back owing to fear, and the same must be done by the man at his head, in order to overcome his fear. Just as not doing anything to him in presence of the object of fear is the way of ridding him of his fear, in the same way when the object of fear passes he should be allowed to look at it without doing anything to him, only speaking to him 380 FEAR soothingly, and stroking him, and letting him re- cede slightly, we following, but preventing him from turning back and running away. His being able to turn back and run away excites him and very much increases his fear, spoiling the lesson because he sees that he can escape. Great care must also be taken to use a strong cavesson and strong lounges which cannot break, because if they broke it would suggest to him that he could break them, and he would always seek to do so. The resistance oifered to his receding must be elastic and yielding, because if it were sought to hold him standing absolutely still, his fear would greatly increase. For this reason the horse, in front of whom an object of which he is very much afraid must pass, must not be tied to trees or to the wall, or to a fixed point. There may however, be some exceptions to this. The men who assist in teaching the horse not to be afraid should themselves not be afraid of Avhat the horse may do in consequence of his fear. Therefore to do this duty, men are required accu- stomed to being with horses and trained in the FEAR 281 way of going about them. There is no danger for them since standing as they do on one side and slightly in front towards the object of fear they can only be drawn backwards by the horse when he recedes, and there being three of them together with the one holding the middle lounge they can prevent him turning back without great effort. If other horses are held in front of the one which it is desired to teach not to be afraid, and between him and the object of fear, tlie backing of the horse will be slight. Care must be taken not to do anything disagreeable to the horse either before or when the object of fear passes or after it has passed. After the object of fear has passed the horse should be kept still for a time as if he were led away directly he might think that he could have turned back of himself. Each day he should continue to be held still, looking at the object of fear once only on the first day and repeatedly for some time on the days following until he shows he is no longer afraid. After he has become quiet he is left without the companionship of the horse which had been placed in front of him in order 282 FEAR to facilitate overcoming his fear, and then the men at the side are dispensed with, the man with the middle lounge remaining alone. The lesser or greater fear he experiences of any object, and his lesser or greater readiness in allow- ing his fear to be dispelled depends upon the degree of confidence and trust and the sense of obedience felt by the horse towards the man lead- ing him or at his side or in front of him, and towards the other men who hold him on both sides, and also according as he is more or less nervous. It need not be said that in order to dispel his fear a place must not be chosen with ditches or other dangers near it into which he may go on his re- ceding or swerving to one side. Then he would attribute the evil of having run into the ditch to the train or other objects coming or passing in front of him, and would be so much the more afraid of it. Whether he draws back more or less depends on the greater or lesser proximity of the point at which he is placed to view the passing train or to hear the discharges or the noise of other ma- FEAR 283 chines. He should be placed a long way off on the first occasion and gradually brought up closer afterwards. He should not be brought up closer if in the more distant place where he was first held he has not become entirely indifferent to the sight of the object or the noise of the discharge. It requires a great deal of time to teach some horses not to be afraid of railway trains. If it is a carriage horse it should be led fi"ee and without blinkers, and not attached to the carriage, but with lounges and cavesson on foot as already sta- ted. The horse should be stopped at a distance from the place where the train passes, to that he should see little of it, and hear little of the noise to avoid making too great an impression. Each day on which he is conducted afresh to see the passing train, if his nervousness permits it, the effect of fear will diminish, until finally he will be persuaded to have no fear because no harm happens to him. He should be shoA\'n the train once or twice a day, but at long intervals at the beginning in or- der not to excit€ him too much, and to give him 284 FEAR time to calm down, but this must be continued every day. In bringing him up closer the stages should be very gradual, so that he should not be alarmed. If it is sought to draw him near in a few days in order to get the matter over quickly, he may very easily learn the contrary, i. e. to be afraid instead of learning to have no fear. A great deal has then been lost, and it is necessary to begin anew standing at a greater distance, and at such a distance that he is not alarmed by it, but in this case it has become more difficult to remove his fear, because the fear has taken root in the mind of the horse. An enclosed field near a rail- way and another horse or more horses for com- panionship simplify very much the process of