LADIES' HORSEMANSHIP 143 



light of a rushlight ; go on by imperceptible degrees, and 

 in two days be will hear a musket go off without the least 

 fear. Alarm him by the report of a gun at first, it will 

 take years, perhaps, to reconcile liim to it, if it is ever 

 done ; but by never creating alarm, he may in a week be 

 brought to stand by a cannon without wincing. 



Absolutely Imrting or absolutely alarming produce 

 nearly similar results in brutes as in the human race. A 

 person that has been pursued by an infuriated ox has the 

 same dread of an ox as another who has been tossed on his 

 horns — perhaps more, if the latter was not much hurt, the 

 anticipations of the former being probably much more 

 terrible than the tossing of the latter ; as, in the ordinary 

 circumstances of life, the dread of an event is often more 

 horrible than the realisation itself. Many a man who has 

 worked himself into a fever and high state of nervous 

 irritability during the night from the apprehension of an 

 operation in the morning has borne that o}>eration firmly, 

 and allowed that his fears had greatly exceeded the reality. 

 Fear is a most powerful agent, and, where it is once 

 awakened, a most difficult one to tranquiilise. 



With horses, a minute awakens fear that years will not 

 eradicate. We cannot reason with them, or explain away 

 the cause of their alarm ; so, if any irrational animal is 

 once hurt by anything he sees or hears, or is seriously 

 alarmed by it, hearing or seeing the same thing without 

 sustaining any injury from it a hundred times afterwards 

 barely suffices to reassure his fears of it. Frighten a boy 

 by the appearance of a ghost, and let that ghost strike at 

 him, he is alarmed ; throw ofi' the sheet, and let him see it 

 vv^as his sister dressed up, his alarm is gone ; nay, he would 

 probably think less of ghosts in future. We cannot do this 

 with animals ; so, in educating them, nothing but length of 

 time can overcome terror ; and till terror is assuaged, they 

 have not even the instinct nature gave them. 



Ladies may fancy that if a horse has a tender mouth, 

 there can be no fear of his going off with them. He would 

 not on any ordinary occasion or under any ordinary excite- 

 ment ; if, however, he gets frightened, mouth will avail 

 nothing ; he becomes totally insensible to pain. The more 

 timid, therefore, he is, the more dangerous he is ; and, vice 

 versa, the more courageous, the more safe. Why are 

 veterans more to be depended on than raw troops ? Mainly 



