210 TEY SOMETHING NEW. 



day with certainty, without any one near him, but to the end of 

 his life he would never try to take six. 



488. — If the horse stops afcer his shoulders have been 

 warmed, and where the pulling is not heavy, yoa have a puzzling 

 and very uncertain case to deal with ; most likely one upon 

 which many doctors have tried their mischievous hands. Horses 

 that have long been used in the saddle only, and have been quiet 

 enough to put into harness, at an advanced age, without having 

 been taught to pull (380), or getting any real harness education, 

 are most often seen to exhibit this form of jibbing. AYhen such 

 a horse stops, you will see by his every attitude that he expects 

 to be beaten or persecuted in some way, and yet he sticks up 

 and prepares himself, as if he practically wanted a repetition of 

 the suffering he has learned to dread and expect. 



489. — Whatever you do with these poor but provoking 

 creatures you must not oblige them with what they are thus so 

 evidently prepared to receive, but at once direct their attention 

 from the strange fear, fancy, or frenzy that has come over them. 

 Do something that is not likely to have entered into the horse's 

 calculations. Fasten up the reins, so that they will be quite 

 loose on the horse's mouth, and within reach when you hastily 

 return to your seat. Put a handkerchief round one of his fore 

 pasterns, and hold up one of his fore legs for a few minutes, 

 or tie it up to his girth. When the foot is put down, if he shows 

 no desire to go on, take him gently by the head, and get him to 

 go backwards for a little way. Then leave his head and 

 going back to his shoulder, give him a sudden push, first from 

 one side, and then from the other, so as to make him move 

 sideways. When he starts forward, don't stop him to get into 

 the carriage, but get back to your seat without touching the 

 reins ; or failing that, run by his side for a while, and very 

 gently slow him down as much as may be necessary, but do not 

 stop if you can help it. 



490. — Sometimes a start can be made by putting your 

 handkerchief round one of his fore pasterns, and pulling 

 the foot forward on the ground, holding it there until the 

 horse brings his other legs up to it, and then repeating the 



