LITMIR.BIZ

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him, but the Habit of viewing the Objects which alarm him, may in time remedy the Defects of Nature.

      If notwithstanding you perceive that Sloth and Malice are added to these Faults, you must use as you find necessary both Mildness and severe Correction, and you will bestow them in proportion to the Effect they produce. For the rest, be careful never to surprize a young Horse who is shy, and apt to start, never terrify him with what he most fears, never beat him to make him come up to an Object which he dreads; accustom him by degrees to it, and have Patience; the Fear of Punishment does oftentimes more harm, and is more dreaded by him, than the very Object which first alarmed him.

      There are some Horses, who are struck with such Terror at the Sight of a Stone or Wooden Bridge, and at the Sound and Echo of the hollow Part of it, that they will fling themselves headlong into the Water, without the Riders being able to restrain them: They are to be cur'd of this Apprehension by covering the Pavement of their Stall with Wooden Planks, between two or three Feet high; and the Horse standing constantly upon them, his Feet will make the same Noise as they do when he goes over a Bridge, and he will of course grow familiar to the Sound, and lose all Apprehension of it.

      To accustom them likewise to the Noise of the Water running under the Bridge, lead him to a Mill, fix two Pillars directly over against the Wheels, and tie your Horse constantly for two Hours together, several Times in the Day; having done this, bring him back to the Bridge, let an old Horse, that is not afraid, go before him upon the Bridge, by degrees you will find him go over the Bridge as readily and quietly as if he had never had the least Apprehension.

      For Horses that are addicted to lay down in the Water, you must provide yourself with two little Leaden Balls, tie them to a Piece of Packthread, and in the Moment that he is lying down, you must drop these into his Ears, and if he rises instantly, or forbears to lay down, draw them back; but this Method is not less sure than that of breaking a Flask fill'd with Water upon his Head, and letting the Water run into his Ears.

      Fire, Smoke, the Smell of Gunpowder, and the Noise of Guns, or other Arms, naturally surprize and frighten a Horse. – There are few that will come near Fire, or pass by it without Difficulty.

      There are many Occasions however, wherein it is necessary; it is therefore proper to accustom your Horse to it. In the first place, begin with your Horse by letting him see it; and for that purpose tie him between two Pillars, and hold before him, at about thirty Paces distant, a burning Wisp of Straw; this should be continued for some Days together, repeating it several times each Day. Let the Person who holds the Brand, advance towards the Horse step by step, and let him take care to advance or stop often, as he perceives the Horse is more or less frighten'd, who in a short time will be imbolden'd, and no longer afraid of the Fire: After this get up on him, carry him slowly, and, as it were, insensibly towards the Brand, the Person who holds it taking care not to stir: If your Horse comes up to it, without being frighten'd, let the Man on Foot walk on, and let the Horse follow the Fire. Lay upon the Ground some Straw about half burnt out, and he will pass over it.

      With respect to the Noise of Arms and Drums, let your Horse hear them before you give him his Oats: Do this regularly every Day, for some time, and he will be so used to them as not to mind them.

      A Horse is said to be entier to that Hand, to which he refuses to turn; a Hurt in his Foot, Leg, or Shoulder, may often be the Cause of his refusing to turn to that Side, where he feels any Pain; a Hurt in his Loins or Haunch, a Curb or Spavin, by hindering him to bend and rest upon his Hocks, may make him guilty of this Disobedience. Art can do little towards curing these Evils, consequently a Horse so affected will never dress well, because he never can be made supple and ready; besides, every Horse is naturally inclin'd to go to one Hand more than the other, and then he will go to that Hand on which he finds himself the weakest, because with the strongest he can turn more easily.

