OR, The Turn Out. 69 



paratively high, which will tend to support the horse, and 

 promote confidence in man and horse alike. In going up- 

 hill, slacken and ease the hack if necessary ; prepare to 

 check in case of stumbling. 



5th. Do not use the whip at any time without a thought 

 as to the necessity for it, and by no means irritate or tease 

 the horse by tugging at the reins. This habit renders the 

 horse callous and indifierent. 



6th. If the journey be a good distance, to be covered in 

 a given time, drive at a moderate pace throughout, and 

 by no means play at galloping and walking, which means 

 actual torture and loss of time. 



7th. If the horse is known to be nervous and to shy at 

 times, the driver must be beforehand with him, by pre- 

 paring the horse with a word, and giving the object likely 

 to be shied at a wide berth. To practise horse-breaking 

 by taking him up to the object again and again is not 

 always convenient or advisable. 



8th. If a shoe becomes loose, do not postpone the fixing 

 of it until you get home. If you can anywhere have it 

 properly secured, this will prevent accident and probable 

 lameness. 



9th. If the horse bolts or runs away, try, by all means 

 in your power, to keep your presence of mind,* by which 

 you will not abandon all control over him. Continue to 

 guide him, and speak to him ; he may yield mechanically 

 to the rein, and the danger may be, and often is, averted 

 by so doing. 



loth. It is as well to remember that the horse is, at all 

 times, grateful for any gentleness or kind act shown to- 

 wards him. 



As proving the value of a cautious driver, the following 

 will show the kind of man preferred by most gentlemen. 

 A gentleman advertised for a coachman ; three persons 

 applied, and were admitted into the parlour. The road 

 leading to the hall went near a dangerous precipice. 



♦ A friend of the Author's once argued that he knew something better than 

 "presence of mind" in a railway accident, viz.— "absence of body,"— which 

 the writer thinks equally applies to carriage accidents. 



