92 HORSES 



in your nature you will understand them better, 

 and they will look on you as a friend. 



Whatever you may do in after years, I hope now 

 you will look upon the whip as an instrument of 

 punishment or a goad to further exertions, and 

 when not required will allow it to repose quietly in 

 the bracket. The smart coachman, or the man who 

 considers himself an expert driver, always carries 

 the whip in his hand, and would consider any one 

 a duffer who did otherwise. I am in a minority, 

 and therefore it is natural to suppose I must be 

 wrong, but I shall still adhere to my opinion. I 

 consider that the whip should only be used w^hen 

 the voice fails, and that a horse should always have 

 the chance of responding to the voice before the 

 lash is applied. The lazy and thick-skinned may 

 not object to a stroke or two with the whip, but it 

 is an insult to a high-spirited and willing horse. If 

 a schoolmaster hit a boy to make him get on faster 

 with his lessons without first speaking, that boy 

 would feel justly aggrieved. 



In discussing these details we have passed the 

 time away whilst driving, and we now arrive at the 

 spot you had chosen for the picnic. The last half- 

 mile you drove quite slowly, so that the pony 

 should not be too hot when you stopped. I ought 

 to have added, before making a start, that the pony 

 should have had a good strong halter underneath 

 the bridle, and a feed of corn inside the cart. 



You are captain of this outfit, so that you will 

 have to give orders, but the welfare of the pony 



