310 A POSITION. 



only means of teaching him. Pain, perhaps, is a word 

 that carries with it too strong an idea of suffering : 

 we*will therefore substitute that of inconvenience. 



To show about the quantum of pain, or rather in- 

 convenience, that in an ordinary way it may be 

 necessary to subject a horse to in teaching him, we 

 will suppose we want him to stand with his two fore 

 legs stretched out before him : if he is struck several 

 times successively on the back part of the legs, he 

 naturally puts them forward; if when he has done 

 this, he is caressed and fed while he stands thus, 

 and finds his leg again struck as soon as he puts it 

 back, he of course prefers the little inconvenience of 

 standing on the stretch, and being caressed and fed, 

 to getting a stroke on his legs : he will soon learn to 

 know the signal made to him to put himself in this 

 position, and to remain in it so long as that signal 

 continues ; for if he finds, that a stroke of the stick 

 invariably follows his neglecting to obey that signal, 

 or his changing his position till told to do so, he finds 

 obedience contributes most to his comfort. After 

 some time he does this from habit, as much as com- 

 mon horses give their leg to the groom from habit as 

 soon as he gives them the signal to do so, by giving 

 it a pat with the palm of his hand. 



When I say that to induce a horse to put his legs 

 forward a stick is made use of, it must not be under- 

 stood that a severe blow is given, or one that abso- 

 lutely puts him to pain ; for if it was, so far from pro- 

 ducing the effect wanted, the horse would run forwards, 

 backwards, or sideways, to avoid a repetition of it : he 

 would get alarmed and probably out of temper, in 

 either of which cases it would be useless to attempt 

 to go on with his lesson. He must be sent into the 



