DEFENSES OF THE HORSE, 277 



it is either from exuberance of spirits, because 

 he has not been sufficiently exercised, or else 

 because he has detected timidity in his rider, 

 and shies from pure love of mischief and the 

 desire to amuse liimself by augmenting her 

 fears. Although not intending any real harm, 

 he may manage, to his own astonishment, to 

 unseat her, and, by thus discovering what he 

 can do, may become a vicious rogue, and make 

 every strange object an excuse for a dangerous 

 shy. The only remedy for this affectation and 

 mischievousness will be a courageous and de- 

 termined rider on his back, who will give him 

 more work than he likes ; he wdll then, of his 

 own accord, soon tire of his tricks. 



When a horse' that has had plenty of work 

 and a good rider to manage him nevertheless 

 continues to shy, it ^\i\\ generally be found that 

 his vision is defective. If he is a young horse, 

 with very prominent eyes, the probability is 

 that he is near-sighted ; if an old horse, that 

 his vision — having undergone a change sim- 

 ilar to that of a human being who is advanced 

 in years — is imperfect for .near objects, which 

 appear confused and blurred ; in other words, 

 that he is troubled with long-sightedness, or 

 presbyopia. In these cases the horse becomes 

 fearful and suspicious, and his quick imagination 



