Powell's system of approaching a colt.--Haley's remarks on.--Lively
high-spirited horses tamed easily.--Stubborn sulky ones more
difficult.--Motto, "Fear, love and obey."--Use of a whalebone
gig-whip.--How to frighten and then approach.--Use kind words.--How
to halter and lead a colt.--By the side of a horse.--To lead into a
stable.--To tie up to a manger.--Editor's remarks.--Longeing.--Use
and abuse of.--On bitting.--Sort of bit for a colt.--Dick
Christian's bit.--The wooden gag bit.
But, before we go further, I will give you Willis J. Powell's system of
approaching a wild colt, as given by him in a work published in Europe,
about the year 1814, on the "Art of Taming Wild Horses."[51-*] He says,
"A horse is gentled by my secret in from two to sixteen hours." The time
I have most commonly employed has been from four to six hours. He goes
on to say, "Cause your horse to be put in a small yard, stable, or room.
If in a stable or room, it ought to be large, in order to give him some
exercise with the halter before you lead him out. If the horse belongs
to that class which appears only to fear man, you must introduce
yourself gently into the stable, room, or yard, where the horse is. He
will naturally run from you, and frequently turn his head from you; for
you must walk about extremely slow and softly, so that he can see you
whenever he turns his head towards you, which he never fails to do in a
short time, say in a quarter or half an hour. I never knew one to be
much longer without turning towards me.
"At the very moment he turns his head, hold out your left hand towards
him, and stand perfectly still, keeping your eyes upon the horse,
watching his motions, if he makes any. If the horse does not stir for
ten or fifteen minutes, advance as slowly as possible, and without
making the least noise, always holding out your left hand, without any
other ingredient in it than what nature put in it." He says, "I have
made use of certain ingredients before people, such as the sweat under
my arm, &c., to disguise the real secret, and many believed that the
docility to which the horse arrived in so short a time was owing to
these ingredients: but you see from this explanation that they were of
no use whatever. The implicit faith placed in these ingredients, though
innocent of themselves, becomes 'faith without works.' And thus men
remained always in doubt concerning the secret. If the horse makes the
least motion when you advance towards him, stop, and remain perfectly
still until he is quiet. Remain a few moments in this condition, and
then advance again in the same slow and almost imperceptible manner.
Take notice--if the horse stirs, stop, without changing your position.
It is very uncommon for the horse to stir more than once after you begin
to advance, yet there are exceptions. He generally keeps his eyes
steadfast on you, until you get near enough to touch him on the
forehead. When you are thus near to him, raise slowly and by degrees
your hand, and let it come in contact with that part just above the
nostrils, as lightly as possible. If the horse flinches (as many will),
repeat with great rapidity these light strokes upon the forehead, going
a little farther up towards his ears by degrees, and descending with
the same rapidity until he will let you handle his forehead all over.
Now let the strokes be repeated with more force over all his forehead,
descending by lighter strokes to each side of his head, until you can
handle that part with equal facility. Then touch in the same light
manner, making your hands and fingers play around, the lower part of the
horse's ears, coming down now and then to his forehead, which may be
looked upon as the helm that governs all the rest.
"Having succeeded in handling his ears, advance towards the neck, with
the same precautions, and in the same manner; observing always to
augment the force of the strokes whenever the horse will permit it.
Perform the same on both sides of the neck, until he lets you take it in
your arms without flinching.
"Proceed in the same progressive manner to the sides, and then to the
back of the horse. Every time the horse shows any nervousness, return
immediately to the forehead, as the true standard, patting him with your
hands, and thence rapidly to where you had already arrived, always
gaining ground a considerable distance farther on every time this
happens. The head, ears, neck, and body being thus gentled, proceed from
the back to the root of the tail.
"This must be managed with dexterity, as a horse is never to be depended
on that is skittish about the tail. Let your hand fall lightly and
rapidly on that part next to the body a minute or two, and then you will
begin to give it a slight pull upwards every quarter of a minute. At the
same time you continue this handling of him, augment the force of the
strokes as well as the raising of the tail, until you can raise it and
handle it with the greatest ease, which commonly happens in a quarter of
an hour in most horses, in others almost immediately, and in some much
longer. It now remains to handle all his legs; from the tail come back
again to the head, handle it well, as likewise the ears, breast, neck,
&c., speaking now and then to the horse. Begin by degrees to descend to
the legs, always ascending and descending, gaming ground every time you
descend, until you get to his feet.
