268 KESTIVENESS I ITS PREVENTION AND CUBE. 



into a decidedly vicious one, by awakening the devil that 

 slumbers within. For it must never be forgotten that 

 in the end the horse is stronger than the man ; that there 

 is very great danger of this becoming quite clear to the 

 former, when mere force comes to be opposed to force ; and 

 that this very consciousness is what constitutes restiveness, 

 and if exasperated by cruel treatment, vice, pure and 

 .simple. 



It is therefore necessary, in the first place, to know 

 clearly what one has to contend with whether with 

 real vice, or merely with simple insubordination : the 

 former, if curable at all, can only be dealt with suc- 

 cessfully by professional riders, who possess the proper 

 means and appliances ; the latter ought to be within 

 the scope of a great number of horsemen, if they would 

 only abstain from violence and adopt rational methods. 

 The French say, when speaking of a horse that shows 

 restiveness, " il se defend " he defends himself. There 

 is much truth in this expression, and it is one that riders 

 should constantly bear in mind, for insubordination is 

 most commonly the result of something having been 

 demanded from the horse that it either did not know 

 how to do or was unable to perform ; and the very first 

 step to be taken in all cases is, to endeavour to ascertain 

 exactly under what circumstances the disobedience was 

 first manifested and is usually shown. 



Before we affix the stigma of vice to a horse, let us 

 therefore consider for a moment what the poor thing 

 might with fairness retort, and the words ignorancej 

 timidity, or brutality will immediately suggest them- 

 selves ; for, in truth, want of judgment as to what a 

 horse can fairly do, want of decision and promptitude 

 in demanding this, or unnecessary violence in enforcing 



