168 THE HORSE 



resist flicking his horse's back with the whip in 

 and out of season, then the whip must be kept in 

 its socket, so that he may not be tempted to make 

 improper use of it. 



As a rule, it is not advisable to whip a horse 

 for shying. If he is really frightened the punish- 

 ment will only increase his fright ; if he shies 

 from high spirits, such bad manners must be suit- 

 ably punished only if it is impossible to ignore 

 them altogether. 



In these days of motor cars and other road 

 nuisances, it is especially necessary that only com- 

 petent and experienced diivers should be allowed 

 on the roads. Very often a horse shies at some 

 object solely because of the nervousness of his 

 driver. By instinctively tightening the reins, and 

 settling himself in his seat, the driver conveys to 

 the horse that something is about to happen. The 

 animal becomes agitated and nervous by the un- 

 usual signs conveyed by the reins, looks about 

 expectantly for the supposed danger, and shies or 

 otherwise displays his alarm at some object which, 

 had the driver not given him the office, he would 

 probably have taken no notice of. 



Always put on the brake gradually, and in a 

 degree to correspond with the steepness of the 



