16 The Art of Biding. 



The quality and perfection of his nervous 

 system is second only to that of man; and, perhaps, 

 we should not be far wrong in saying that, with one 

 or two exceptions, his intelligence also is second 

 only to that of man. It has been shown by a careful 

 comparison of the nervous systems of animals 

 that the intelligence displayed bears a close 

 relation to the nervous system : each kind of 

 animal rising in the scale of intelligence as its 

 network of nerves becomes more complex and 

 perfect. This fact should teach us how necessary 

 it is in dealing with the horse to make him under- 

 stand what it is we wish him to do. This can 

 only be done by kindness and great patience, 

 and any deficiency in this respect, especially in 

 the latter, displayed by the trainer will frequently 

 not only undo all the previous good, but render 

 the animal incapable of further improvement, and 

 develop all the bad qualities of his nature. 