teach- ing him to have no fear. Oxen grazing in the fields near the railway, after having for some days observed that the passing of the train does them no harm, become indifl"erent to it. It then remains to teach him not to be afraid standing close to the train, because standing at a certain distance causes little fear, but standing close a great deal. Standing near a train going at high speed excites great fear, PEAR 285 and it must be endeavoured to stand at a distance if possible and as far as possible for many days. To teach him not to be afraid of the discharge of guns, he must be held on foot with lounges and cavesson as stated, and brought to a stop at a very great distance, so that he should see little of the flash and hear the minimum of noise from the dis- charge, and so that the odour of the powder fired should become slight by mixing with the air. When he is indifferent at a distance from the place where the firing takes place, he may be guided round at a distance, at a walk, so that he should be ac customed not to take alarm whilst in motion. Here likewise the attempt to force matters and to finish them quickly means retrogi-ession instead of advan- ce, and imperils the success entirely. He should not be led close if at the farther distance he has not become quite indifferent to the flash and the noise of the discharge. Some do not make reactions on hearing and seeing the discharge but cannot help giving a start, which is the effect of a painful sensation experienced in the brain. In order to accustom him to firing whilst he 286 FEAR is ridden, if his nature allows, great gradation is required, and lie must first have been rendered indifferent to any firing near him whilst led on foot. A good preparation is holding him still at a certain distance from a target and going gra- dually nearer. At first only caps should be used once every now and again, and afterwards a small amount of powder. When a pistol is fired off on the right with the right hand, many horses acquire the vice of turning round to the left. This means that firing has been done on horseback before they became indifferent to firing on foot near them. The gradual course must be recommenced, and after- wards instead of firing with the arm to the right, the arm should be held perpendicular, and after- wards a little to the right. Much unrest and many vices in the shape of rearing. Jumping and turning back when shots are fired on horseback, are caused by the rider, who instead of remaining still and not giving him un- pleasant sensations before firing, during firing and after firing, jerks his mouth with the hand or ill- treats him with the spurs, sits with his body in- FEAR 287 dined forward, and disturbs the horse. The dis- charge of guns is unendurable to some horses be- cause it gives them a painful shock in the brain. For these a remedy may be cotton in the ears. . In order to accustom the horse to the sabre, it is attached to the saddle and the trainer walks along with him at his side, holding him with the cayesson and lounge in the riding school after haying given him instruction with the lounge and he is always stroked and stopped if he shows signs of agitation. When he is inditferent at a walk he is made to go at a short trot and at a gallop, and he must always be brought back to a walk and stopped and caressed if he begins to grow excited, and not allowed to run because he would grow much more excited and so on indefinitely. Corte da Pavia said that he taught the war horse to be courageous by simulating a combat with another rider who always drew back. He taught the horse to allow himself to be ridden by the master only, by having him ridden by others who ill-treated and punished him and allowed him to make reactions and pretended to fall from him 288 FEAil whilst the master when riding him always cares- sed him. This is right. It was giving good asso- ciations to the master and bad associations to the others, but it does not attain its purpose if the rider is a skilled horseman. To accustom the horse to the motor car these proceedings will be useful. Place a motor in the centre of an open space so that it is conspicuous in the full light of day. Have the horse (of course without blinkers) led round the motor at the di- stance of twenty yards by two or three men with two or three lunges to the cavesson. Walk the horse very slowly and quietly, giving the soothing voice and stroking him while walking. Stop now and then to make him more quiet and meanwhile repeat caressing. The men leading him must be acquainted with the horse and have his contidence. They must not have ill-treated him and be feared by the horse. Gradually let the men leading him round de- scribe smaller circles and (with the gradation requi- red by each particular horse to overcome fear) stop at last at a few yards distance from the motor. FEAR 289 After standing awhile and stroking him, with the soothing voice sound, the men must turn towards the motor and draw the horse behind them but they must not force him to approach the motor if they see some reluctance to do so. This will be exceptional because the horse has the men before him and between liim and tlie motor. If it happens, the horse must be walked round again for some time. Forcing him to approach by material force would excite his fear and teach him to be afraid instead of teaching him not to be afraid. If by a rare case he is not willing to approach the motor the first day, he will be willing another