KINDNESS — ITS IMPORTANCE. - 29 



all sorts of horses, and have shown results in the way of 

 successful control of mustangs, mules and vicious horses, 

 which I defy the ability in any one to produce by any such 

 treatment. My experience tells me that breathing into 

 the nostrils or giving any medicine of which we have any 

 knowledge, will fail to make the mind of a wild or vicious 

 horse passive to control, to any marked degree. The oslets 

 which grow upon the inside of horses' legs, ground and 

 blown into the nostrils in connection with oil of Cumin, 

 Rhodium, Anise, either or all, constitute this great secret ; 

 but as good an effect can be produced by giving apples, 

 sugar and salt in equal proportions, oats, or in fact anything 

 of which the horse is fond. This is however only in part 

 an illustration of the value of some of our most essential 

 treatment in the successful management of certain peculiari- 

 ties of disposition. 



KINDNESS— ITS IMPORTANCE. 



I will call more special attention in another part of this 

 chapter, to the importance of kindness as an essential to 

 true success in making horses of a natuially wild and ner- 

 vous disposition safe and gentle. We see that a horse of a 

 sensitive, plucky nature, may be excited and roused into 

 the most determined resistance or viciousness by a little 

 exciting abusive treatment. That the more the bad part of 

 the nature is excited, the more determined and reckless the 

 resistance. Excitement heats the blood, blunts the under- 

 standing and stimulates the passions, and as a consequence, 

 increased nervousness and resistance is the result. 

 ^ Under such circumstances a horse will go beyond his 

 natural strength in resistance. Hence, the mustang, or 

 other horse, broken by exciting, exhausting force, such as 

 running, extreme whipping, &c., is not only liable to be 

 seriously injured constitutionally, but soured in temper. 

 Good illustrations of this are shown in high strung mares 

 and horses, which may be whipped severely for kicking. 

 Though perhaps weak and broken down from abuse, they 

 will squeal and kick with the true recklessness of malignant 

 hate. The very expression of the eyes shows kick. So with 

 the balker ; the whole nature is intensified in rebellion. 

 But how different if the better part of the nature is won by 



