The Horse And The Umbrella

I anr indtïbtud for the following anee doto to John Coatoa, Bsq., Socrotary to the Grand Jury of the county of Antrim Ireland : "I have a very good mare named Fanny. She is very gentle and quiot in harness, and very suitablc for a family carriage. Formerly she had acquirod one very bad habit. Sho always shied at an open urabrella ; she did not shy at anytning clse. So great, however, was her terror at this article, that whenover she met a person oarrying ono sho woulc start and run to the opposite side of tho road, at tlie imminent risk of upsotting the car AMÍnst tho opposite bank. This was a serious fault, and tho safoty of niy faniily required that I should at once either try somo meana of curing her bad habit or part with her, which lattor I was most unwilling to do, as 'Fanny' was Buch an excellent creature in every other respect. I thereforo bogan to ctinsidor how she migh-t bo curod. Would whip ping do ? No, I said. That never euros a horso of shying ; it generally makes him worse; for, after whipping, a horse is not only afraid of the object at which he shied, whon ho meets with a similar one again, but rememberiug the whipping, ho is in expeotation of a repetition of the punishmont, and propares to run on, hoping to escape both the object and the whipping by a more violent effort each time it ocours. I did not, thorefore, approve of that plan, but thought of a milder and wiser one. Horses aro genorally fond of raw potatoes. I provided myself with a few small onos, nicely washed, and taking in my left hand a shut umbrella, I went in tho atablo, and aftor giving the mure a potuto from my right hand, I presonted her with one stuek on the point of tho closed umbrella. Shortly aftcr I gave hor another with the umbrella slightly opened ; then auother and anothor, eaoh time op ening the umbrella a littlo farther, and so on until it was presentod fully open. At flrst Fanny appeared alurmod at what sho doubtless considored as her old enemy; but seeing thé potato on the point. sho soon bocame recoucilud and took it off, though showing a little shyness. The next timo she took it off with scarcoly anyfear. This lesson wasrepeated a few times, until she becamo so familiar to the open umbrella, and so fond of the potato presentod with it, that sho permittod it to be fnrled and unfurlnd, undor and about her in every diroction ; and being ever rewarded by the potato, in the end sho actually became fond of seeing me carry an umbrella, or make any appearance in the stablo. But how would she act out of the stable ? That was the quostion. Not long after these lossons werc given an opporlunity oocurrod foa trsting out of doors one rainy day. A porson was met on the road oarrying an opon umbrella. Fanny was lot't with a tolorably free head, and tho success of the experiment was fully provod. Tho mare actually weiit across, of hor own accard, to the othor side of the road where tho umbrolla was, douhtless oxpecting a potato ! She was disappointeri for the moment, but was rewarded with one when she went homo, and nevor after that did she shy at an open umbrella. Thus, by taking a little pains, a val nuble horso was made more valuable still. Kind treatmont succeedcd where whipping and severe measures would havo failed ; and tho lesson learned by mo, and which I wish to extond to others, is, that aiany of tho faults whioh the horso acquires by bad training may, as in this case, be overeóme by the exeroise of a little-eflection, a little pains, with pationce, pereeirerance and kindness. ïfjellkipnvrgns