328 



Pulling Back on the Halter. — This is a vice whicL 

 has probably arisen from the horse having, at some time, 

 broken a weak halter in a fit of impatience. The only safe 

 cure for it, and this is not always successful, is to tie the 

 horse with a very strong halter, which it will be impossible 

 for him to break; finding that his efforts are futile, he 

 will, after a time, usually desist from pulling, — though 

 some incorrigible brutes will try every new halter as soon 

 as they are fastened, and will break it if possible. 



Shying is a most dangerous vice, the treatment of which 

 is thus described by Stonehenge : 



Shying is sometimes the effect of fear, and sometimes 

 of vice ; and there are many horses which begin by the 

 former and end with the latter, in consequence of misman- 

 agement. The young colt is almost always more or less 

 shy, especially if he is brought at once from the retired 

 fields where he was reared, to the streets of a busy town. 

 There are, however, numberless varieties of shyers, some 

 being dreadfully alarmed by one kind of object, which to 

 another is not at all formidable. When a horse finds that he 

 gains his object by turning round, he will often repeat the 

 turning without cause, pretending to be alarmed, and 

 looking out for excuses for it. This is not at all uncommon, 

 and with timid riders leads to a discontinuance of the ride, 

 by which the horse gains his end for the time, and repeats 

 the trick on the first occasion. In genuine shjdng from 

 fear, the eyes are generall}^ more or less defective ; but 

 sometimes this is not the cause, which is founded upon a 

 general irritability of the nervous .system. Thus, there 

 are many which never shy at meeting wagons, or other 

 similar objects, but which almost drop with fear on a small 

 bird flying out of a hedge, or any other startling sound. 

 These are also worse, because they give no notice, whereas 



