A Jibber. 141 



I said I would take his horse as my first subject, and that I 

 would handle no other until I had driven it all over the place, 

 which was a feat that had never been done before. I begged 

 the gentlemen present to bear patiently with me; for the 

 breaking of such a determined jibber, as this one was, could 

 not be accomplished in a hurry ; and then I commenced the 

 job. As horses have extremely retentive memories, I knew 

 that it would be hopeless trying to get this one to start by 

 using any of the signals with which he was only too well 

 acquainted. Hence I carefully refrained from hitting him 

 with the whip, ' clicking ' to him with my tongue, or speaking 

 to him. I put on him an 'open ' bridle (one without blinkers), 

 attached to it a pair of long reins, and commenced to turn, 

 circle him and rein him back. Whenever I wanted him to 

 start, I slightly raised my right hand as a signal, which he 

 readily learned to obey, as it was new to him, and was conse- 

 quently unconnected in his mind with any idea of punishment 

 or of contest between him and his driver. Contrary to my 

 usual practice, I did not vouchsafe a word of explanation to 

 my class, but kept on mutely doing my best to break the 

 horse according to my own way. After an hour or so, I got 

 into the dog-cart to which I had harnessed the horse, started 

 him off, pulled him up, started him again, and drove him in 

 every direction I was asked. The owner was delighted ; he 

 thanked me warmly, and allowed me to go on with the class 

 in the way I thought best. Next morning when I came down 

 at the appointed hour to the breaking-ground, I saw my pupils 

 all assembled with the owner of the jibber looking as if he 

 was in a particularly sulky mood. I asked him how his borse 

 was, and hoped he had had a pleasant drive. * He is just as 

 bad as ever/ he replied. I accordingly went up to the horse, 

 which had been led up to our place of meeting, changed his 

 usual harness-bridle for an open one, took hold of the reins, 

 got on to the box-seat, slightly raised my right hand, and 

 off he started as ' kindly ' as possible. Thereupon the owner's 

 face beamed with pleasure, and he called out to me to let him 



