The Drum.--The Umbrella.--Riding-habit.--How to bit a colt.--How to
saddle.--To mount.--To ride.--To break.--To harness.--To make a
horse follow and stand without holding.--Baucher's plan.--Nolan's
plan.
It is an excellent practice to accustom all horses to strange sounds and
sights, and of very great importance to young horses which are to be
ridden or driven in large towns, or used as chargers. Although some
horses are very much more timid and nervous than others, the very worst
can be very much improved by acting on the first principles laid down in
the introduction to this book--that is, by proving that the strange
sights and sounds will do them no harm.
When a railway is first opened, the sheep, the cattle, and especially
the horses, grazing in the neighbouring fields, are terribly alarmed at
the sight of the swift, dark, moving trains, and the terrible snorting
and hissing of the steam-engines. They start away--they gallop in
circles--and when they stop, gaze with head and tail erect, until the
monsters have disappeared. But from day to day the live stock become
more accustomed to the sight and sound of the steam horse, and after a
while they do not even cease grazing when the train passes. They have
learned that it will do them no harm. The same result may be observed
with respect to young horses when first they are brought to a large
town, and have to meet great loads of hay, omnibuses crowded with
passengers, and other strange or noisy objects--if judiciously treated,
not flogged and ill-used, they lose their fears without losing their
high courage. Nothing is more astonishing in London than the steadiness
of the high-bred and highly-fed horses in the streets and in Hyde Park.
But until Mr. Rarey went to first principles, and taught "the reason
why" there were horses that could not be brought to bear the beating of
a drum, the rustling of an umbrella, or the flapping of a riding-habit
against their legs--and all attempts to compel them by force to submit
to these objects of their terror failed and made them furious. Mr.
Rarey, in his lectures, often told a story of a horse which shied at
buffalo-robes--the owner tied him up fast and laid a robe on him--the
poor animal died instantly with fright. And yet nothing can be more
simple.
_To accustom a horse to a drum._--Place it near him on the ground, and,
without forcing him, induce him to smell it again and again until he is
thoroughly accustomed to it. Then lift it up, and slowly place it on the
side of his neck, where he can see it, and tap it gently with a stick or
your finger. If he starts, pause, and let him carefully examine it. Then
re-commence, gradually moving it backwards until it rests upon his
withers, by degrees playing louder and louder, pausing always when he
seems alarmed, to let him look at it and smell, if needful. In a very
few minutes you may play with all your force, without his taking any
notice. When this practice has been repeated a few times, your horse,
however spirited, will rest his nose unmoved on the big drum while the
most thundering piece is played.
_To teach a horse to bear an umbrella_, go through the same cautious
forms, let him see it, and smell it, open it by degrees--gain your
point inch by inch, passing it always from his eyes to his neck, and
from his neck to his back and tail; and so with a riding-habit, in half
an hour any horse may be taught that it will not hurt him, and then the
difficulty is over.
_To fire off a horse's back._--Begin with caps, and, by degrees, as with
the drum, instead of lengthening the reins, stretch the bridle hand to
the front, and raise it for the carbine to rest on, with the muzzle
clear of the horse's head, a little to one side. Lean the body forward
without rising in the stirrups. _Avoid interfering with the horse's
mouth, or exciting his fears by suddenly closing your legs either before
or after firing--be quiet yourself and your horse will be quiet._ The
colt can learn, as I have already observed, to bear a rider on his bare
back during his first lessons, when prostrate and powerless, fast bound
by straps. The surcingle has accustomed him to girths--he leads well,
and has learned that when the right rein is pulled he must go to the
right, and when the left rein to the left. You may now teach him to bear
the BIT and the SADDLE--if you have not placed it upon his back while on
the ground, and for this operation I cannot do better than return, and
quote literally from Mr. Rarey.
"HOW TO ACCUSTOM A HORSE TO A BIT.
