PREFACE 



During the greater part of my life it has fallen 

 to my lot to have a great deal to do with horses ; 

 in breeding them and studying them, in raising 

 them and breaking them to harness, in their care 

 and feeding and in the cure of their vices, when 

 they were so unfortunate as to have them, a large 

 part of my time has been occupied. The knowl- 

 edge that is gained in the school of experience is 

 generally conceded to be of the most valuable and 

 practical kind, and it has occurred to me that 

 some of the things I have thus been able to learn 

 may be of much value to others. 



In handling " inquiries and answers " concern- 

 ing equine matters for a great American period- 

 ical, I have often been surprised to see, in the let- 

 ters that have come to me from all parts of the 

 country and from people of widely varying means 

 and conditions, how similar they are in kind. Al- 

 most invariably the inquiries concern such prac- 

 tical matters as how to feed and stable, how to 

 breed so as to produce a good horse for the pur- 

 pose intended, how to break to harness, and what 

 to do to cure such vices as running away, shying, 

 kicking, or balking. It has seemed to me that 



