opposite to what we advise as appropriate in dealing with an animal
of high spirit.

X

But possibly you are not content with a horse serviceable for war. You
want to find him him a showy, attractive animal, with a certain grandeur
of bearing. If so, you must abstain from pulling at his mouth with the
bit, or applying the spur and whip--methods commonly adopted by people
with a view to a fine effect, though, as a matter of fact, they thereby
achieve the very opposite of what they are aiming at. That is to say,
by dragging the mouth up they render the horse blind instead of alive
to what is in front of him; and what with spurring and whipping they
distract the creature to the point of absolute bewilderment and danger.
(1) Feats indeed!--the feats of horses with a strong dislike to being
ridden--up to all sorts of ugly and ungainly tricks. On the contrary,
let the horse be taught to be ridden on a loose bridle, and to hold
his head high and arch his neck, and you will practically be making him
perform the very acts which he himself delights or rather exults in; and
the best proof of the pleasure which he takes is, that when he is let
loose with other horses, and more particularly with mares, you will
see him rear his head aloft to the full height, and arch his neck with
nervous vigour, (2) pawing the air with pliant legs (3) and waving his
tail on high. By training him to adopt the very airs and graces which he
naturally assumes when showing off to best advantage, you have got what
you are aiming at--a horse that delights in being ridden, a splendid and
showy animal, the joy of all beholders.

(1) Al. "the animals are so scared that, the chances are, they are
thrown into disorder."

(2) {gorgoumenos}, with pride and spirit, but with a suggestion of
"fierceness and rage," as of Job's war-horse.

(3) "Mollia crura reponit," Virg. "Georg." iii. 76; Hom. "Hymn. ad
Merc."

How these desirable results are, in our opinion, to be produced, we will
now endeavour to explain. In the first place, then, you ought to have
at least two bits. One of these should be smooth, with discs of a good
size; the other should have heavy and flat discs (4) studded with sharp
spikes, so that when the horse seizes it and dislikes the roughness he
will drop it; then when the smooth is given him instead, he is delighted
with its smoothness, and whatever he has learnt before upon the rough,
he will perform with greater relish o