"Talk to the horse in Latin, Greek, French, English, or Spanish, or in
any other language you please; but let him hear the sound of your voice,
which at the beginning of the operation is not quite so necessary, but
which I have always done in making him lift up his feet. 'Hold up your
foot'--'Leve le pied'--'Alza el pie'--'Aron ton poda,' &c.; at the same
time lift his foot with your hand. He soon becomes familiar with the
sounds, and will hold up his foot at command. Then proceed to the hind
feet, and go on in the same manner; and in a short time the horse will
let you lift them, and even take them up in your arms.
"All this operation is no magnetism, no galvanism; it is merely taking
away the fear a horse generally has of a man, and familiarizing the
animal with his master. As the horse doubtless experiences a certain
pleasure from this handling, he will soon become gentle under it, and
show a very marked attachment to his keeper."
RAREY'S REMARKS ON POWELL'S TREATMENT.
These instructions are very good, but not quite sufficient for horses of
all kinds, and for haltering and leading the colt; but I have inserted
them here because they give some of the true philosophy of approaching
the horse, and of establishing confidence between man and horse. He
speaks only of the kind that fear man.
To those who understand the philosophy of horsemanship, these are the
easiest trained; for when we have a horse that is wild and lively, we
can train him to our will in a very short time--for they are generally
quick to learn, and always ready to obey. But there is another kind that
are of a stubborn or vicious disposition; and although they are not
wild, and do not require taming, in the sense it is generally
understood, they are just as ignorant as a wild horse, if not more so,
and need to be taught just as much: and in order to have them obey
quickly, it is very necessary that they should be made to fear their
master; for, in order to obtain perfect obedience from any horse, we
must first have him fear us, for our motto is, "_Fear, love and obey_;"
and we must have the fulfilment of the first two before we can expect
the latter; for it is by our philosophy of creating fear, love, and
confidence, that we govern to our will every kind of horse whatever.
Then, in order to take horses as we find them, of all kinds, and to
train them to our liking, we should always take with us, when we go into
a stable to train a colt, a long switch whip (whalebone buggy-whips are
the best), with a good silk cracker, so as to cut keenly and make a
sharp report. This, if handled with dexterity, and rightly applied,
accompanied with a sharp, fierce word, will be sufficient to enliven the
spirits of any horse. With this whip in your right hand, with the lash
pointing backward, enter the stable alone. It is a great disadvantage,
in training a horse, to have any one in the stable with you; you should
be entirely alone, so as to have nothing but yourself to attract his
attention. If he is wild, you will soon see him on the opposite side of
the stable from you; and now is the time to use a little judgment. I
should not require, myself, more than half or three-quarters of an hour
to handle any kind of colt, and have him running about in the stable
after me; though I would advise a new beginner to take more time, and
not be in too much of a hurry. If you have but one colt to gentle, and
are not particular about the length of time you spend, and have not had
any experience in handling colts, I would advise you to take Mr.
Powell's method at first, till you gentle him, which, he says, takes
from two to six hours. But as I want to accomplish the same, and, what
is more, teach the horse to lead, in less than one hour, I shall give
you a much quicker process of accomplishing the same end. Accordingly,
when you have entered the stable, stand still, and let your horse look
at you a minute or two, and as soon as he is settled in one place,
approach him slowly, with both arms stationary, your right hanging by
your side, holding the whip as directed, and the left bent at the elbow,
with your hand projecting. As you approach him, go not too much towards
his head or croup, so as not to make him move either forward or
backward, thus keeping your horse stationary; if he does move a little
either forward or backward, step a little to the right or left very
cautiously; this will keep him in one place. As you get very near him,
draw a little to his shoulder, and stop a few seconds. If you are in his
reach he will turn his head and smell your hand, not that he has any
preference for your hand, but because that is projecting, and is the
nearest portion of your body to the horse. This all colts will do, and
they will smell your naked hand just as quickly as they will of anything
that you can put in it, and with just as good an effect, however much
some men have preached the doctrine of taming horses by giving them the
scent of articles from the hand. I have already proved that to be a
mistake. As soon as he touches your hand with his nose, caress him as
before directed, always using a very light, soft hand, merely touching
the horse, always rubbing the way the hair lies, so that your hand will
pass along as smoothly as possible. As you stand by his side, you may
find it more convenient to rub his neck or the side of his head, which
will answer the same purpose as rubbing his forehead. Favour every
inclination of the horse to smell or touch you with his nose. _Always
follow each touch or communication of this kind with the most tender and
affectionate caresses, accompanied, with a kind look, and pleasant word
of some sort_, such as, "Ho! my little boy--ho! my little boy!" "Pretty
boy!" "Nice lady!" or something of that kind, constantly repeating the
same words, with the same kind, steady tone of voice; for the horse soon
learns to read the expression of the face and voice, and will know as
well when fear, love, or anger prevails, as you know your own feelings;
two of which, FEAR AND ANGER, A GOOD HORSEMAN SHOULD NEVER FEEL.
