CHARACTER OF THE HORSE. 249 



penned by the unknown writer of the Book of Job, 

 at least three thousand years ago. 



Like ourselves, the horse fears the unknown, or 

 rather the imperfectly known, and as soon as he 

 becomes familiar with the dreaded object, his fears 

 vanish. It was solely by acting on this temperament 

 that Earey was so successful in the management of 

 troublesome horses. He went on the principle that 

 the ' vices ' of the horse are almost wholly due. to his 

 fears, which have not been understood by man. 



Nothing could be simpler than Earey 's system, of 

 which I have often been an eye-witness. He would 

 take any object of terror, say a revolver, or a drum, 

 or an umbrella, and manage by degrees to make the 

 horse understand that it would not hurt him. 



Then he acted on another characteristic of the 

 horse. 



The animal is as inquisitive as a cat, so inquisi- 

 tive indeed, that no matter how much an unknown 

 object frightens him, he cannot keep himself away 

 from it. He will stand at a distance gazing at it 

 with outstretched neck, and sniffing as if the sense of 

 smell could tell him something about it. Perhaps a 

 new access of fright will take place and he will 

 gallop off, but in a short time is sure to come back 

 again, drawn as if by some magnetic attraction. 



Thus he will go on, always drawing nearer and 



