THE ETHICS OF HORSE-KEEPING, 11 
ease, and he can twist in and out amongst the throng 
of vehicles, when a momentary display of self-will in 
the animal would be the cause of an immediate acci- 
dent. ‘The ass appears to be incapable of any delicate 
discipline of this kind.” 
What makes the horse so delicate an instrument to 
play upon is the quick and fine connection between 
his nerves and his brain, and the sensitiveness of his 
skin. People who have never entered into the art of 
driving or riding, though they may both drive and 
ride all their lives, think that holding the reins is 
something like steering a heavy boat: pull to the 
right if you want to go in that direction, pull hard 
if you want to stop, and so on.) But the real art of 
driving and riding is the exercise of a light, firm, 
sensitive hand upon the reins, and the continual play 
of intelligence, of command on the one hand and 
of obedience on the other, between the man and 
the horse. 
The same nervous development that makes the 
horse a sensitive, controllable, pliable animal makes 
him also capable of great feats. To run or trot fast, in 
heat after heat, requires not only mechanical fitness, 
such as well proportioned limbs, good bone and mus- 
cle, good lung power, etc., but also an inward energy, 
the “do or die” spirit, as horsemen call it. Many a 
1 Opinion as to what constitutes excellence in horse-flesh is very 
diverse. I remember once hearing the praises of a certain Dobbin 
sung with great enthusiasm by a literary man. This was the most 
perfect horse in the world; but, on cross-examination, perfection 
was found to reside in one quality, — wherever you left him, there 
the animal would stand without being tied. You might be gone a 
year, and come back to find him still waiting for you in the middle 
of the road. 