IF YOUR HORSE IS OF A STUBBORN DISPOSITION.
If your horse, instead of being wild, seems to be of a stubborn or
_mulish_ disposition; if he lays back his ears as you approach him, or
turns his heels to kick you, he has not that regard or fear of man that
he should have, to enable you to handle him quickly and easily; and it
might be well to give him a few sharp cuts with the whip, about the
legs, pretty close to the body. It will crack keenly as it plies around
his legs, and the crack of the whip will affect him as much as the
stroke; besides, one sharp cut about his legs will affect him more than
two or three over his back, the skin on the inner part of his legs or
about his flank being thinner, more tender, than on his back. But do
not whip him much--just enough to frighten him; _it is not because we
want to hurt the horse that we whip him_--we only do it to frighten vice
and stubbornness out of him. But whatever you do, do quickly, sharply,
and with a good deal of fire, but always without anger. If you are going
to frighten him at all, you must do it at once. Never go into a pitched
battle with your horse, and whip him until he is mad and will fight you;
it would be better not to touch him at all, for you will establish,
instead of fear and respect, feelings of resentment, hatred, and
ill-will. It will do him no good, but harm, to strike him, unless you
can frighten him; but if you can succeed in frightening him, you can
whip him without making him mad; _for fear and anger never exist
together in the horse_, and as soon as one is visible, you will find
that the other has disappeared. As soon as you have frightened him, so
that he will stand up straight and pay some attention to you, approach
him again, and caress him a good deal more than you whipped him; thus
you will excite the two controlling passions of his nature, love and
fear; he will love and fear you, too; and, as soon as he learns what you
require, will obey quickly.
HOW TO HALTER AND LEAD A COLT.
As soon as you have gentled the colt a little, take the halter in your
left hand, and approach him as before, and on the same side that you
have gentled him. If he is very timid about your approaching closely to
him, you can get up to him quicker by making the whip a part of your
arm, and reaching out very gently with the butt end of it, rubbing him
lightly on the neck, all the time getting a little closer, shortening
the whip by taking it up in your hand, until you finally get close
enough to put your hands on him. If he is inclined to hold his head from
you, put the end of the halter-strap around his neck, drop your whip,
and draw very gently; he will let his neck give, and you can pull his
head to you. Then take hold of that part of the halter which buckles
over the top of his head, and pass the long side, or that part which
goes into the buckle, under his neck, grasping it on the opposite side
with your right hand, letting the first strap loose--the latter will be
sufficient to hold his head to you. Lower the halter a little, just
enough to get his nose into that part which goes around it; then raise
it somewhat, and fasten the top buckle, and you will have it all right.
The first time you halter a colt you should stand on the left side,
pretty well back to his shoulder, only taking hold of that part of the
halter that goes around his neck; then with your two hands about his
neck you can hold his head to you, and raise the halter on it without
making him dodge by putting your hands about his nose. You should have a
long rope or strap ready, and as soon as you have the halter on, attach
this to it, so that you can let him walk the length of the stable
without letting go of the strap, or without making him pull on the
halter, for if you only let him feel the weight of your hand on the
halter, and give him rope when he runs from you, he will never rear,
pull, or throw himself, yet you will be holding him all the time, and
doing more towards gentling him than if you had the power to snub him
right up, and hold him to one spot; because he does not know anything
about his strength, and if you don't do anything to make him pull, he
will never know that he can. In a few minutes you can begin to control
him with the halter, then shorten the distance between yourself and the
horse by taking up the strap in your hand.
