r heads, clutch at the reins, hit the horse, and commit other
foolish acts which only irritate the animal, without in any way allaying
his fear, supposing, as we do, that the horse is good-tempered, and is
not shying from vice. The voice of his rider will inspire him with
confidence, and, therefore, when he has made an anxious and fearful step
in the right direction, he should be patted and spoken to in an
encouraging tone, so that his mind may not be wholly occupied with the
terrifying object in front of him. It is a good plan to incline his
head away from it as much as possible. I have ridden young horses who
have shied at almost everything, but have never worried them to go up to
and smell the object of their aversion, as some recommend, because it is
not always practicable to do so, as, for instance, in the case of a
motor car. It is not wise to give undue importance to comparative
trifles. The voice has always stood me in good stead with shying horses,
who soon get to regard it as a sure sign that they have nothing to fear.
A lady who has been properly taught to ride, and sits correctly, should
remember that whatever her horse may do in plunging about from one side
of the road to the other, he cannot unseat her, so she need feel no
alarm on that point. The greatest danger is that the horse may dash into
something which in his fright he has not seen, but that, fortunately, is
a very rare occurrence, even with young horses. However frightened a
lady may herself feel, she should never reveal her secret to her horse
by speaking to him in a terrified tone of voice, or by otherwise
displaying fear; and above all things, she should never lose her temper
and hit him, no matter how obstinate he may be, as doing so will only
make him shy on the next occasion, with a display of temper thrown in,
and he will then be more difficult than ever to manage. The best way to
act with a horse which shies from desire to "play up," is to take as
little notice as possible of his antics, give him more work, and less
corn.

A lady should always ride slowly round a corner, and keep a good look
out in front of her. Many things may happen during the course of a ride
to try the nerve of both horse and rider, but if anything should startle
a horse, his rider should keep her head cool, sit tight, and do her best
to pull him up. She will have doubtless accustomed him to the meaning of
the word "steady," or other verbal order which she may have empl