chapter rv; 



cure or yicES 



IN all training of horses — whether breaking 

 to harness, the cure of bad habits, or teach- 

 ing the tricks of the circus — the first es- 

 sential is to understand the nature of the horse. 

 For all scientific training is based upon certain 

 features in the horse's mental make-up, and 

 without a knowledge of these features no great 

 success can be made. With it you can do things 

 that the majority of those who use horses cannot 

 do. And yet there is no magic in good horseman- 

 ship. It is an art, to be studied and learned like 

 any other art. And although, as in other things, 

 those who have the most natural aptitude for it 

 can become the most proficient, yet its principles 

 are simple and can be mastered by any one. 



It was stated by Darwin many years ago that 

 the minds of animals do not differ from those of 

 men in kind, but only in degree, and this is so 

 evident that I do not think any intelligent man, 

 who has had much experience with horses, can 

 doubt it for a moment. The horse has the same 

 emotions as man — love, hate, fear, jealousy — and 



fiO 



