THE HORSE: ITS KEEP AND MANAGEMENT. 127 



It is in this simple way that many valuable horses 

 are spoiled after they are broken in. I am referring more 

 particularly to carriage horses and hackneys. Never touch 

 a horse with the whip when its shies. It must be borne 

 in mind that a young horse is usually more or less nervous, 

 and when it shies, or is a little frightened at anything, if 

 the driver gives it a lash with the whip it naturally 

 becomes very frightened. The person who drives says 

 to himself, "Yes, I'll soon teach you to shy, my boy." 

 But when anything on the road startles him again he 

 is worse than he was the first time, because he is expecting 

 every second to have the whip drawn across him. If 

 this is done a few times the driver will have a great deal 

 of trouble with it. If the horse belongs to a gentleman, 

 his wife very soon tells him she dare not ride behind the 

 animal, and he will have to get another horse. In 

 this way many good horses are passed on from one to 

 another. It cannot be wondered at that ladies are 

 frightened to ride behind such horses, for the simple 

 reason they are liable to turn the trap over. It is not 

 always the animal's fault nor the person who sold it, it is 

 merely through want of thought on the part of the driver. 

 I am not saying this without experience, I have noticed 

 horses treated in the way I have described over and 

 over again. When a young horse shies he should never be 

 punished under any consideration, but just held tightly by 

 the reins and spoken kindly to. I always find it the 

 safest plan to coax a horse which is nervous, and when 

 he starts at anything pat him gently, saying " Whoa, 

 boy, Whoa, my beauty," two or three times, and at the 