day. Some one sitting on the motor who knows the horse and who welcomes him with the soothing voice-sound will facilitate his approaching. The man sitting on the motor caresses him and may give him oats in the box used for that purpose and known to the horse. To gradually induce the horse to eat oats on an object of fear is to give him a very good association with that object. To facilitate approaching the motor by a very timorous horse his groom may present him the 19 290 FEAR oat-box at two or three yards distance from the motor which will give him the idea of advancing. When the horse advances the groom must step backwards towards the motor to induce him to keep on advancing, still holding the box and letting him have a few oats. After a while the groom may retire still more and place the box on the ground close to the motor or on the motor itself. These operations have the object of giving the horse good associations with the motor. The men leading the horse with the lounges, the man sitting on the motor and the groom being all close together with the horse, he will be soon persuaded to approacli. The noise of the motor makes an impression on all horses. It must be Urst heard from a distance the horse standing still with two or three men with lounges. The men circle round leading the horse with the lounges and stop now and then before the noise begins, as the first times he must hear it standing still, so that he may remain quiet. Hearing the noise while walking might excite him. After he is accustomed to hear it while standing still he will be kept walking to hear it while FEAR 291 walking. When he is accnstomed to hear it circling from some distance he must hear it gradually nearer and standing behind the motor and on the side of the motor. After this has been done for an hour for several days and the horse is nearing the motor decidedly and is not afraid of the noise, the men leading him must be gradually diminished till only one leads with only one lounge and with- out the man who sat on the motor and without the groom. When the horse is accustomed to the sight and noise of the motor standing still, he should be ac- customed to the motor moving. Have the motor moved very slowly so that the horse may be led to follow it by the men with the lounges at a slow walk. The walk must be very slow. Were the horse to be obliged to follow at a quick walk he would grow excited. After he has been walking for some time behind the motor, stop it and have him led forward passing close to it. Then stop the horse and move the motor i)assing close to where the horse stands and stop it some yards forward. Repeat this several times and then make the horse walk close 292 FEAR to the moving motor, the man who leads him being between the horse and the motor and later the horse next to the motor and the man outside. When become familiar with these things lead the horse in one direction and move the motor in the reverse so that they circle round meeting, and do this exercise for an hour for many days till the horse is quite indifferent to meeting the motor. These proceedings are intended to show him that the motor moving does him no harm. To accustom the horse to the motor moving with velocity choose a mile or two of a broad and straight road that the horse may see the motor coming from afar. Place the horse at one end and the motor at the other and have them meeting many times with increased velocity but only in- creasing velocity if the horse shows no excitement in meeting it witli less velocity. In doing this the horse must be mounted and quietly ridden and for some time must meet the motor only at a walk that he may not get excited, and then at a trot, not at a gallop, as many horses are excited by the gallop. Repeat these meetings for many days till FEAR 293 the borse shows himself indiiferent to a good deal of velocity but not very great. These proceedings may remove the fear of the horse when the motor moves at no great speed. A great speed will allways frighten horses as it frigh- tens us. To be persuaded of this try to stand at a yard's length from the rails when an express train passes instead of standing twenty yards off. For this reason motors going at a great rate will be always dangerous to people riding and driving. Horses that are overworked and are used in the crowded streets of a large town are less liable to be seized by the feeling of fear especially when there are two together. A single horse on an iso- lated road will be easily taken by panic on seeing a motor coming against him at great speed. Having put the horse in confidence, in obe- dience and taught him to go in union in the hand, and having accustomed him not to be afraid of many objects we may hope to remain his master. We cannot be quite sure because a great fear may be excited by some object or animal and then the horse may obey his instinct of fear more than our aids and punishments. 294 PEAR Fear, if gi'eat, is a very serious matter in hor- ses, because as it is an involuntary nervous com- motion even good treatment aflt'ords little remedy, and has but slight influence. If there is no success in removing it in the way above explained this means that it is an ill without remedy, and there- fore an ill to which we must resign ourselves, and it is useless to allow oneself to be overcome by anger and to punish the horse, because this only increases his fear. The real remedy is to em- ploy the horse for slow draught purposes. 