FIFTEEN] HAPPY ANIMALS 



The possessor of the oats thereupon pushed his 

 bag with his nose, until the other could reach it. 

 Then, after a friendly nose-rub of salutation, the 

 two horses finished the oats together. 



It pays to treat any animal with kindness, but 

 especially a horse. A well-treated and properly 

 fed horse will last thirty years, and be of good ser- 

 vice most of the time. It is a sad comment on our 

 country economy that most horses are killed off 

 within fifteen years. I have in mind a minister of the 

 Gospel, a man in a position to make his example 

 tell, who drives his horse up hill and down hill on a 

 jump, and manages to ruin a noble animal within 

 three years. Prof. Mingo says, "It is foolish, 

 brutal, and inhuman to think that you can whip an 

 idea into a horse; it cannot be done. Colts should 

 be educated, not broken." There is a big volume 

 in this. I have seen enough of both of these under- 

 takings to know that he is correct. If you will be 

 gentle and rational with a horse, he will learn rapidly 

 to respond with reason. A young horse should 

 never know that a whip exists. Educate him to do 

 his best , and then help him while he is trying to do 

 it. Help with words, and with the lines. Pound- 

 ing never did a bit of good. A balky horse is sim- 



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