      They may likewise refuse to turn, from some Defect in their Sight, natural or accidental. I have tried a Method to remedy this Vice, which has answer'd very well; I have put a Lunette upon the ailing Eye, and as his Fault was owing to his Eye, the Horse began by degrees to go to that Hand to which before he had refused to turn: After this I made two little Holes in the Lunette; I enlarged them afterwards, and the Eye of the Horse being thus insensibly accustom'd to receive the Light, and he to turn to that Hand, he no longer disobeyed; I exercised him in this Manner from time to time, in order to confirm him in his Obedience. – I have said, that there is no Horse who is not by Nature inclin'd to go better to one Hand than the other; their inclination generally carries them to the Left rather than to the Right. Some People impute this Preference to the Manner in which the Foal lies in its Dam's Belly, and pretend that even then it is entirely bent and turn'd to the Left: Others insist that Horses lay down generally upon their Right-side, and from thence contract a Habit to turn their Heads and Necks to the Left: But not to regard these groundless Notions, it is easier and more natural to believe, that this Habit is owing to Use, and the Manner in which they are treated by those who first have had the Care of them.

      The Halter, the Bridle, the Saddle, and the Girths are all put on and tied on the Left-side; when they are rubb'd or curried, the Man stands on the Left-side; the same when they are fed, and when they are led out, the Man holds them in his Right-hand, consequently their Head is pull'd to the Left. Here are a Chain of Reasons, sufficient to induce us to believe that if they are readier to turn to one Hand than the other, it is owing to a Habit and Custom which we ourselves have given. We seldom meet with Horses that are readier to turn to the Right-hand than the Left; and when it so happens, it oftentimes denotes an ill Temper; it demands much Time and Pains to cure them of this Fault.

      It is not proper to use severe Correction to make a Horse obey, who refuses to turn to one Hand; if he is cold and dull, he will lose all his Vigour and Courage; if he is of an angry Temper, hot and brisk, you would make him desperate and mad; work him then upon the Principles of Art, and pursue the Methods you think most likely to reform his ill Habit, and reduce him to Obedience; if he obstinately refuses to turn to one Hand, begin the next Lesson, by letting him go to his favourite Hand a turn or two; finish him on the same Hand, by degrees you'll gain him; whereas were you to do otherwise, you might make him ever afterwards rebellious. A Horse that strenuously resists his Rider, if he has Vigour and Courage, after he is reduced and conquer'd, will nevertheless succeed in what you want of him, provided he is under the Direction of an able and knowing Person, who understands the Aids of the Hand and Legs, and their mutual Harmony and Correspondence.

      Such a Horse is even preferable to one who never rebels; because in this last, Nature may be deficient, if I may so express myself, from his Want of Strength and Resolution.

      In order to teach your Horses to turn to both Hands, you must separate your Reins, as I have already mention'd; don't confine him too much, support him moderately so that you may easily draw his Head to one side or the other, as you would have him go, and to give him the greater Liberty to turn.

      If he refuses to obey, examine him; if he is by Nature impatient, hot and vicious, by no means beat him, provided he will go forwards; because being held in Hand, and kept back a little, is Punishment enough; if he stops, and strives to resist by running back, drive him forward with the Chambriere.

      The Resistance of a Horse, whose Mouth is faulty, discovers itself more in going forward than backward, and in forcing the Hand; a Horse of this sort ought never to be beat; he ought to be kept back, as I have just now said. You must endeavour to give him a good and just Apuy, and put him upon his Haunches, in order to cure him of the Trick of leaning upon his Bit, and forcing the Hand. If your Horse is heavy, never press or put him together, till you have lighten'd his Fore-part, and put him upon his Haunches, for fear of throwing him so much upon his Shoulders, that it may be very difficult afterwards to raise him. Take particular care to lighten every Horse that is heavy before, and has Malice in his Temper at the same time; for if you were to press him, he would resist you through Vice; in which Case by his Want of Strength on one hand, and being heavy and unwieldy on the other, you would be exposed to evident Danger.

      A restive Horse is one that refuses to go forward, who standing still in the same Place, defends himself, and resists his Rider in several different Manners; it is much to be fear'd that one should lose all Temper with such a Horse, since it requires a great deal of Patience to cure so Capital a Fault, and which perhaps by Habit and Time is so rooted

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