"You should use a large, smooth, snaffle bit, so as not to hurt his
mouth, with a bar to each side, to prevent the bit from pulling through
either way. This you should attach to the head-stall of your bridle, and
put it on your colt without any reins to it, and let him run loose in a
large stable or shed some time, until he becomes a little used to the
bit, and will bear it without trying to get it out of his mouth. It
would be well, if convenient, to repeat this several times, before you
do anything more with the colt; as soon as he will bear the bit, attach
a single rein to it. You should also have a halter on your colt, or a
bridle made after the fashion of a halter, with a strap to it, so that
you can hold or lead him about without pulling on the bit much. (See
Woodcut, p. 39.) He is now ready for the saddle.
"THE PROPER WAY TO BIT A COLT.
"Farmers often put bitting harness on a colt the first thing they do to
him, buckling up the bitting as tight as they can draw it, to make him
carry his head high, and then turn him out in a field to run a half-day
at a time. This is one of the worst of punishments that they could
inflict on the colt, and very injurious to a young horse that has been
used to running in pasture with his head down. I have seen colts so
injured in this way that they never got over it.
"A horse should be well accustomed to the bit before you put on the
bitting harness, and when you first bit him you should only rein his
head up to that point where he naturally holds it, let that be high or
low; he will soon learn that he cannot lower his head, and that raising
it a little will loosen the bit in his mouth. This will give him the
idea of raising his head to loosen the bit, and then you can draw the
bitting a little tighter every time you put it on, and he will still
raise his head to loosen it; by this means you will gradually get his
head and neck in the position you want him to carry it, and give him a
nice and graceful carriage without hurting him, making him mad, or
causing his mouth to get sore.
"If you put the bitting on very tight the first time, he cannot raise
his head enough to loosen it, but will bear on it all the time, and paw,
sweat, and throw himself. Many horses have been killed by falling
backward with the bitting on; their heads being drawn up strike the
ground with the whole weight of the body. Horses that have their heads
drawn up tightly should not have the bitting on more than fifteen or
twenty minutes at a time.
"HOW TO SADDLE A COLT.
"The first thing will be to tie each stirrup-strap into a loose knot to
make them short, and prevent the stirrups from flying about and hitting
him. Then double up the skirts and take the saddle under your right arm,
so as not to frighten him with it as you approach. When you get to him
rub him gently a few times with your hand, and then raise the saddle
very slowly, until he can see it, and smell and feel it with his nose.
Then let the skirt loose, and rub it very gently against his neck the
way the hair lies, letting him hear the rattle of the skirts as he feels
them against him; each time getting a little farther backward, and
finally slipping it over his shoulders on his back. Shake it a little
with your hand, and in less than five minutes you can rattle it about
over his back as much as you please, and pull it off and throw it on
again, without his paying much attention to it.
"As soon as you have accustomed him to the saddle, fasten the girth. Be
careful how you do this. It often frightens the colt when he feels the
girth binding him, and making the saddle fit tight on his back. You
should bring up the girth very gently, and not draw it too tight at
first, just enough to hold the saddle on. Move him a little, and then
girth it as tight as you choose, and he will not mind it.
"You should see that the pad of your saddle is all right before you put
it on, and that there is nothing to make it hurt him, or feel unpleasant
to his back. It should not have any loose straps on the back part of it,
to flap about and scare him. After you have saddled him in this way,
take a switch in your right hand to tap him up with, and walk about in
the stable a few times with your right arm over your saddle, taking hold
of the reins on each side of his neck with your right and left hands,
thus marching him about in the stable until you teach him the use of the
bridle and can turn him about in any direction, and stop him by a gentle
pull of the rein. Always caress him, and loose the reins a little every
time you stop him.
"You should always be alone, and have your colt in some light stable or
shed, the first time you ride him; the loft should be high, so that you
can sit on his back without endangering your head. You can teach him
more in two hours' time in a stable of this kind, than you could in two
weeks in the common way of breaking colts, out in an open place. If you
follow my course of treatment, you need not run any risk, or have any
trouble in riding the worst kind of horse. You take him a step at a
time, until you get up a mutual confidence and trust between yourself
and horse. First teach him to lead and stand hitched; next acquaint him
with the saddle, and the use of the bit; and then all that remains is to
get on him without scaring him, and you can ride him as well as any
horse.
