132 Our Noblest Friend, The Horse 



though headed for home and close to the well-known 

 stable. Our chat finished, at the last word off he 

 starts, and in ten strides is flying along at the old 

 pace. Can you do the same? Can you perform 

 any of these feats, not with one horse but with 

 nine out of ten? Why not? It is as possible to you 

 as to any one, and you are no driver until you can 

 do it, if not in perfection at least approximately. 



Can you make a horse stand still, a nervous, fret- 

 ting animal that is anxious to be off? Try it and 

 see how seldom you can do it, and realise that you 

 have been usually standing at your animal's pleasure, 

 not he at yours. 



" Hands " accomplish all this, so called for lack 

 of better definition, although they are after all 

 but subordinate elements. Sympathy, intelligence, 

 " horse sense," common sense, intuitive perception 

 of what a horse is about to do, and almost auto- 

 matic measures to frustrate it are the essentials. 



Of course our friend the expert was really signal- 

 ling to his horse all the time he was under observa- 

 tion, but we were not quick enough O'f eye and 



