56 PREVENTING AND OVERCOMING FEAR. 



quiet as any old thoroughly-trained horse could. They 

 said that beat them ; that they could not see how on earth 

 I could, in so short a time, make so complete a change in 

 him ; that he was the most fearful horse they had ever 

 seen ; and that they could not believe it possible that he 

 could be made so gentle and safe. But there was the 

 simple fact ; Press and all were there ; it was the same 

 horse brought into the city the day before, and was 

 treated by me in the presence of a class of over a hun- 

 dred. Such feats as these are what startle a people ; and 

 I need not add that this, with other feats of control, gave 

 me great success in that section of the country at the 

 time. 



Nearly every kicking, runaway colt and horse is moved 

 by fear ; and I refer at this length to the cases above 

 mentioned, to show the practicability of breaking such 

 horses, and making them safe when right principles gov- 

 ern the efforts. I would state here that an impression of 

 fear may be made so intense as to destroy life, or shatter 

 the nervous system to a degree that partially or wholly 

 destroys the reason. This possibility you cannot over- 

 look. When a man tells me his horse is afraid of an 

 object, I tell him, if bad, I must see the horse, to learn 

 how much, if any, the nervous system has been deranged. 

 The expression of the eye, when a little excited, will enable 

 determining this. I am now referring to what is possible, 

 not what is to be expected in cases of average kicking 

 runaway scrapes, or ordinary fear of a robe, umbrellas, 

 and other objects of this nature. One or two sharp lessons 

 ought to overcome these difficulties. All impressions, it is 

 supposed, are made upon a series of concentric nerves in 

 the brain, called ganglia, which retain or throw off impres- 

 sions by reflex action. Success gives confidence ; failure 

 and injury, an undue sensibility to fear. If the cars come 

 upon you suddenly and frighten your horse, causing a run- 

 away scrape, the sudden and close proximity of a train of 

 cars afterwards would cause anxiety while driving even a 

 gentle horse. But the horse reasons from the effect upon 

 his nervous system and the side of his reason acted 

 directly upon. He may be in a position of danger, but 

 not knowing it is indifferent ; while that which seems dan- 



