EI^GLISH VS. IRISH RIDING. 41 



THE USE OF THE EARS. 



If a pair of horses, fresli from the straw yard, be 

 liitched to a street car and driven three or foui- miles, 

 stopping and starting on the way in obedience to the 

 reins when the bell rings, before they enter the stable? 

 again they will have learned to stop and start of their 

 own accord to the bell signal as well as if they were at 

 the work for years. The voice can be made equally 

 effective in many respects as the bit, and thus save the 

 horse many of its unnecessary tortures and annoyances, 

 especially so with the saddle-horse, whose actions are so 

 varied and often sudden as to require the use of the reins, 

 if not the voice, at every caprice of the rider ; but the 

 horseman has this secret at his command, and it tells in 

 his jDcrformances. 



If we would study the nature and anatomy of the horse 

 and see how well he is provided with every necessary 

 facultv and means to use in our varied service, we could 

 make our associations with him more agreeable to both. 

 His ears are so peculiarly shaped and set on that he can 

 throw them forward at will to hear in front, and back- 

 ward to hear in the rear. In these motions the ear takes 

 a peculiar turn, so that the inside or hollow of it is 

 turned towards the sound. One ear can be thrown back 

 to hear in the rear, while the other ear is thrown for- 

 ward as he sees and hears in front. This peculiarity in 

 the actions of the ears was not created without a purpose, 

 and trained horsemen and experienced drivers dispense 

 with a great deal of the bit government by taking advan- 

 tage of the ready use of this organ, to which the horse is 

 ever alive, so that the ease and grace of the thorough 

 horseman is concealed in the apparent mystery in his 

 skillful manasfement under all circumstances. 



If a bird's feathers are wet it cannot easily fly ; for 

 the same reason, if the horse's ear be wet he cannot 



