THE HORSE ON WHTCTI TO HUNT 23 



not obviously uneven, trust to luck and take my 

 chance ; and must say that I have never regretted 

 doing so ; but still, you must remember that it is 

 better to lose three or four good horses through over- 

 caution than be saddled with one ' stiff-un.' 



There is another point which I am almost afraid 

 of touching on for fear of causing you to scolT, and 

 perhaps throw the book aside as the work of a 

 sentimental idiot ; I mean that portion of a horse 

 which, for want of a better name, I must call his 

 moral side, or, as Fitz-Wygram boldly names it, 

 the ' animal soul.' We forget this, most of us 

 altogether, or do not attach any importance to it. 

 Make and shape have nothing to tell us concerning 

 it, and yet I have no manner of doubt that it exists 

 and must be taken into account, even though 

 unconsciously, by anyone who would aspire to 

 finished horsemanship, which depends so largely 

 on subtle indefinable sympathy between horse 

 and man. 



A horse is not merely a machine, he is a sen- 

 tient, highly impressionable being, fired with a 

 generous courage at one moment, and swayed by 

 unreasoning terror the next ; full of whims, temper, 

 and tricks, much as a child is, and, like children, 

 showing every variety of disposition. I have laid 

 stress on this to impress on you how futile it is to 

 estimate a horse's powers any more than 3- ou would 



