Foreword 



India, I broke into harness in a single day, 

 and so thoroughly as to give no trouble after- 

 wards, a well-known and very high-spirited 

 racing pony (Mail-Train) for a friend. At 

 Castle Connell, Ireland, at the end of a hoUday, 

 I came across a well-known three-year-old 

 entire thoroughbred (Pat Macuncas), with 

 whose make and shape and jumping avidity 

 I was particularly taken, but who was very 

 wild. My first view of him was, when, startled 

 by my dogcart, he promptly took a five feet 

 stone wall to join some other youngsters in 

 the next enclosure, although there was an open 

 gateway less than a hundred yards away. 

 His owner, an old farmer, had been over- 

 powered by him and had never taken him out 

 of his pasture, or handled him in any way, 

 since he was a yearling, so I had to buy him as 

 he stood and train him as quickly as I could. 

 It took me a day to catch him ; I made him 

 lie down at my word on the second day ; rode 

 him on the third and fourth days ; and on the 

 fifth day rode him through Limerick, and 

 boxed and shipped him to England. It was a 

 very surprising experience for this horse 

 brought straight from his pasture, and it was 

 curious to see how he relied upon me for 

 encouragement and guidance. With the aid of 

 a lump or two of sugar, with the virtue of 

 which I had made him acquainted, he followed 

 me into the railway horse-box and on board 



