SHYING. 435 



cars quite quietly. No doubt his unsteadiness is 

 nervousness and . not vice, and is the result of an 

 accident. It is not a good plan to wrestle with 

 a horse until he can be induced to go up to and 

 smell what he was shying at ; for besides attaching 

 too much importance to a trivial failing, it is not 

 always possible to do this, in the case of moving 

 objects, which cause animals far more terror than 

 stationary ones. The whip should never be used on 

 a shying horse with the object of hurting him, because 

 it is unjust to inflict pain for an unintentional mistake, 

 and idiotic to regard the exhibition of his fear as a 

 personal affront, which is often done by ignorant riders. 

 Almost all horses when they are very fresh, and 

 especially on cold days, will shy and jump about on 

 first being taken out, partly with the desire to keep 

 themselves warm, and also with delight at being able 

 to come out and enjoy a scamper. Dogs exhibit much 

 the same skittishness ; even old animals gamble like 

 puppies when they are taken out, and the shying 

 which results from freshness in horses should be 

 tolerated within, of course, reasonable limits. Exercise 

 will take away the superfluous playfulness, .and it is 

 one of the best of cures for equine failings, because 

 even young horses which are regularly ridden, soon give 

 up their habit of nervous shying and become steady 

 conveyances. However terrified an inexperienced 

 horsewoman may be on finding herself on a horse 

 which shies badly, she should take care not to divulge 

 her secret to him, as the animal would then try to 



28* 



