t 



of his capabilities by dwelling on the road, is to descend 

 quietly from the vehicle, and go to his head, having 

 previously handed the reins to your friend (if accom- 

 panied) to be held slack or loose — at the same time 

 patting and speaking to the horse and using his 

 name. Wiping him over with the hand ; rubbing his 

 ears and mouth, and moving parts of the harness has 

 been known to turn the attention of the accidental jibber, 

 and a steady day's v/ork has been the result. After 

 this little attention to the horse, the box should be 

 mounted quietly, and not with a rush ; the horse should 

 be led, if anvone is at hand, and afterwards allowed to 

 proceed of his own will, and, for a time, must be repeatedly 

 spoken to. The application of force — such as turning 

 the wheels round, and pushing behind, should be avoided 

 as it is calculated to make the horse more obstinate, 

 and although it may succeed at first, never proves effectual 

 a second time. The following experiment the author 

 has many times found to be successful in making the 

 steed glad to go forward ; — namely, standing immediately 

 in front of the horse with the rein billetts in each 

 hand, at the same time putting the steady weight of 

 the whole body against the horse, taking care to 

 keep him in the middle of the road ; and it must 

 be remembered that sawing the mouth must not be 

 resorted to, but firm and steady pressure, backing as 

 quickly as possible until the horse expresses an anxiety 

 to proceed onward by pushing against you, when it will be 

 invariably found that the animal is anxious to start right 

 away, but must be made to stand quite still until the 

 driver is in his place again on the box, which must be 

 mounted without the least flourish or noise. Care must be 

 taken not to thrash the horse when he does go, and should 

 he during the journey forget the foregoing lesson, it should 

 be repeated, and the dose slightly increased, conversation 



