A GROWING NUISANCE. 75 



can do so with impunity. It has fallen to my 

 lot to have had many lads or boys in my stables, 

 sometimes several at the same time. Among these 

 I have had some very good ones, who never at- 

 tempted to play any of their tricks with me. This 

 arose from several causes : they were never trusted 

 with horses out of sight of some one of whom they 

 stood in awe. The instant a boy is trusted alone, 

 it matters not whether he be the heir of the 

 family, or the fag of the stables, he is safe to be 

 in some mischief, and woe to the animal under 

 his control : to tease, and, in a certain degree, to 

 torture animals is the delight of most of them. 

 I know of few animals more annoyed than the 

 pony of one of these young imps, apparently fond 

 of the animal as he may appear to be. Keep a 

 pony for mamma's darling, if you like, but, in 

 mercy's name, never trust the animal to the boy's 

 sole control. It is true boys are employed in 

 racing stables to dress, feed, water, exercise, and 

 work horses, worth, perhaps, a thousand each ; 

 but they are never for a minute allowed to be 

 alone with the horse. And they are, at the same 

 time, fully impressed with the firm conviction that 

 any trick detected would be followed by the 

 severest punishment from the trainer. 



Let me, therefore, especially guard persons 

 against employing boys in any capacity about 

 horses in situations where they cannot be narrowly 



