WITH THE EEADBE. 459 



by the bold pretensions of parties I have occasionally met, 

 who claimed to be able to perform the most wonderful feats 

 with horses ; such, for example, as being able to make any 

 horse in the world — no matter how vicious — stand gently 

 to be shod, or be able to drive or ride any horse without 

 breeching, etc., etc., in a few minutes. The positiveness 

 of such assertions frequently led me to believe they really 

 were in possession of new and important secrets, as I 

 knew I had no treatment by which I could in so short a 

 time perform such feats in the control of all cases. But 

 invariably, in tracing the matter up, I found that their 

 knowledge of the subject was very limited, being entirely 

 based upon the use of one of the simpler methods of sub- 

 jection given ; and further, that many such persons had 

 obtained their knowledge by attending one of my classes 

 years before, or had learned the points indirectly of others ; 

 proving conclusively that I had nothing to learn from them, 

 and enabling me to determine at once just what they 

 could do. 



I refer to these cases to show that if I could be influ- 

 enced by the pretensions of such persons how easy it must 

 be to impose upon and mislead those having but a very 

 limited knowledge of the subject. 



As to the nse of pretended secrets in the way of drugs, 

 etc., it is very easy to settle all doubt in the matter, as any 

 one can obtain and experiment with them for himself. 



I have tried to make every point so simple and plain 

 that the reader can easily understand that there is no 

 mystery in the control of horses, beyond that of skillful, 

 intelligent treatment ; that when managed according to the 

 laws of their nature, it becomes a very simple matter to 

 subdue and control even the most vicious horses ; that 

 every horse made vicious or unmanageable, is so, in reality, 

 as the result of ignorance and bad treatment. 