As soon as he will allow you to hold him by a tolerably short strap, and
to step up to him without flying back, you can begin to give him some
idea about leading. But to do this, do not go before and attempt to pull
him after you, but commence by pulling him very quietly to one side. He
has nothing to brace either side of his neck, and will soon yield to a
steady, gradual pull of the halter; and as soon as you have pulled him a
step or two to one side, step up to him and caress him, and then pull
him again, repeating this operation until you can pull him around in
every direction, and walk about the stable with him, which you can do in
a few minutes, for he will soon think when you have made him step to the
right or left a few times, that he is compelled to follow the pull of
the halter, not knowing that he has the power to resist your pulling;
besides, you have handled him so gently that he is not afraid of you,
and you always caress him when he comes up to you, and he likes that,
and would just as lief follow you as not. And after he has had a few
lessons of that kind, if you turn him out in a field, he will come up to
you every opportunity he gets.
You should lead him about in the stable some time before you take him
out, opening the door, so that he can see out, leading him up to it and
back again, and past it.
See that there is nothing on the outside to make him jump when you take
him out, and as you go out with him, try to make him go very slowly,
catching hold of the halter close to the jaw with your left hand, while
the right is resting on the top of the neck, holding to his mane. After
you are out with him a little while, you can lead him about as you
please.
Don't let any second person come up to you when you first take him out;
a stranger taking hold of the halter would frighten him, and make him
run. There should not even be any one standing near him, to attract his
attention or scare him. If you are alone, and manage him rightly, it
will not require any more force to lead or hold him than it would to
manage a broken horse.
HOW TO LEAD A COLT BY THE SIDE OF A BROKEN HORSE.
If you should want to lead your colt by the side of another horse, as is
often the case, I would advise you to take your horse into the stable,
attach a second strap to the colt's halter, and lead your horse up
alongside of him. Then get on the broken horse and take one strap around
his breast, under his martingale (if he has any on), holding it in your
left hand. This will prevent the colt from getting back too far;
besides, you will have more power to hold him with the strap pulling
against the horse's breast. The other strap take up in your right hand
to prevent him from running ahead; then turn him about a few times in
the stable, and if the door is wide enough, ride out with him in that
position; if not, take the broken horse out first, and stand his breast
up against the door, then lead the colt to the same spot, and take the
straps as before directed, one on each side of his neck, then let some
one start the colt out, and as he comes out, turn your horse to the
left, and you will have them all right. This is the best way to lead a
colt; you can manage any kind of colt in this way, without any trouble;
for if he tries to run ahead, or pull back, the two straps will bring
the horses facing each other, so that you can very easily follow up his
movements without doing much holding, and as soon as he stops running
backward you are right with him, and all ready to go ahead; and if he
gets stubborn and does not want to go, you can remove all his
stubbornness by riding your horse against his neck, thus compelling him
to turn to the right; and as soon as you have turned him about a few
times, he will be willing to go along. The next thing after you have got
through leading him, will be to take him into a stable, and hitch him in
such a way as not to have him pull on the halter; and as they are often
troublesome to get into a stable the first few times, I will give you
some instructions about getting him in.
TO LEAD INTO A STABLE.
You should lead the broken horse into the stable first, and get the
colt, if you can, to follow in after him. If he refuses to go, step unto
him, taking a little stick or switch in your right hand; then take hold
of the halter close to his head with your left hand, at the same time
reaching over his back with your right arm so that you can tap him on
the opposite side with your switch; bring him up facing the door, tap
him slightly with your switch, reaching as far back with it as you can.
This tapping, by being pretty well back, and on the opposite side, will
drive him ahead, and keep him close to you; then by giving him the right
direction with your left hand you can walk into the stable with him. I
have walked colts into the stable this way in less than a minute, after
men had worked at them half an hour, trying to pull them in. If you
cannot walk him in at once in this way, turn him about and walk him
around in every direction, until you can get him up to the door without
pulling at him. Then let him stand a few minutes, keeping his head in
the right direction with the halter, and he will walk in in less than
ten minutes. Never attempt to pull the colt into the stable; that would
make him think at once that it was a dangerous place, and if he was not
afraid of it before he would be then. Besides, we do not want him to
know anything about pulling on the halter. Colts are often hurt and
sometimes killed, by trying to force them into the stable; and those who
attempt to do it in that way go into an up-hill business, when a plain
smooth road is before them.