"HOW TO MOUNT THE COLT.
"First gentle him well on both sides, about the saddle, and all over
until he will stand still without holding, and is not afraid to see you
anywhere about him.
"As soon as you have him thus gentled, get a small block, about one foot
or eighteen inches in height, and set it down by the side of him, about
where you want to stand to mount him; step up on this, raising yourself
very gently: horses notice every change of position very closely, and,
if you were to step up suddenly on the block, it would be very apt to
scare him; but, by raising yourself gradually on it, he will see you,
without being frightened, in a position very nearly the same as when you
are on his back.
"As soon as he will bear this without alarm, untie the stirrup-strap
next to you, and put your left foot into the stirrup, and stand square
over it, holding your knee against the horse, and your toe out, so as
not to touch him under the shoulder with the toe of your boot. Place
your right hand on the front of the saddle, and on the opposite side of
you, taking hold of a portion of the mane and the reins, as they hang
loosely over his neck, with your left hand; then gradually bear your
weight on the stirrup, and on your right hand, until the horse feels
your whole weight on the saddle: repeat this several times, each time
raising yourself a little higher from the block, until he will allow you
to raise your leg over his croup and place yourself in the saddle.
"There are three great advantages in having a block to mount from.
First, a sudden change of position is very apt to frighten a young horse
who has never been handled: he will allow you to walk up to him, and
stand by his side without scaring at you, because you have gentled him
to that position; but if you get down on your hands and knees and crawl
towards him, he will be very much frightened; and upon the same
principle, he would be frightened at your new position if you had the
power to hold yourself over his back without touching him. Then the
first great advantage of the block is to gradually gentle him to that
new position in which he will see you when you ride him.
"Secondly, by the process of leaning your weight in the stirrups, and on
your hand, you can gradually accustom him to your weight, so as not to
frighten him by having him feel it all at once. And, in the third place,
the block elevates you so that you will not have to make a spring in
order to get on the horse's back, but from it you can gradually raise
yourself into the saddle. When you take these precautions, there is no
horse so wild but what you can mount him without making him jump. I have
tried it on the worst horses that could be found, and have never failed
in any case. When mounting, your horse should always stand without being
held. _A horse is never well broken when he has to be held with a tight
rein when mounting_; and a colt is never so safe to mount as when you
see that assurance of confidence, and absence of fear, which cause him
to stand without holding." [Mr. Rarey's improved plan is to press the
palm of the right hand on the off-side of the Saddle, and as you rise
lean your weight on it; by this means you can mount with the girths
loose, or without any girths at all.--EDITOR.]
"HOW TO RIDE THE COLT.
"When you want him to start do not touch him on the side with your heel,
or do anything to frighten him and make him jump. But speak to him
kindly, and if he does not start pull him a little to the left until he
starts, and then let him walk off slowly with the reins loose. Walk him
around in the stable a few times until he gets used to the bit, and you
can turn him about in every direction and stop him as you please. It
would be well to get on and off a good many times until he gets
perfectly used to it before you take him out of the stable.
"After you have trained him in this way, which should not take you more
than one or two hours, you can ride him anywhere you choose without ever
having him jump or make any effort to throw you.
"When you first take him out of the stable be very gentle with him, as
he will feel a little more at liberty to jump or run, and be a little
easier frightened than he was while in the stable. But after handling
him so much in the stable he will be pretty well broken, and you will be
able to manage him without trouble or danger.