1^ 4 »^ ■4i- mmmwfmmmfmmmwmm'mm O:^ THE BRIDLIISG OF HOESES AXD THE USE OF THE CURB-BIT. In the XYI. Century first Cesare Fiasclii a nobleman of Ferrara (1539) and after him Pirr' An- tonio Ferrari a nobleman of I^aples (1598) Avrote on the Bridling of horses. Fra Giovanni Paolo d' Aquino, knight of St. John of Jerusalem (Udiiie 1636) mentions the latter and not the former pro- bably because he was, like himself, a native of the Kingdom of Naples. The Bitter von Weyrother, head of the austrian military riding school (Vienna 1810), said what was said by Fiaschi before liim, but Weyrother employed modern expressions and invented the measuring curb-bit. Fiaschi said moreover that when adapting the bit to a horse besides the shape of his mouth, ON BErDLING 313 bars, tongue, cavity of the mouth, palate, thickness of the lips, it is necessary to take into account the conformation of his body and neck, the strength or the weakness of the fore part, the back and the feet. He very judiciously remarked also that the curb-bit alone is not sufficient to make hor- ses go well but it is necessary to have them tho- roughly trained in advance to go well and lightly and that only then the head and the neck could be drawn in the right position which their con- formation allows. He might liave added that the rider must know how to apply the aids of the hand. Regarding the question as to whether the upper cheeks of the curb-bit are more adapted to raise the head, when long or short, the Cavaliere d'A- quino said that the upper cheeks if shorter gave greater action to the curb-bit and therefore had greater power to raise the liead. It is understood that to raise the head tlie curb-bit should be made to act by the hand in a raisin" direction. The object of the curb-bit is to subject the head, neck and body to the action of the hand in order to control the horse better than with the 314 ON BRIDLING snaffle and to compel liini to execute better, with more union, the moyements that are desired. The curb-bit acts as a secondary lever in which the power is the hand by means of the reins, the re- sistance is in the bars on which the cannon is pla- ced, and the point of support is the curb which makes the bit act. The cannon is the part of the bit which is pla- ced in the mouth and keeps the cheeks tirm. The upper cheeks are the pieces above the cannon, the lower cheeks are the pieces that are under- neath. The cannon would be preferable if hollow, because it is lighter, than if solid, but if hollow it is not so strong and the bit must be strong. It must not be possible that it could break and the liorse go free. The cannon must be placed on the bars of the lower jaw between the tusks and molar teeth without touching either. The curb should lie well flat round the outer jaw just above the chin so that when the curb-bit is made to act the curb should not rise if possible. The rising of the curb and its keeping higher than it should be above the chin may be caused by the ON BRIDLING 315 upper cheeks of the curb-bit being long or by the horse having a very low chin or by the cannon being high in the mouth, and these three causes may concur together. The cannon may be made to stay a little higher or lower in the space between the tusks of the lower jaw and the molar teeth through making the head piece of the bridle shorter or longer. The action of the curb-bit tends to bring down the head and more so if the cannon is placed lo- wer in the space between the tusks and molar teeth and less if higher. If it is required that the cannon be high in the mouth on account of the horse' s tendency to drop his head the curb will stay higher, but this cannot be altered. The curb must be smooth and of a moderate breadth so as not to cause pain to the jaw for the action of the curb-bit ought to be only on the bars and therefore the curb ought to serve only as a support to the action of the bit. If it were uneven and narrow it would cause the horse pain. If it is seen that the curb gives pain to the horse a leather strap can be put in its stead. 316 ON BRIDLING Curbs with points to cause much pain are used sometimes to force horses with hard mouths to give in. If it succeeds with some horses having hard mouths it may be used, but generally the want of effect of the ordinary curb-bit proceeds from the unskilful hand which allows itself to be weighed upon — or from the stiffness of the body, — or from the bad action of the horse which when going holds his body in a low position — or from weak- ness of the backbone, legs and feet. The curb must be several links longer than what is needed in order to be able to take hold of it with the fingers and put it on its hook and it should be used long at first and shortened gra- duallv in order to accustom the horse to its action by degrees. The curb must be sufiiciently long to alloAV the lower clieeks of the bit to go back at least one third of a right angle from the line of the opening of the mouth and, in many cases, to act more gradually, even half a right angle accor- ding as it mav be found useful for certain horses and according to their degree of sensibility. A very short curb keeping the lower cheeks in the direc- ON BRIDLING 317 tion of the mouth and not letting them go back has a very strong action, but not gradual. The straight cannon acts flat on the two bars. The curved cannon acts on the outside edges of the bars and gives a little freedom to the tongue, but is more felt by the horse because it acts on a smaller surface of the