278 THE HORSE IN AMERICA 



a horse moves always without paddling or any 

 other lateral motion, he is a very fit subject for 

 cultivation. He can be taught to go daintily and 

 gracefully as our grandmothers walked through 

 the minuet de la couer. Throwing the feet far out in 

 front or lunging, as it is called, is a very ugly trick 

 and can be remedied in the shoeing, I am told. I 

 believe this to be true, but I have never tried it. 

 A horse with this inclination always seemed to 

 me badly bred — Hambletonian, for instance — 

 and I have not recently bothered with such. Pad- 

 dling also can often be corrected by shoeing. 

 General rules cannot be laid down as to these 

 things. Each horse has his individuality. He must 

 be so studied. When an owner brings general 

 knowledge and acute intelligence to this study he 

 can determine in a little while what is best to be 

 done in each case. In the great majority of cases 

 the best plan is to sell the horse that seems un- 

 promising, but as no horse is ever entirely satis- 

 factory some of them must be retained and edu- 

 cated by training, a training dominated by gentle- 

 ness, courage, firmness and patience — but most 

 of all patience. 



THE END 



