Englishmen s Love of Horses. 215 



machine admirably fulfilled the intentions of its inventor ; but 

 its working was neither amusing nor exciting, and conse- 

 quently it was useless for show purposes. As one might 

 think at first glance, there would have been no real difficulty 

 in getting into it any wild or violent horse that had been pro- 

 vided with a strong head stall and rope with which to hold 

 him. By its aid and that of three or four assistants, one 

 could have tamed (not broken in) three or four wild bronchos 

 or ' scrubbers ' an hour, and with but little danger and 

 exertion. I was not alone in the favourable opinion I held 

 about this machine ; for Dr Fleming, late Principal Veterin- 

 ary Surgeon of the Army and ex-President of the R.C.V.S., 

 to whom I showed it and explained its merits, considered it 

 such a useful adjunct to the ordinary means of breaking-in 

 horses, that he gave Sample a flattering testimonial in its 

 favour. 



Horse training, unless there is a good supply of genuinely 

 wild animals, or unless the performance is strongly suppli- 

 mented by riding and jumping, makes,as I have already pointed 

 out, a terribly ' thin ' show for an ordinary English audience, 

 which from lack of practical experience with horses, is incap- 

 able of understanding many of the good or bad points of what 

 is being done. It is ridiculous to imagine that people can 

 take any real interest in a subject which they have never 

 studied, and of the knowledge of which they have experienced 

 no want. The idea that all Englishmen are devoted to horses, 

 is, doubtless, the relic of a tradition handed down from a time 

 when their ancestors lived a more or less country life. No 

 doubt, the effect of such a wholesome tradition is to stimulate 

 sporting feeling, and, if opportunity offers, to convert a mere 

 sentiment into a healthy reality. But in the vast majority of 

 cases, the ordinary Englishman's love for horses is mere love 

 for gambling. If this were not so, we would find that horse 

 shows would be far better attended than race meetings ; for, 

 as a rule, the numbers and varieties of horses are far greater 

 at the former than at the latter. Also, the peculiarities of 



