96 Train by Geittle Means. 



will surely do what he knows you want him to 

 do, unless he is afraid to do it, or unless, as is 

 generally the case, you yourself are at fault. 

 The difficulty lies in making him understand you. 

 Remember this, and keep your patience always. 

 If a horse is roguish, as he often will be, it is 

 only a moment's play, and he will at once get 

 over it, unless you make it worse by unnecessary 

 fault-finding. I generally laugh at a horse instead 

 of scolding him. He understands the tone if not 

 the words, and it turns aside the occasion for a 

 fight or for punishment. 



Never invite a fight with a horse. Avoid it 

 whenever you can accomplish your end by other 

 means. Never decline it when it must come. 

 But either win the fight or reckon on having a 

 spoiled horse on your hands, who will never thor- 

 oughly obey you. 



And remember that a horse who obeys from 

 fear is never as tractable, safe, or pleasant as one 

 who has been taught by gentle means, and with 

 whom the habit of obeying goes hand in hand 

 with love for his master and pleasure in serving 

 him. I do not refer to those creatures which 

 have already been made equine brutes by the stu- 

 pidity or cruelty of human brutes. One of these 

 may occasionally need more peremptory treat- 

 ment, but under proper tuition even such an one 

 needs it rarely. 



