410 SUBJECTION. 



psychologizing, or putting into a state of trance. This has 

 led to a very general belief that, in like manner, certain 

 persons have the power of controlling vicious horses, so 

 that they can be rendered completely gentle. I have at 

 different times seen plausible statements by different writers 

 sustaining this theory. But notwithstanding man's intelli- 

 gence and will power are greatly superior to that of horses, 

 I never have known of a horse being directly controlled in 

 this way. I think I may assume, without presumption, that 

 I have subdued, and had treated under my supervision, 

 more exceptionally vicious horses than any other living man. 

 It has been a matter of hard, practical experience with me, 

 and I know it is impossible to control wild or vicious horses 

 by will power alone. I am so confident of this that I will 

 give any man one thousand dollars who will show that he 

 can control wild or vicious horses in any such way. I have 

 many hundreds of times made wild or vicious horses so 

 docile that they would run after, or follow me around, with- 

 out the restraint of a halter, or without being touched in 

 any way, a feat in most cases not at all difficult to per- 

 form on a suitable subject. And as I have stated in an- 

 other place, though the principles were carefully explained 

 those present would often insist that it must have been 

 done by some secret power. I am thus emphatic to cor- 

 rect this false impression, which seems to prevail in the 

 minds of all classes of society. 



As explained in another part of this chapter, any 

 method of impressing the horse with the sense of helpless- 

 ness, such as disabling, repressing by fear, intense pain, or 

 the reverse, quieting the nervous irritation by scratching 

 the mane and tail, giving apples, etc., can to a great extent 

 hold passive the impulse of resistance. The principle is to 

 so change or disconcert the general nervous action, as to 

 secure the more easy concentration of the nervous forces 



