24 MENTAL QUALITIES OF THE HORSE. 



VICE. 



The term vice in the horse is used in such various senses 

 that I am unable to supply an exact definition of it. 

 Perhaps I might be permitted, for convenience sake, to say 

 that, from a saddle and harness point of view, it includes 

 all unruly habits and tricks which militate against the 

 safety or comfort of the ordinary rider or driver. We 

 might therefore sub-divide it into deliberate vices, and 

 those arising from impatience of control or nervousness. 

 By deliberate vices, I mean those which the horse practises 

 for the gratification of his own ends, in direct opposition 

 to the well-understood and legitimate orders of man ; 

 and those which prompt him to make unprovoked and 

 hostile attacks on man or other animals. 



Stable vices I may define as those which produce in- 

 jurious or unpleasant effects either on the horse or on his 

 attendants, while he is in his stall or loose box, or while he 

 is entering or leaving his abode. 



What we are pleased, from our point of view, to call 

 vice in the horse, is, as a rule, manifestations of his instinct 

 of self-preservation, and has nothing to say to innate 

 turpitude. In combating, therefore, so-called vice in the 

 horse, we should not resent (as too many of us are inclined 

 to do) his non-compliance with our wishes as a personal 

 affront ; for he owes no allegiance to us beyond that of 

 the weaker mind to the stronger. 



There is a pseudo form of nervousness which is a common 

 vice among horses that are well fed, underworked, and are 

 ridden or driven by timorous people. I may point to the 

 far greater tendency these so-called nervous horses have 

 to shy and " play up " when leaving their stable, than 

 when returning to it after a long journey. 



The distinction between nervous and deliberate vice may 



