INTRODUCTION 18 



that it is a pity the principles are not generally 

 taught and adopted, and this, and the succeeding 

 chapters will not have been written in vain, if 

 they succeed in helping some of our keen young 

 riders to make themselves better horsemen, and 

 their horses better servants. 



There is one more point upon which I want to 

 dwell for a few moments, before concluding these 

 opening remarks. I think the horse's sensibility 

 to pain is not sufficiently realized by the majority 

 of people, but the reason for this is not obscure. 

 The horse has no means of expressing his feelings, 

 neither vocally nor by facial contraction, and as 

 long as we ourselves are not made aware of the pain 

 inflicted, we are inclined to delude ourselves that 

 it does not exist. I have heard it actually said 

 that horses don't mind being branded ! Yet, I 

 once had a polo pony, an argentine, who had been 

 branded no less than four times, and when I was 

 singeing in the stable I always had to take this 

 pony away. Each time he smelt the burning hair 

 he broke out into a violent perspiration, and 

 showed every sign of terror. He, of course, could 

 never be singed, and I never attempted to do so. 



The human faculty for reasoning is very limited. 

 Most people can only form " a priori " opinions, and 

 their views of life, of men and of matter are purely 

 subjective. Most men dislike shooting hares, 

 because they cry when hit, but have no objection 

 to shooting pheasants. A man seen beating a dog 

 is called an inhuman monster, but the very accuser 

 quite probably will cut his horse to ribbands with 



