VICES ON THE ROAD 113 



strong person has brought the animal into subjugation, he 

 is always dangerous to the next man who mounts him. 

 When the difficulty of mounting arises, not from eagerness 

 to start, but from unwillingness to be ridden, the sooner 

 such a horse is disposed of the better, unless the owner is 

 determined to try his hand at horse-breaking. When the 

 restiveness, on the other hand, merely amounts to eager- 

 ness to start (very unpleasant, indeed, at any time, for 

 many a rider has been thrown from his seat before he was 

 fairly fixed in it), it may be remedied by an active and 

 good horseman. We have known many instances in which, 

 while the elderly and inactive and fearful man has been 

 making more than one ineffectual attempt to vault into the 

 saddle, the horse has been dancing about, to his annoyance 

 and danger ; but the animal had no sooner been transferred 

 to the management of a younger and more agile rider than 

 he became perfectly subdued. Severity will here, more 

 decidedly than in any other case, do harm. The rider 

 should be fearless ; he should carelessly and confidently 

 approach the horse, mount at the first eff'ort, and then 

 restrain him for a while, patting him, and not suffering him 

 to proceed until he becomes perfectly quiet. These horses 

 should not be too highly fed, and should daily have 

 sufficient exercise. 



Shying. — Whether this arises from fear, vice, or playful- 

 ness, it is equally important to check its earliest displays. 

 Shying is one of the worst of habits, and more accidents 

 have resulted from it than all other vices or defects. One 

 cause of shyness is defective vision ; timidity stands next, 

 and it often proceeds from a frolicsome disposition. Shying 

 is less common among high-blooded horses than half-bred 

 ones, although it is occasionally found among our first-class 

 racers. 



When shying proceeds from playfulness it is difficult to 

 judge what mode of cure is best to be adopted ; because if 

 corrected for it, he will associate with any object that 

 diverts his attention the infliction of punishment, which 

 will tempt him to run away, under the dread of a flogging ; 

 and if caressed for the fault it is liable to induce him to 

 repeat it. But, of two evils, gentle correction must be 

 adopted, and rather to pass by the object than to take him 

 up to it. He should also be spoken to sharply. 



If shying proceeds from fear of new objects, the way to 



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