If you want to tie up your colt, put him in a tolerably wide stall,
which should not be too long, and should be connected by a bar or
something of that kind to the partition behind it; so that, after the
colt is in he cannot go far enough back to take a straight, backward
pull on the halter; then by tying him in the centre of the stall, it
would be impossible for him to pull on the halter, the partition behind
preventing him from going back, and the halter in the centre checking
him every time he turns to the right or left. In a stall of this kind
you can break any horse to stand tied with a light strap, anywhere,
without his ever knowing anything about pulling. For if you have broken
your horse to lead, and have taught him the use of the halter (which you
should always do before you hitch him to anything), you can hitch him in
any kind of a stall, and if you give him something to eat to keep him up
to his place for a few minutes at first, there is not one colt in fifty
that will pull on his halter.
EDITORS REMARKS.
Mr. Rarey says nothing about "longeing," which is the first step of
European and Eastern training. Perhaps he considers his plan of pulling
up the leg to be sufficient; but be that as it may, we think it well to
give the common sense of a much-abused practice.
Ignorant horse-breakers will tell you that they _longe_ a colt to supple
him. That is ridiculous nonsense. A colt unbroken will bend himself with
most extraordinary flexibility. Look at a lot of two-years before
starting for a run; observe the agility of their antics: or watch a colt
scratching his head with his hind foot, and you will never believe that
such animals can require suppling. But it is an easy way of teaching a
horse simple acts of obedience--of getting him to go and stop at your
orders: but in brutal hands more horses are spoiled and lamed by the
longe than any other horse-breaking operation. A stupid fellow drags a
horse's head and shoulders into the circle with the cord, while his
hind-quarters are driven out by the whip.
"_A colt should be longed at a walk only, until he circles without
force._
"He should never be compelled to canter in the longe, though he may be
permitted to do it of himself.
"He must not be stopped by pulling the cord, which would pull him
across, but by meeting him, so that he stops himself straight. A skilful
person will, single-handed, longe, and, by heading him with the whip,
change him without stopping, and longe him in the figure of 8. No man is
fit to be trusted with such powerful implements as the longe-cord and
whip who cannot do this.
"The snaffle may be added when he goes freely in the head-stall."
A colt should never be buckled to the pillar reins by his bit, but by
the head-stall; for if tightly buckled to the bit, he will bear
heavily--even go to sleep: raw lip, which, when cured, becomes callous,
is the result. Yet nothing is more common than to see colts standing for
hours on the bit, with reins tightly buckled to the demi-jockey, under
the ignorant notion of giving him a mouth, or setting up his head in the
right place. The latter, if not done by nature, can only be done, if
ever, by delicate, skilful hands.
A colt's bit should be large and smooth snaffle, with players to keep
his mouth moist.
Dick Christian liked a bit for young horses as thick as his thumb--we
don't know how thick that was--and four and a half inches between the
cheeks; and there was no better judge than Dick.
The Germans use a wooden bit to make a horse's mouth, and good judges
think they are right, as it may not be so unpleasant as metal to begin
with; but wood or iron, the bridle should be properly put on, a point
often neglected, and a fertile source of restiveness. There is as much
need to fit a bridle to the length of a horse's head, as to buckle the
girths of the saddle.
For conquering a vicious, biting horse, there is nothing equal to the
large wooden gag-bit, which Mr. Rarey first exhibited in public on the
zebra. A muzzle only prevents a horse from biting; a gag, properly used,
cures; for when he finds he cannot bite, and that you caress him and rub
his ears kindly with perfect confidence, he by degrees abandons this
most dangerous vice. Stafford was driven in a wooden gag the first
time. Colts inclined to crib-bite, should be dressed with one on.
[Illustration: WOODEN GAG BIT.]
Our woodcut is taken from the improved model produced by Mr. Stokey; no
doubt Mr. Rarey took the idea of his gag-bit from the wooden gag, which
has been in use among country farriers from time immemorial, to keep a
horse's mouth while they are performing the cruel and useless operation
of firing for lampas.
[Illustration: Leg strapped up.]
FOOTNOTES:
[51-*] Is there such a work? I cannot find it in any English
catalogue.--EDITOR.