THE HORSE. 35 



tame; those, the heritage of which is restifness, a 

 vice which, though temporarily subdued by excess of 

 severity, will never fail throughout life to reappear on 

 a proper occasion ; and no one more proper than the 

 subtle brute being conscious of a fearful rider. Great 

 is the pity, that it cannot be afforded to knock these 

 on the head at once. Many broken limbs and lost 

 lives might thence have been saved. The case of 

 shying should be particularly attended to by the 

 breaker. It arises from three causes : actual fear, 

 skittishness, and roguery. The more racing blood a 

 horse has, the less he is subject to this infirmity or 

 vice. The only remedy in the case is, hold hard and 

 be quiet. As to the whip and spur, and the silly check- 

 ing a really fearful horse with a sharp curb, as though 

 the intent were to break his jaw bone, it is truly a 

 noodling, unthinking, as well as cruel practice. It is, 

 in fact, an excellent recipe to advance the nag in the 

 noble accomplishments of shying and starting, since, 

 in association with the object, he naturally expects 

 the whip and spur. 



With affected shyers, some severity may be neces- 

 sary. These chaps generally fix upon some particular 

 shying but: for example, I recollect having, at different 

 periods, three hacks, all very powerful ; the one made 

 choice of a windmill for the object or but, the other 

 a tilted waggon, and the last a pig led in a string. I 

 was once placed in a very dangerous predicament by 

 this last, on a road filled with carriages. It so hap- 

 pened, however, that I rode the two former when 

 amiss from a violent cold, and they then paid no more 

 attention to either windmills or tilted waggons, than 



