SHYING III 



in addition I had some fireworks, such as squibs 

 and Chinese crackers, and my friend fired my gun 

 off. I got the colt so used to the noise that he 

 would lie on the ground without any harness on and 

 not attempt to get up. He was shown all the trains 

 and motors, and taken under a bridge for a lesson, where 

 he allowed the trains to go over without any commotion. 

 Then I took him on top of a bridge and let him see a 

 few trains pass beneath. I got him used to everything, 

 and he was never any trouble. Yet he was high-spirited, 

 very showy and full of courage. I should like to point 

 out that he was never frightened ; he was carefully 

 shown everything. 



Never frighten a horse. Have patience, and show 

 him everything quietly, and he will soon learn not to 

 shy. When a horse is a confirmed shyer it is obvious 

 that at some time he has been frightened by the object 

 he shies at. I had a mare some years ago who would 

 pass everything with the exception of a three-wheeled 

 tricycle. I learned indirectly that one of these tricycles 

 had run into her and frightened her. I procured a 

 tricycle and placed it in a big loose-box with her, after 

 which I rested half a truss of hay on the seat and handle- 

 bars. The mare was kept short of food, so she ate the 

 hay — afterwards to find underneath it a tricycle that 



