News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-12-04

the first in your punishments, nor in
cur the penalty attached to the sec
Ond in your rewards.
Always mean what you say, and
take nothing less than you ask for.
As Mr.. Gleason says, Don't say
Whoa unless you want your horse
to stop:" and when you do say it,
never take a mere slackening of the
pace for an answer.
Your horse is helpless in your hands
as to his comfort Do not cut his
tail short Just because somebody else
does, but leave it to him as an orna-
ment, as a defense against flies, and
as means of expressing his feelings.
If you think of having his name re-
duced to a narrow fringe along the
crest of his neck, think again before
you have it pulled. If you want To
make him look as though he carried
"a worn-out dust brush behind him,
you will have his tail docked; but do
not have this done except under your
own eye You, who would turn faint
al the sight OF the sufgeon's S instrs-
=. l,--z---i--r7
on your flesh, who shrink even at the
dentists chair and case, will surely
not hesitate to see your helpless SER
want tied up, with a string twisted
round his sensitive lip, while the knife
! sewers bone, artery, vein, and living
nerve. The knife is very sharp and
cuts in an instant. The grooms will
ssure you that it does not hurt.
You will not mind the cauterization
with the hot iron on quivering mus
Gle and nerve. Have it done, by all
means, for fashion sakel But two or
three days after, when you find your
pretty mare vainly trying to unclose
her Jaws and trembling from head
to foot, and a few hours after that,
when You find her cold and stiff in
her stall, don't make yourself ridicu-
lous, as | saw a woman do once in a
like case, by flinging yourself down
i'll the straw at her side, laying your
head on the limp neck, kissing her,
and calling her by pet names. 1t
might be suggested that. in any cir
cumstances, there are other ways of
carassing a horse than kissing him,
just as there are other ornaments
more appropriate for him than deli
cate blue viOlets stuck into his head
stall; and one of these ornaments in
his tail.
Another place that it may be use
full for you to visit is the blacksmith's
shop. 1t is a perfectly proper place.
for Longfellow wrote a poem about
it. First, from some book get a clear
idea of the delicate and complex con-
struction of the horses foot, or rath-
er of the one finger he has left of his
five. Then, if you can, stand by while
the smith, to save time and trouble,
holds the hot shoe on to the smoking
horn so as to make the foot fit the
shoe You need not be troubled; the
smith has a long pair of pincers to
hold the shoe with, and he will not
scOrch his hands. The shoe will fit
perfectly, and the foot will look very
neat and clean after he has cut away
| all the sole that was intended to
shell off of itself, and trimmed the
| live frog at the edges Go to the
blacksmiths with your horse by al
means, unless you have a groom that
you can trust perfectly; but go ia
see that these things are not done.
The floor is no dirtieT than are the
streets of II city, and you don't
mind training your dress over those;
and if the courtesy you meet with be
! awkward sometimes, you will find it
| often more truly courteous than that
| you meet on those same streets, or
even in company, for it is honest.
BuC, after all these things have
been seen to, you cando nothing with
your horse unless you can sit so close
to him that you have the sensation
of being one with him. You can get
a good seat only by riding, and by IL
good seat | mean so firm hold upon
the saddle that if load of dirt be
dumped suddenly in front of you, and
your horse thinks it would be perhaps
better to face the other way, you will
know absolutely nothing about the
maneuver till you see the mountain
you were riding away from directlyin
front o! you. You will find out that
your horse can sometimes think more
rapidly than you. A good part of
this holding on is done by the knee
which is around the pommel, which
ever one that be-for you ought to be
able to ride on either side of your
horse-and by the calf of the stirrup-
leg, which should press close to the
saddle flap; but a great part also
must be done by the large muscles of
the thigh which press and cling to the
saddle seat. The heel of the stirrup-
foot and the toe of the other must be
kept well down. With all these holds
you are far surer in your saddle than
a man can he in his. From hip to
knee you should be perfectly firm, but
above the waist perfectly flexible.
You must never forget that you and
the horse are really temporarily one,
aud you must adapt yourself to his
movements. If you do this, you will
not make his back sore with pound
ing, no matter how heavy you may
be.
Next to your seat" comes your
"hand." Your hand is not to hold
on by, but simply to guide and to
give comfort and pleasure to the low
er animal by assuring him that he is
not alone The word "yanking" L
think must have been invented to eX-
press the action of those who have
not found out this truth. And the
half-smothered grunt with which the
helpless creature answers to the sud-
den pressure of the curb part on the
inside of his mouth, and the grip of
the curb-chain on the outside, is often
pathetic. You cannot have good
''hand " till you have firm seat
Then sit erert, looking straight for
ward over the middle OF the animals
head. You can sit perfectly even, and
if YOU are not sure whether you are
so or not, see if you can lie down fat
while you hold with your knee.
Then ride and ride, but remember
that it is best always to be sure OF
doing a thing well before you try to
do it rapidly. Buy Miss Sewell's
" Black Beauty" to find out, if you
don't know, how a horse feels and
what he thinks, and then ride; but
don't forget that you are only one
part of the animal, and that, though
YOU must make him obey for the
safety of both, you can do this only
| by good Judgment, firmness, consist
ency and patience. If you do not
succeed, it will be generally fault
and not that of the horse. for he pos
sesses all of these qualities.
Man wants but little here below,