68 THE HORSE 



Every such experience renders the colt less nerv- 

 ous and timid, for it increases his confidence in 

 his driver. 



But, too often, the essential factors in the case 

 are overlooked. The driver, knowing that the 

 colt does not fear such objects in the pasture, 

 foolishly assumes that he, therefore, ought not to 

 fear them in the road — forgetting the entire nov- 

 elty of the position and that, in the strangeness 

 of his new experiences, the colt's excited imagina- 

 tion readily transforms the log or stump into some 

 great beast, ready to spring upon him. So the 

 colt, instead of being shown his error in a ra- 

 tional way, is presently engaged in a foolish tussle 

 with his driver, and it is ten to one that, before it 

 is over, the colt, in some measure, has got the best 

 of it. This needless tussle and his partial victory 

 he will afterward associate with the object of his 

 fear, and he will not only feign terror of it when 

 he has really got over his fear, but will be more 

 likely to find fresh objects to shy at. 



To cure the shyer when his fear is genuine, 

 there is no way but to do what should have been 

 done in the first place; begin all over again, be 

 both patient and resolute, and properly accustom 

 him to all objects that he fears. When it is cer- 

 tain that he is only feigning terror, coercive meas- 

 ures must be used, for it is absolutely necessary 



