180 THE PEBFECT HORSE. 



him, and nothing to any one else. Do not be shouting, 

 '' Get up! " " Whoa ! " " Look out there ! " and the like. 

 Silence is a great virtue in a horse-trainer. A low- 

 voiced groom is worth his weight in gold about the 

 stables. A horse cannot understand sounds like a hu- 

 man being ; and the less said to him, for the most part, 

 the better. ' A few sounds, of course, are necessary ; the 

 word "whoa'' being one of these. This word should 

 mean stop : it should never mean any thing else in the 

 colt's ears. It should be pronounced in a quick, sharp, 

 imperative tone. It should never be drawled out or 

 prolonged, as if there were a dozen a's, instead of one, 

 after the o, as is often the case. Whoa means stojp^ as I 

 have said. When a colt hears it, he should stop, and stop 

 in his tracks too. It is not a word to be frequently used, 

 therefore, but to be saved for emergencies; as when 

 some strap or bolt gives way, a bit parts in the mouth, or 

 an upset occurs. At such a time you can say ^^Whoaf' 

 and if it has always meant stop to your horse, if he 

 was broken to so understand it when young, he will so 

 understand it then, and stop ; thereby saving, perhaps, 

 your limbs, or even life. The common fault is to use the 

 word to steady the horse when speeding, or to slow him 

 up. For this purpose take some other word or words ; 

 as, "Steady, boy; steady!" but let the word "whoa" 

 mean but one thing to your horse ; viz., to stop, and stop 

 instantly. The horse of ordinary intelligence can be 

 made to understand this with very little trouble, and 

 in less than a dozen lessons, I have seen horses trained 



