ears back and snapped at him. 'Stand back,' said the master, 'and keep
out of her way; you've done a bad day's work for this filly.' He growled
out something about a vicious brute. 'Hark ye,' said the father, 'a
bad-tempered man will never make a good-tempered horse. You've not
learned your trade yet, Samson.' Then he led me into my box, took off
the saddle and bridle with his own hands, and tied me up; then he called
for a pail of warm water and a sponge, took off his coat, and while the
stable-man held the pail, he sponged my sides a good while, so tenderly
that I was sure he knew how sore and bruised they were. 'Whoa! my pretty
one,' he said, 'stand still, stand still.' His very voice did me good,
and the bathing was very comfortable. The skin was so broken at the
corners of my mouth that I could not eat the hay, the stalks hurt me. He
looked closely at it, shook his head, and told the man to fetch a good
bran mash and put some meal into it. How good that mash was! and so soft
and healing to my mouth. He stood by all the time I was eating, stroking
me and talking to the man. 'If a high-mettled creature like this,'
said he, 'can't be broken by fair means, she will never be good for
anything.'

"After that he often came to see me, and when my mouth was healed the
other breaker, Job, they called him, went on training me; he was steady
and thoughtful, and I soon learned what he wanted."




08 Ginger's Story Continued


The next time that Ginger and I were together in the paddock she told me