84 THE CAMEL 



however, he had substituted c intelligence ' for ' instinct,' 

 which I imagine was what he intended to convey, he 

 would have been nearer the mark. 



inteiii- I have often ridden ponies and horses across rivers 



horses in South Africa and elsewhere in which quicksands 

 considered ex j gtedj and j h ave a i ways f oun( i that, if they did not 



intuitively discover the fact, at all events when they 

 had received a practical demonstration of the pre- 

 sence of a quicksand by stepping into it, they one and 

 all quickly drew back and extricated themselves before 

 they had sunk any deeper, then refused either to go on 

 or avoided the place, chose another line, and proceeded 

 with the greatest possible caution. But in these cases, 

 knowing my animals most thoroughly, and being on the 

 most friendly terms with them, I invariably gave them 

 their heads and let them go their own way, which was 

 also my way, guiding them in reality by magnetism, 

 and outwardly by an occasional gentle pressure of the 

 leg, only so far as to keep the general direction. In 

 fact, I made a point on such occasions of never bullying 

 or forcing an animal to go a certain way ; indeed, I 

 was never once obliged to resort to such a course. 

 There can be no question that this is the best method 

 to pursue when rider and horse mutually know and 

 sympathise with each other. 



HOW to get In fact, the real secret of fathoming a horse's in- 

 with a h telligence, fidelity, and working capacity, getting in 

 practical reality the maximum return of all these 

 qualities, is through the mutual existence of sympathy 

 and love between yourself and him. And the stronger 

 this bond the more you will get out of him in every 

 way. In other words, the deeper the reciprocity, the 



