The Horse, as Comrade and Friend 



if you constantly use the same words for the 

 same action, how quickly he will understand 

 what you say to him. Keep a cheery voice for 

 him all the time, for he will love your voice 

 and attend to it right promptly. Watch his 

 ears ; the play he makes with them, when he 

 is trying to understand you, is a treat to see. 

 It is the inflections of your voice which he 

 follows the most readily. A rough word 

 spoken to him will send up his heart beats 

 twenty a minute. Don't do it. At the most 

 use a tone of surprise or remonstrance. It is 

 quite enough. 



The above is by way of preliminary. The 

 old horse has gone, and you have your disciple 

 to yourself for the first time. Tie up all dogs, 

 then go through all the previous performances 

 again right up to the scratching, to which he 

 will surrender himself still more freely. Stand 

 at his shoulder and scratch gradually along 

 his mane up to his ears. Try to scratch be- 

 tween them and down to his forelock. He 

 may not like it at first, but persevere. Go up 

 again to the forelock and scratch very gently 

 at the root of the ears. First time, he will 

 shake his head and move away. This was 

 just a bit too much. Don't move after him, 

 but stand where you were. He wiU come back 

 to you. Keep steady and do nothing. This 

 is disappointing. He will shake his head once 

 or twice, and out will come that soft nose for a 



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