Chapter VII 



THE HORSE'S EDUCATION 



i 



can be no such thing as a part- 

 nership arrangement in the handling of 

 any dumb beasts, and he who thinks 

 that this is exaggerated, and that 

 he and his horse are animated by a single purpose, 

 is laying up stores of trouble that will surely lead 

 him to ultimate disaster. The fables of the Arab 

 and his steed, and the verse or prose of various 

 writers who were composing for " the gallery " of 

 the general public, make interesting reading ; but 

 beware how you reduce these lovely theories to 

 practice. Any idea that your horse really knows 

 you from any one else, or that your touch has 

 any special influence over him, should be banished 

 from the mind, for it is the merest nonsense. To 

 any stranger who uses your tones he will pay as 

 much attention as to you ; to any casual whose 

 nerve and experience chance to render the hand- 

 ling of the reins, etc., similar to that of the accus- 

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