News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-12-04
TIE HORSE AND HIS MISTRESS.
1.-THE RIDER.
[Anna c. Bracket in the Christian Union. !

| [Anna c. Bracket in the Christian Union.1
We may look at the horse merely
rs an interesting object of study so
long as we don't get into the saddle.
but if we propose to do that, we have
| to look at him as one part of a com
pOSite machine, of which ourselves
| form another and no blC
part. While he is free to do as h,
likes, his own brain has the direction
| OF his movements, and by these W,
Judge, as l said in the preceding arti
Gle, that he is Il very near relative o
ours, so near that we can recognize
family resemblances, and we feel sure
that there can be some mutual un-
derstanding When he is saddled and
brldled, and you are on his back, the
directive brain is yours, not his
His brain is reduced, in the demands
! you propose to make upon it, to
cerebellum-i. e., it is to keep the ma
chine going; but the why, the where,
and the how are to be decided by
| your brain, which thus is the cere-
brum of the compound being. For
the time you have taken to yourself,
rs your own property, his powers
You are fOur-iOOted, Il swift, and
powerful animal, no longer a cOmpar-
atively helpless biped. The ideal re-
latiOn between horse and rider exists
when you can move his muscles by
your vOlition, and feel in your own
frame the glory of his strength. But
for this there are two cautions neceS-
sary. Do not degrade his brain al
ways to a cerebellum. If you are
Il To- Gp1 70,
doubtful-lOoking bridge. or are trav-
| cling in the dark, it will be well for
you to abdicate temporarily, and let
| his brain take the direction. Many
| accidents may be saved if the rider
under such circumstances is not too
proud to trust himself to the surer
| Judgment of the inferior animal. He
will obey your direction if you inter
fere and insist; but it is only because
you do insist, and under protest,
| that he does it. Every horse has
some rights which the rider is bound
to respect. L am not able to define
clearly the word instinct as a separa-
bic quality from intelligence, and
often | had rather trust my horses
mind than my own. But if you do
! abdicate, YOU must do so wholly,
and not, like Charles v, retire to a
convent, and try from there to die
tate orders and direct events. Leave
your horse and yourself to his judg
ment and you will come out all safe.
He will gladly resign when the dan
ger is over; and when you assume
! the scepter again, do that also
wholly. FOr-and this is the second
caution-never forgot that the horse
is too strong to be trifled with. Kind
treatment, Yes; but the latitude
that you can safely allow n poodle,
No. He must be made to obey. And
to secure obedience, and cheerful
obedience, you must make steady
and no uncertain demands on him.
What you mean to-day by II COM
mand OF Il gesture, you must mean
tomorrow and the next day; and
YOU must know clearly what YOU do
mean, and accept nothing else than
that very thing for Il response. 1t is
well said that no one can ask a really
competent question who is not able
to give the answer, and it is certainly
true that no one who is not clearand
firm in her own mind as to what the
horse is to do should ever attempt
to ride him.
| said before that the horse is our
very near relation. In nothing could
this be more manifest than in the
fact that all the directions above
suggested might, with few verbal
changes, intercalated into the text
book on the Theory and Art of Teach
ing of any normal school, and would
never be suspected of not being an
original part of the work. Do not
waste your praise. Give it to him
after, not before, he has earned it..
Then it will mean something to him /;
the comprehension of the casual rela-
tion is as much a part OF his mental
furnishing as it is of yours. On the
other hand, do not, like Draco, min
imize the value of your punishments
by administering severe one when
he needs only light one. You will
find, as with child, that you will
need all your resources before you
are through, and you must remem-
Der that prodigality and averice both
belong to the list of deadly sins. Dc
( not fall under the condemnation o.