_Founded on the Leading Characteristics of the Horse._
FIRST.--That he is so constituted by nature that he will not offer
resistance to any demand made of him which he fully comprehends, if made
in a way consistent with the laws of his nature.
SECOND.--That he has no consciousness of his strength beyond his
experience, and can be handled according to our will without force.
THIRD.--That we can, in compliance with the laws of his nature by which
he examines all things new to him, take any object, however frightful
around, over, or on him, that does not inflict pain, without causing him
to fear.
To take these assertions in order, I will first give you some of the
reasons why I think he is naturally obedient, and will not offer
resistance to anything fully comprehended. The horse, though possessed
of some faculties superior to man’s, being deficient in reasoning
powers, has no knowledge of right or wrong, of free will and independent
government, and knows not of any imposition practised upon him, however
unreasonable these impositions may be. Consequently, he cannot come to
any decision as to what he should or should not do, because he has not
the reasoning faculties of man to argue the justice of the thing
demanded of him. If he had, taking into consideration his superior
strength, he would be useless to man as a servant. Give him mind in
proportion to his strength, and he will demand of us the green fields
for his inheritance, where he will roam at leisure, denying the right of
servitude at all. God has wisely formed his nature so that it can be
operated upon by the knowledge of man according to the dictates of his
will; and he might well be termed an unconscious, submissive servant.
This truth we can see verified in every day’s experience by the abuses
practised upon him. Any one who chooses to be so cruel, can mount the
noble steed and run him till he drops with fatigue, or, as is often the
case with the more spirited, falls dead beneath his rider. If he had
the power to reason, would he not rear and pitch his rider, rather than
suffer him to run him to death? Or would he condescend to carry at all
the vain impostor, who, with but equal intellect, was trying to impose
on his equal rights and equally independent spirit. But happily for us,
he has no consciousness of imposition, no thought of disobedience except
by impulse caused by the violation of the law of his nature.
Consequently, when disobedient, it is the fault of man.
Then, we can but come to the conclusion that, if a horse is not taken in
a way at variance with the laws of his nature, he will do anything that
he fully comprehends, without making any offer of resistance.
Second--The fact of the horse being unconscious of the amount of his
strength can be proven to the satisfaction of any one. For instance,
such remarks as these are common, and perhaps familiar to your
recollection. One person says to another, “If that wild horse there was
conscious of the amount of his strength, his owner would have no
business with him in that vehicle; such light reins and harness too--if
he knew he could snap them asunder in a minute and be as free as the air
we breathe;” and, “That horse yonder, that is pawing and fretting to
follow the company that is fast leaving him--if he knew his strength,
he would not remain long fastened to that hitching post so much against
his will, by a strap that would no more resist his powerful weight and
strength than a cotton thread would bind a strong man.” Yet these facts,
made common by every-day occurrence, are not thought of as anything
wonderful. Like the ignorant man who looks at the different phases of
the moon, you look at these things as he looks at her different changes
without troubling your mind with the question, “Why are these things
so?” What would be the condition of the world if all our minds lay
dormant? If men did not think, reason, and act, our undisturbed,
slumbering intellects would not excel the imbecility of the brute; we
should live in chaos, hardly aware of our existence. And yet, with all
our activity of mind, we daily pass by unobserved that which would be
wonderful if philosophized and reasoned upon; and with the same
inconsistency wonder at that which a little consideration, reason, and
philosophy would make but a simple affair.
Third--He will allow any object, however frightful in appearance, to
come around, over, or on him, that does not inflict pain.
We know from a natural course of reasoning, that there has never been an
effect without a cause, and we infer from this, that there can be no
action
[Illustration: LEG STRAP.]
[Illustration: MR. RAREY’S EXTRA STRAP.]
either in animate or inanimate matter, without there first being some
cause to produce it. And from this self-evident fact we know that there
is some cause for every impulse or movement of either mind or matter,
and that this law governs every action or movement of the animal
kingdom. Then, according to this theory, there must be some cause before
fear can exist; and, if fear exists from the effect of imagination, and
not from the infliction of real pain, it can be removed by complying
with those laws of nature by which the horse examines an object, and
determines upon its innocence or harm.
A log or stump by the road side may be, in the imagination of the horse,
some great beast about to pounce upon him; but after you take him up to
it and let him stand by it a little while, and touch it with his nose,
and go through his process of examination, he will not care anything
more about it. And the same principle and process will have the same
effect with any other object, however frightful in appearance, in which
there is no harm. Take a boy that has been frightened by a false face,
or any other object that he could not comprehend at once; but let him
take that face, or object in his hands and examine it, and he will not
care anything more about it. This is a demonstration of the same
principle.
With this introduction to the principles of my theory, I shall next
attempt to teach you how to put it into practice; and, whatever
instructions may follow you can rely on, as having been proven
practically by my own experiments. And knowing from experience just what
obstacles I have met with in handling bad horses, I shall try to
anticipate them for you, and assist you in surmounting them, by
commencing with the first steps to be taken with the colt, and accompany
you through the whole task of breaking.