Timidity. Panic. Stampede. 25 



A more speedy removal of the habit of dread may often be 

 secured by the principle of substitution. The mind of the animal 

 does not readily attend to more than one matter at a time ; if, 

 therefore, we can distract the attention in another direction, the 

 object of fear may be virtually ignored until the eye has become 

 habituated to it, and it will be recognized as harmless. Thus it is 

 that a twitch on the upper or lower lip, a binding of the chin in 

 upon the breast by a Yankee bridle may make the horse tempo- 

 rarily heedless of the object of terror. So also in the bolting 

 horse, the obstruction of the breath by a cord with a running 

 noose around the neck, or the sending of an electric current 

 through wire reins and bit will promptly check him in his wild 

 career. 



The result is still better when the animal is made to feel his 

 utter helplessness in the hands of man and the futility of any at- 

 tempt to escape. On this are based the method of Rarey and of 

 his various successors. With fore limbs strapped up, the animal 

 soon exhausts himself in his efforts to disengage them and escape, 

 and lies down completely reconciled to his fate. He may now be 

 accustomed to his objects of terror — the opening and closing of 

 an umbrella, or the waving of a flag over his head, the discharge 

 of a gun close to his ear, the passing of car or locomotive, or any 

 other object of his dread. When allowed to get up he will usu- 

 ally pay no further attention to these things, especially if patted 

 and spoken to encouragingly, and perhaps fed apple or sugar, or 

 something of which he is fond. As far as is consistent with the 

 thoroughness of the subjection, the animal should be treated 

 throughout with the greatest kindness, so as to retain and even 

 increase his trust in man and sense of dependence, while at the 

 same time he is strongly impressed with the futility of resistance 

 to his will. After the animal has been thus taught to bear with 

 equanimity his former objects of terror, he should not be at once 

 allowed to forget them, but by daily experience he should be con- 

 firmed in the conviction that they are harmless, and may be met 

 with safety. This should be carried out, if possible, in the hands 

 of the bold and kind operator who has trained him, as, if returned 

 to a timid driver or rider, he may be easily lead back into his for- 

 mer habits of blind terror. A similar and even easier resort is the 

 process of turning as given under balking. 



