PUNISHMENT. 41 



and to punish him for obedience, as we may frequently 

 see done by the driver of a jibber, who pats the animal on 

 the neck and speaks encouragingly to him when he stops, 

 and flogs and rates him as soon as he starts. 



In the judicious use of the voice as a punishment by 

 threatening, or as a reward by the expression of approval, 

 there need be no fear of ambiguity ; for the horse is in no 

 way likely to mistake a harsh tone for a caress, or a soft 

 one for a rebuke. As I have previously pointed out, the 

 horse's power of, drawing conclusions is so small, that, as a 

 rule, he is unable to associate in his mind one event with 

 another, unless their connection is well marked and ex- 

 tremely close as regards duration of time. We all, know 

 that pain inflicted in the ordinary way with whip or spur, 

 for, say, biting, or unsteadiness when being mounted, is far 

 more likely to aggravate the particular fault than to cure 

 it. But if the correction be carried out as explained 

 respectively on pages 118 and 329, the horse as a rule will 

 readily associate the idea of punishment with that of 

 wrong-doing, on account of the sensation of pain instantly 

 following the committal of the offence. The infliction of 

 punishment for aggressiveness, such as " savaging," may 

 be beneficial, provided always that it is rewarded only 

 during the attack, and is not continued after the horse 

 has ceased the assault. 



Reward may be conveyed by the voice, by patting and 

 caressing the animal with the hand, by giving him some 

 favourite dainty, such as a carrot or lump of sugar, and by 

 the cessation of discipline. The last mentioned means of 

 gaining the good-will of the horse is particularly effective, 

 and may be utilised with great advantage in the manage- 

 ment of the reins, and in many cases in which we wish 

 to inform him that he has done to our satisfaction the task 

 we have set him. 



