20 The Management and Treatment of the Horse, 



patting him with your hands, and thence rapidly to 

 where you had already arrived, always gaining ground a 

 considerable distance farther every time this happens ; 

 the head, ears, neck and body being tenderest, proceed 

 from the back to the root of the tail. 



This must be managed with great dexterity as a horse 

 is never to be depended on that is skittish about the tail. 

 Let your hands fall lightly and rapidly on that part next 

 to the body a minute or two, and then you will begin to 

 give it a slight pull every quarter of a minute, at the same 

 time you coDtinue this augment the force of the strokes, 

 as well as the raising of the tail, until you can raise it with 

 the greatest of ease, which generally happens in a quarter 

 of an hour in most horses, and in others almost imme- 

 diately. It remains now to handle all his legs ; from the 

 tail come back again to the head, handle it well, also the 

 ears, breast, neck, &c, speaking now and then to the horse. 

 Begin by degrees to descend to the legs, always ascending 

 and descending, gaining ground every time you descend 

 until you get to its feet. Talk to the horse in Latin, 

 Greek, French, English, or Spanish, or in any other 

 language you please, but let him hear the sound of your 

 voice, which at the beginning is not quite necessary, but 

 which I have always done in making it lift up its feet. 

 At the time of speaking to it lift its foot with your hand. 

 It soon becomes familiar with sounds and will hold up its 

 feet, and in a short time the horse will let you lift them 

 and even take them up in your arms. All this operation 

 is no magnetism, no galvanism ; it is merely taking away 

 the fear a horse generally has of man, and familiarising 

 the animal with his master. As the horse doubtless ex. 