bars. For the same reason the thin cannon has more action than the thick one as it acts upon a smaller surface of the bars. The several curves of the cannon are, according to Weyrother, to give freedom to the tongue so that the tongue is not caught between the bars and the bit with the object that the bit be felt more, as he holds that the bars are more sensitive than the tongue. He says that if the cavity of the mouth is large enough to enable the tongue to settle inside and not receive any pressure the curb-bit acts with greater power. If the tongue does not settle in the cavity but gets jammed between the cannon and the bars, the action is smaller. Mv master Francesco Savler remarked that the gums are much less sensitive than the tongue and 318 ON BRIDLING that the pressure of the bit on the tongue would be felt more by the horse than the pressure on the bars. This is a reason for believing that greater freedom must be given to the tongue so that it should not feel pressure and pain and that the horse should feel less pain from the action of the curb-bit which is in condradiction to wliat is sta- ted by Weyrother. To enable the tongue to fit in the arc of the cannon which is intended for it, if the plane of the arc is in the same plane with that of the cheeks of the curb-bit, (as curb-bits are usually made) the lower cheeks should be made to come very much back to form a right angle with the bars. To allow this it would be necessary to have the curb very long in which case no lever action could be made and therefore no curb-bit would exist. This inconvenience may be remedied in the follo- wing way. In order that the arc of the cannon should give the tongue all possible freedom without the curb being very long, the plane of the arc of the cannon should make half a right angle with the plane of the cheeks. Then if the lower cheeks ON BRIDLING 319 of the curb-bit are drawn back by the reins so as to act at half a right angle, from the position in which they are in the same line with the opening of the mouth, the plane of the arc will become X)erpendicular to the bars and will give the tongue the utmost possible freedom. The curve of the cannon which is to give free- dom to the tongue must have a smaller opening than the breadth of the cavity of the bars so that the cannon should keep on the bars. If the opening of the cannon were to be larger than the breadth of the cavity of the bars the cannon would not re- main stationarv over the bars but would fall on one side of the bars thus Avounding some part of them. If the arc which gives freedom to the tongue were elliptical instead of round, one would think that it would be more convenient to the horse's tongue, as it would leave the tongue in a position less different from its natural position which is that of being extended in the sense of its breadth. If the tongue is kept curved V)y a round and nar- row arc it seems that it would feel an uncomfor- table sensation. Both arcs will be more or less /- (^ 320 ON BRIDLING uncomfortable as they keep the tongue in an unnar tural position. The freedom of the tongue is required more in the case of horses which have the cavity of the bars narrow and a large tongue as in this case the tongue does not fit in the cavity but comes out more. If the cavity of the bars is narrow and the tongue large, much freedom of the tongue is requi- red but not so much as to make the arc touch the palate. If the cavity of the bars is wide and the tongue small, it fits in properly and has no pres- sure from the bit and the bit does not require any freedom for the tongue. The measuring curb-bit invented by Weyrother is very convenient for taking the breadth of the cannon as it can be made narrower and wider; and especially for trying the length to be given to the upper and lower cheeks because these can be made shorter or longer to ascertain which degree of action is best suited to the sensibility of the diffe- rent mouths. The cannon should be of the same breadth as the mouth ; if larger it does not remain firm and if narrower it presses the lips. ON BRIDLING 321 The proportion of the length between the upper and lower clieeks giAes a proportionate power of action to the bit by means of the curb. The shor- ter the cheeks are above the cannon and the lon- ger they are under the cannon the more the curb- bit acts. Weyrother says that the upper cheeks must be equal to tlie depth of the cavity of the bars and the lower cheeks double, but to find a bit whicli suits a horse it is better to try the upper and lower clieeks of different lengths and see which length gives the curb-bit the power of action which will suit him best without causing him too much pain. A degree of pain must be caused so that he should find the necessity of giving way. If the curb-bit can give no pain at all the horse will not obey it. As a rule, the horse, and all other animals yield to a brief infliction of pain and revolt against pain if prolonged. Revolting against brief pain may arise if the horse is particularly excitable, but usually revolting results from provocation of the rider who draws the reins tightly and continuously thus giving the horse continual pain. If we yield 21 332 ON BRIDLING the baud to a liorse immediately after he ha« yiekl- ed his head, neck or body to a short action of the hand, this gives him to understand that by yielding the head, neck or body he ceases to feel any pain in the mouth. If continual pain is given by the hand to a hoi-se who is very