Operating thus on his mouth severely, if necessary, will engage his attention, and cheat him out of his apprehension for the moment. It is bad horsemanship, and dangerous besides, to force a horse’s head towards an offending object while in motion; but if it is particularly desirable that the animal should become familiarised with anything of which he is shy, let him be brought to a standstill, and coaxed up gradually to it, that he may assure himself of its harmlessness by smelling and feeling it with his nose and lips, if possible. Punishment by whip or spur—what is called “cramming” him up to a thing—is a vile error.
When a horse is found to evince a confirmed objection to passing a particular place, and that he keeps bolting and turning viciously in spite of all ordinary efforts to prevent it, take him at his own fancy, and keep turning and turning him till he is so tired of that game that he will only be too glad to go forward past the objectionable spot. A horse’s sense of smelling is very acute, and sometimes a dead animal in the ditch or field by the side of the road, though unseen, will cause an abrupt and very unseating sort of a shy, with an ordinarily quiet beast of sensitive olfactory nerves.
SELLING.
If the horse you wish to dispose of be a fancy one, either for beauty, action, or disposition, and a fancy price be required, efforts must be made to obtain the fancy customer to suit, and time and attention must be devoted to that object. But if he be of the ordinary useful class, unless a purchaser be found at once, let the owner, directly he has made up his mind to part with him, think of the best market available, whether public auction, a fair, or private sale by commission.
The public auction, with a good description of the animal’s merits, if he has any, is the readiest and least troublesome mode of disposing of all unsuitable property; and from my own experience, I should say that the better plan is to make up one’s mind positively to dispose of such the first time it is put up by the auctioneer, having, of course, placed a reasonable and rather low reserve price on it, and provided that the sale be fairly attended by purchasers; otherwise I should not allow my property to be offered until a more favourable opportunity.
A valuable and fancy animal, if his owner is not pressed to sell, had better be disposed of by full advertisement and private sale at his own stable. It is bad management to exhibit for sale an animal that is out of condition; it always pays to make your horse look as well as possible before he meets the eye of a customer. There is an old and true saying, “no meat sells so well as horse meat”—of course animal flesh is here alluded to.
CAPRICE.[27]
All horsemen know how whimsical horses are, and the best riders feel a certain amount of diffidence, and even awkwardness, on beginning with any new mount, until a more perfect acquaintance is established between man and horse.
A horseman who identifies himself with his steed will sometimes by a mere fluke hit off the means of having his own way with a capricious though perhaps really well-disposed animal, if one only knew the way to manage him.
For instance, a first-class hunter of my own (Baronet), whose excellent performance in the field, where I had seen him tried, induced me to purchase him, soon gave evidence of a peculiarity for which, unknown to me, he had made himself remarkable. No ordinary means could prevail upon him to go through any street of a town except such as he pleased himself, of which he gave me evidence the first day I had occasion to try him in that way, walking on his hind legs directly his will was disputed on the subject, even to the extent of a mere pressure on the rein at the side he was required to turn. In my difficulty, instinct prompted me to drop the reins and gently direct his progress with the point of the whip at the side of his nose, and in this way he went ever after as quiet as a sheep with me. Having discovered his caprice, I was always provided with a handle of a whip or a switch of some kind for his benefit. Riding him one day into Dycer’s, an old acquaintance of his, well aware of his propensity, exclaimed in terms not complimentary to Baronet at my possession of him, and was much amused when I told him my simple method of managing this self-willed gentleman.