64 THE HORSE : ITS TAMING, 



noticed that'those riders who are afflicted with either 

 of these faults use the most cruel bits obtainable, and 

 to be also always ready with the whip and spur to 

 cure the horse of some imaginary fault. 



The good style of walk, trot, or canter in a perfectly 

 trained docile horse, does not satisfy these sort of 

 riders ; they never speak a kind word or use a stroke 

 of the hand to steady the actions of an over-fresh 

 horse, but rather give him a severe and cruel jerk at 

 the deeply levered curb-bit, a crack of the whip, and 

 two digs with the spurs to quiet him, sending him all 

 over the road with all ends up, to impress the public 

 with their wonderful horsemanship. 



I hold that any unnecessary punishment inflicted 

 upon a dumb animal is cruel, and should meet with 

 its deserts, no matter whether this cruelty is inflicted 

 through ignorance, or a natural brutality that some 

 men show towards all animals ; and I think that no 

 creature is so much abused in this respect as the 

 horse. 



In Australia you could ride for thousands of miles 

 in the bush, and never find a curb bit in use. You 

 may sometimes see a plain pelham, but as a rule 

 nothing but a plain snaffle. Yet, the Anglo- Australians 

 (as a race) are acknowledged to be, by all who know 

 them, perfect horsemen — men who ride daily for a 

 living, and in all probability were able to ride before 

 they could walk. 



