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CHAPTER XI. 



MISTAKES AND THEIR CAUSES. 



It is simply impossible to lay down a precise set 

 of rules by which to be entirely guided, for, as pre- 

 viously stated, horses vary as much in temperament 

 as individuals so that what is applicable for one 

 would not be applicable or even necessary for another. 

 It is not held that, in advocating general kindness, 

 a horse should never be corrected. On the contrary, 

 he should never be permitted to make a single 

 mistake without being checked, and checked in 

 proportion to its nature and extent, and according 

 to his particular temperament. At the same time, 

 however, it is an acknowledged truism that probably 

 ninety per cent, of mistakes with which the horse is 

 credited arise through mismanagement in some way 

 or another, and only the remaining ten per cent, pro- 

 perly belong to the horse. The horse is too often 

 used like a machine. He is sent along like a motor 

 car without the least consideration being given to 

 his wind and limbs, or the nature of the road he 

 is travelling over. Some men never seem to realise 

 that it is possible to tire a horse, and expect him 

 to go on interminably, and the poor animal, in such 