sensitive he becomes excitable, stops, backs or rears for it is his instinct to trv to free himself from a conti- nual pain. This is the reason that the action of the hand must be used intermittently and not continuously. In order to hnd a bit which suits a horse, the mouth of the horse must be examined so far as it concerns the bars, breadth, depth of the cavity of the bars, thickness of the lips, tongue, etc., and a curb-bit should be tried which seems most sui- table to him according to the principles explained. If we see that it has too little or too much action we should trv a curb-bit without freedom to the tongue and one with freedom to see which he obeys best. To find out the proper proportion of length of the upper and lower cheeks Weyrother's measuring curb-bit is particularly useful because with it we \ ON BRIDLING 323 can alter the cheeks as we will. If the measuriug eurb-bit is not available we should try several bits with cheeks of difterent leuijths. The eifect of the different curb-bits must be tried on every single horse and we must not trust absolutely to the abstract theory because usually the lean and ])ointed bars are very sensitive while those fleshy and remind are little sensitive but there are mouths which, to judge from a superficial inspection, appear less sensitive, whereas they are more so and there are other mouths which appear very sensitive while they are not so, and there are horses which are more sensitive about the bars than in the tongue, and others that are the contrary. As to the effect of the curb-bit one must bear in mind that a bodv on a small base is drawn more easily than a body on a large one. Thus a horse can be drawn any way it is required if his body has been made agile and pliant and if we liave accustomed him to go in a good position and collected. Besides tliis, a study must be made of the way of giving tlie aids of the hand and of gi- ving them proportionally to the sensitiveness of ea^h single horse. 324 ON BRIDLING The degree of power to be given to the curb-bit should be prescribed by the degree of sensitiveness of the horse' s mouth but also by the degi-ee of skill of the hands of the rider who is to ride a given horse. The curb-bit may have much power if the rider has light and skilful hands: it should not have much power if the rider's hands are hard and unskilful. The curb-bit must have such power that the action of the hand can lead and regulate the horse without causing him too much pain. If the liorse is very sensitive less action must be given to the curb-bit and less actieated many times with a moment's interval and a}< offen as is necessary to obtain the proposed ett'ect but always intermittently and not continuously so as to pre- serve sensibility to the mouth of the hoi-se and not to incite him to use his head, neck and body to defeat them. Only Avhen the horse jioe.s collected and in oood leanincr the action of the hands is continuous but in that case it should cause verv little discomfort to his mouth so that it may be easily tolerated as if the horse experienced acute pain in the moutli it would get injured or he would be excited to make reactions or both effects might follow or the mouth would l^ecome insensible. At the moment when the hoi*se is seized with fear we may hold him with strong leaning and even punish him with the hand in order to prevent him from turning back but it should be done only at that moment and as an evil to avoid a gieater evil. ON BUmLING 327 We sliould remember that wlieii the h(>i*se is heated by motion he can bear even con8idei*al)le ]>aiii ill bis moutli without making reactions because lieing heated and roused he does not feel the pain but the bars become sore and the horse cannot tlien be used with the curb or tlie snaftle. The same happens with the saddle and with the colhir wliich sometimes cause sores that are noticed only at the end of the journey when saddle and liarness are removed, because the horse ffave no sign of feeling pain wliilc working. With the suattic not much etfect can be made but a strong effect can be made with the curb. Another thing to lt»- noted is the difference l)etweeii the action of tlie liand for giving leaning and the action of the hand for ."^topping. The oppo- sition of the hands made for the sake, of giving leaning to the lioi*se and of keeping him in good leaning ought not to be confused with the opposi- tion made for tlie sake of st<>pping. in order that the horse mav not mistake the one for the other. The opposition made to give leaning and keep the horse in good leaning is elastic and continuous. 328 ON BRlt)LING The opposition made for stopping is gTadiial, increa- sing, ending in an absolute opposition. Tlie elastic opposition made to keep the horse in leaning tends to make him continue his motion and not to make him stop, because it keeps the body of the horse in a constant position of motion and he must cliange this position for stopping. The horse kept in leaning tends to increase it and to weigh on the hand. It should not last long and ought to cease before the horse weighs on the hands. The martingale is of great advantage for con- trolling the oppositions of head and neck, as it gives a j)oint of support, a fulcrum, to the actions of the hands on both reins and is a safeguard in riding an unknown horse and any liorse. An en- glish author (I think Berenger) ascribes this useful invention to Evangelista Corte, uncle to Olaudio. The use of tlie hands has been minutely