PUNISHMENT 185 



The First Mile. Walking the first mile 

 supples the horse and eases the harness. A 

 horse who holds his wind can then be butted 

 with the knee in his stomach while the girth 

 is pulled up to the proper notch for safety. 



Punishment. If one thinks of a horse as a 

 little child one cannot be far wrong. One 

 does not flog a child. Discipline there must be 

 with horses as with children, or both grow 

 worthless, but punishment is the surest possible 

 sign of the man's incompetence, for the horse 

 rarely understands the motive, or understand- 

 ing becomes mutinous. Nine times out of ten 

 after punishing my horse I have found out that 

 I had been myself in the wrong by saddling 

 too far forward and cramping the shoulder- 

 blades, by some defect in putting on the 

 blanket, knotting the headrope badl}^, or fail- 

 ing to watch the farrier's work in shoeing. The 

 seeming misconduct was due perhaps to agoniz- 

 ing pain, as in one instance from a hidden 

 ulcer. So when my horse forgets his manners, 

 loses his temper, or goes badly, I examine 

 my conduct to find where I am to blame. 



It is an outrage and disastrous to the horse's 

 morals to strike him in front of the saddle. 

 The exceptions to that rule are for great 

 experts only. 



