THE ETHICS OF HORSE-KEEPING. 11 



ease, and he can twist in and out amongst the throng 

 of vehicles, when a momentary display of self-will in 

 the animal would be the cause of an immediate acci- 

 dent. The ass appears to be incapable of any delicate 

 discipline of this kind."' 



What makes the horse so delicate an instrument to 

 play upon is the quick and tine connection between 

 his nerves and his brain, and the sensitiveness of his 

 skin. People who have never entered into the art of 

 driving or riding, though they may both drive and 

 ride all their lives, think that holding the reins is 

 something like steering a heavy boat : pull to the 

 right if you want to go in that direction, pull hard 

 if you want to stop, and so on. 1 But the real art of 

 driving and riding is the exercise of a light, firm, 

 sensitive hand upon the reins, and the continual play 

 of intelligence, of command on the one hand and 

 of obedience on the other, between the man and 

 the horse. 



The same nervous development that makes the 

 horse a sensitive, controllable, pliable animal makes 

 him also capable of great feats. To run or trot fast, in 

 heat after heat, requires not only mechanical fitness, 

 such as well proportioned limbs, good bone and mus- 

 cle, good lung power, etc., but also an inward energy, 

 the " do or die " spirit, as horsemen call it. Many a 



1 Opinion as to what constitutes excellence in horse-flesh is very 

 diverse. I remember once hearing the praises of a certain Dobbin 

 sung with great enthusiasm by a literary man. This was the most 

 perfect horse in the world ; but, on cross-examination, perfection 

 was found to reside in one quality, — wherever you left him, there 

 the auimal would stand without being tied. You might be gone a 

 year, and come back to fiud him still waiting for you in the middle 

 of the road. 