explained in the Functions of the hands in ridinq. The general method of instruction is to ride the colt directly and to teach him to lean directly on the snaffle from the beginning. This has the advantage that it will be possible to ride him in ON BRIDLING 329 a short time but the result will be that the colt will tend to too luuoh leaning, his hind legs will never be brought well forward to the maximum relatively to his forehand; and his gaits will not be developed to the maximum. To make tlie horse supple, to develop well his gaits, to make him bring well forward his hind legs through proper instruction with the lounge without the weight of a rider on his back and without any leaning on the dumb-jockey is a lon- ger method but has not the above inconveniencies. The dumb-jockey is an instrument which teaches the horse to press against the hands and makes him learn the bad habit of leaning on them. The instruction with the lounge ought to be witli a free head. Then the spine and all limbs are allo- wed free movements and can acquire suppleness and the hind legs can.be brought well forward relati- velv to the forehand. The rules for this instruction are given in chapter X. of l'Arte di Cavalcare and the working of the horse's machine is explain- ed in chapter TV. ^mfWf^f^^^^W^^^^^W^^fW^^^f^^ REMARKS OK TURXIXO WHTCFI TR MOVIXG OK A CURVE. When standing' on a liorizontal plane with the weight of the body on the four legs placed per- pendicularly the horse cannot slip. He can slip when the legs move to put the body in motion, as Avhen the body is in motion it is thrown for- ward by the legs and the legs by their movement become oblique, out of their perpendicular, and in giving the impulsion they perform an oblique action from forward to backward. The horse is more likely to slip in turning than when going straight as in turning he must incline the centre of gravity of his body to the ON tlTpNINa ""A side to which he is turning and tlius the legs be- come oblique and bent outwards besides the other inclination that they have from forward to back- wards when they are in motion on a straight line. The risk of slipping is greatly increased if the tur- ning is on an incline because the weight of the body in that case weighs more either on the fore- legs or on the hind-legs and thus a new obliquity is formed to be added to the two others. When turning at a walking pace, as there is no speed nor strain, the risk of slipping is small pi-ovided the ground is flat and not very smooth. If the siTOund is verv smooth it is easy for the horse to slip even in turning at a walking pace and more so if there should be an incline up (u* down and most of all to the outside. When turning at a trot a horse is apt to slip even if the ground is not very smooth as turning at a trot is done with a fast movement of the legs throwing the body upwards and forwai-d and cau- sing at the same time the body to bend greatly to the inner side and hence the legs become very oblique sideways and outwards. 332 ON TXTRNING The following ways of turning facilitate slip- ping as they increase the oblique position of the body and legs — When the horse while turning bends his neck outwards. — While trotting at a fast pace. — If turning sharp. — Smooth ground. — Ground which instead of being fiat slopes to the side opposite to which the horse is turning. — The bodv of the rider bent forward. — To give lea- ning on the reins to the horse Avhen turning. — To draw the outer rein while turning. To make it possible to reduce the risk of slip- ping it is advisable when turning to. do the con- trary of all the things which make slipping easier. — To take away from the horse any leaning on the hand and make him go on himself in good position detached from the hand before turning and in turning. — To slacken the walk and the trot and make him trot slowly in a good collected po- sition before turning and in turning. — The rider not to bend his body forward, but rather backward. — While turning, to draw the horse's head to the side to which it is intended to turn by short pres- sures of the rein on this side, but not with any ON TURNING 333 leaning on the hand. — If tlie incline of the ground is on the outer side to eifect a counterpoise to the weight of the horse' s body which, in order to turn, must be bent inwards thus throwing his legs in an oblique position on the outside, the rider must weigh more with his body on the outer side. — Always to make the turning as wide as possible leading the horse well to the outer side before tur- ning and when turning continue to turn. — Usually Avhen turning people keep the turning narrow at first and think to widen the turning by draAving the horse outwards with the outer rein. B^ that thev draw his head and neck outside and his bodv crossways and more oblique but do not make the turning wider. — The horse should have been instructed with the lounge as by that he is made pliant, agile and stronger and learns to support more quickly tlie centre of gravity' of his body when bent forward, backward or on one side accor- ding to the actions he has to execute. Thus he avoids slipping, and recovers himself more readily if he should slip. — xVfter tlie proper instruction with the h)ungc to give more steugth and sta])ility 334 ON TURNING to the legs, the horse should be exercised in walk- ing very slowly with a free head on ascents and descents, on unequal ground and across country. The Km). Webster Fart^^'V ^'^^^' ' ^ ^Aedicine at