XIII 

 COURAGE VS. FUNK 



TRUE AND FALSE NERVE CATALEPTIC RIDERS PREPARATION 



A CASE OF FUNK THAT REACHED COLLAPSE 



[OURAGE is a product of nerve. Nerve 

 is the result of health. Health comes from 

 good nutrition, and nutrition depends upon 

 the stomach. The best way to produce cour- 

 age is to cultivate good health. The best way to cultivate 

 good health is to take plenty of exercise in the open air. 

 The best way to accomplish this is to ride horseback. A 

 torpid liver makes a mountain of an ant-hill ; a stout 

 stomach makes an ant-hill of a mountain ; and no matter 

 what the obstacle is, it is only what it looks to be. 



The one great thing in the way of a horse's education 

 and of successful cross-country work is fear. The way to 

 subdue fear in a horse is by confidence. The way to over- 

 come fear in a rider is to keep the body in a healthy con- 

 dition. Weak, shattered nerves are a fruitful source of 

 fear in man, and a horse's natural timidity makes it easy to 

 transmit fear to the horse. Anything the rider can do or 

 not do to strengthen his nerves will likewise strengthen his 

 courage and the horse's. If tobacco irritates his nerves, he 



147 



