THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 59 



several strangers about her, and both the owner and 

 the amateur were rather seeking amusement from the 

 failure, than knowledge from the success, of their 

 experiment. It was with great difficulty Mr. Ellis 

 managed to cover the eyes of the restive and 

 frightened animal. At length he succeeded, and 

 Hew into her nostrils. No particular effect seemed 

 to follow. He then breathed into her nostrils, and 

 the moment he did so the filly at once desisted from 

 her violent struggles, stood still and trembled. From 

 that time she became very tractable. Another gen- 

 tleman also breathed into her nostrils, and she 

 evidently enjoyed it, and kept putting up her nose to 

 receive the breath. On the following morning she 

 was led out again. She was perfectly tractable, and 

 it seemed to be almost impossible to frighten her. 



Shying is a very troublesome vice, and is only to 

 be overcome by a rider of great firmness and good 

 temper. Blows will scarcely ever cure vicious habits 

 originating in fear ; they will only increase them, for 

 the horse will be possessed with the dread of two 

 evils instead of one; viz., the object itself from which 

 he starts away, and the punishment that is to follow. 

 Sometimes his shying is the consequence of defective 

 sight ; and then he must be taught to rely on his 

 rider, and to learn from him that the object of his 



