COERCION 



speed ; it is the perfection of equine prowess, 

 resulting from great quickness and the confidence 

 of much experience. An arrant refuser' usually 

 puts on the steam of his own accord, like a 

 confirmed rusher, and wheels to right or left at 

 the last moment, with an activity that, displayed 

 in a better cause, would be beyond praise. The 

 rider, too, has more command of his horse, when 

 forced up to the bit in a slow canter than at any 

 other pace. 



Thoroughbred horses, until their education is 

 complete, are apt to get very close to their fences, 

 preferring, as it would seem, to go into them on 

 this side rather than the other. It is not a style 

 that inspires confidence ; yet these crafty, careful 

 creatures are safer than they seem, and from 

 jumping in a collected form, with their hind legs 

 under them, extricate themselves with surprising 

 address from difficulties that, after a little more 

 tuition, they will never be in. They are really 

 less afraid of their fences, and consequently less 

 flurried, than the wilful, impetuous brute that 

 loses its equanimity from the moment it catches 

 sight of an obstacle, and miscalculating its distance, 

 in sheer nervousness — most fatal error of all — 

 takes off too soon. 



I will now suppose that in the wake of your 

 pilot you have negotiated two or three fences 

 with some expenditure of nerve and temper, but 



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