38 ART OF HANDLING AND TAMING DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 
harnessed. It is requisite for the veterinary surgeon to preserve 
in every circumstance a perfect sang-froid , a compound of prudence 
and courage. He should avoid getting between the animal and 
the wall or trough ; and if the beast is furious, should only attack 
him at the side, but neither before nor behind. 
In order to take out a horse furnished with a bridle, whether 
from the ranks or the stable, the reins should be seized with the 
right hand, and held elevated towards the chin. In the absence 
of a bridle, the strap of the halter may be passed over the bars. The 
animal is then led towards the door, the conductor with extended 
arm and firm step passes him, in order to avoid being pressed against 
the pilaster or the wall. If the passage is difficult or narrow, he 
first opens the door, holding the head of the horse lowered by a pres- 
sure on the bars. He then resumes his first position level with 
the left shoulder, the better to be able to oppose the weapons of the 
horse, whether he endeavours to bite, kick, or plunge. In order 
to avoid any severe or vicious kicks the conductor must forcibly 
draw the horse’s head towards him, which will force the animal 
to give his body an oblique position, and thus guard him from 
mischief. 
As a general rule, the curious observer, or he who wishes to 
observe the movements and the defences of a horse, should never 
place himself on the right of the animal, whether he is in motion 
or standing still. Observation proves that the animal almost in- 
variably kicks on the right side — his movements not being con- 
strained on that side by the hand of the conductor. When horses 
trot or gallop, it is almost always on their right side that they 
hurt those persons who do not keep out of reach of their feet. 
When there is not space to retreat far enough to avoid his 
kicks or other attacks in the stable or in the stalls, he endeavours 
to squeeze himself against his conductor, or get him under his feet. 
To avoid this requires address and courage. The man must assume 
an arched position, and seizing the horse’s head draw it towards 
him, which will contract the chest and hinder the body of the animal 
from pressing against the wall or the other horses. By this ob- 
lique direction of the head and chest the horse can be got away 
from the wall, and by a rapid movement the groom may disengage 
himself from the dangerous position in which he was placed, and 
escape the plunges of the animal. Some persons engaged in this 
manner have been compelled to seek shelter in the trough or 
in the rack ; but these means are the least efficacious, since the 
animal may in his fury attack them both with his teeth and fore- 
legs without their being able to offer any effectual resistance. 
The horse, when bridled and saddled, or harnessed to any 
