Equine Education 73 



possible this fact must be brought to his attention, 

 or his one successful effort at insubordination may- 

 recur to him at any moment. There is no horse so 

 genuinely dangerous as the one who (probably of 

 lethargic temperament) has been brought up by 

 some old farmer, who has, through his slow and 

 gradual processes, probably never fought a pitched 

 battle with the pupil — and conquered. Such an 

 animal's docility is but a thin veneer which may crack 

 at any moment, and when it does, look out! He 

 never has been mastered, — as boy or colt we must 

 all have been (once at least) if we are dependable 

 now, — and any occurrence outside the usual routine 

 may cause serious and immediate disaster. Assert 

 3''Ourself at all stages, and if a quarrel does not brew 

 naturally, why, pick one — but only when you are 

 sure you can win. 



Further education proceeds upon the same princi- 

 ples exactly, and advances depend upon what you 

 personally want and how you want it done. If 

 you wish your saddle-horse to go through his paces 

 by employing exactly wrong aids and indications 