"When you first mount him take a little the shortest hold on the left
rein, so that if anything frightens him you can prevent him from jumping
by pulling his head round to you. This operation of pulling a horse's
head round against his side will prevent any horse from jumping ahead,
rearing up, or running away. If he is stubborn and will not go, you can
make him move by pulling his head round to one side, when whipping would
have no effect. And turning him round a few times will make him dizzy,
and then by letting him have his head straight, and giving him a little
touch with the whip, he will go along without any trouble.
"Never use martingales on a colt when you first ride him; every movement
of the hand should go right to the bit in the direction in which it is
applied to the reins, without a martingale to change the direction of
the force applied. You can guide the colt much better without it, and
teach him the use of the bit in much less time. Besides, martingales
would prevent you from pulling his head round if he should try to jump.
"After your colt has been ridden until he is gentle and well accustomed
to the bit, you may find it an advantage, if he carries his head too
high or his nose too far out, to put martingales on him.
"_You should be careful not to ride your colt so far at first as to
heat, worry, or tire him._ Get off as soon as you see he is a little
fatigued; gentle him and let him rest; this will make him kind to you,
and prevent him from getting stubborn or mad.
"TO BREAK A HORSE TO HARNESS.
"Take him in a light stable, as you did to ride him; take the harness
and go through the same process that you did with the saddle, until you
get him familiar with it, so that you can put it on him, and rattle it
about without his caring for it. As soon as he will bear this, put on
the lines, caress him as you draw them over him, and drive him about in
the stable till he will bear them over his hips. The _lines_ are a great
aggravation to some colts, and often frighten them as much as if you
were to raise a whip over them. As soon as he is familiar with the
harness and lines, take him out and put him by the side of a gentle
horse, and go through the same process that you did with the balking
horse. _Always use a bridle without blinkers when you are breaking a
horse to harness._
"Lead him to and around a light gig or phaeton; let him look at it,
touch it with his nose, and stand by it till he does not care for it;
then pull the shafts a little to the left, and stand your horse in front
of the off-wheel. Let some one stand on the right side of the horse, and
hold him by the bit, while you stand on the left side, facing the sulky.
This will keep him straight. Run your left hand back, and let it rest on
his hip, and lay hold of the shafts with your right, bringing them up
very gently to the left hand, which still remains stationary. Do not let
anything but your arm touch his back, and as soon as you have the shafts
square over him, let the person on the opposite side take hold of one of
them, and lower them very gently to the shaft-bearers. Be very slow and
deliberate about hitching; the longer time you take the better, as a
general thing. When you have the shafts placed, shake them slightly, so
that he will feel them against each side. As soon as he will bear them
without scaring, fasten your braces, &c., and start him along very
slowly. Let one man lead the horse, to keep him gentle, while the other
gradually works back with the lines till he can get behind and drive
him. After you have driven him in this way a short distance, you can get
into the sulky, and all will go right. It is very important to have your
horse go gently when you first hitch him. After you have walked him
awhile, there is not half so much danger of his scaring. Men do very
wrong to jump up behind a horse to drive him as soon as they have him
hitched. There are too many things for him to comprehend all at once.
The shifts, the lines, the harness, and the rattling of the sulky, all
tend to scare him, and he must be made familiar with them by degrees. If
your horse is very wild, I would advise you to put up one foot the first
time you drive him."
[Illustration: Second Lesson in Harness.]
With the leg strapped up, the lighter the break or gig the better, and
four wheels are better than two.
TO MAKE A HORSE FOLLOW YOU.
The directions make simple what have hitherto been among the mysteries
of the circus. I can assert from personal observation that by the means
described by Mr. Rarey a very nervous thorough-bred mare, the property
of the Earl of Derby, was taught to stand, answer to her name, and
follow one of his pupils in less than a week.
No hack, and certainly no lady's horse, is perfect until he has been
taught to stand still, and no hunter is complete until he has learned to
follow his master. Huntsmen may spend a few hours in the summer very
usefully in teaching their old favourites to wait outside cover until
wanted.
Turn him into a large stable or shed, where there is no chance to get
out, with a halter or bridal on. Go to him and gentle him a little, take
hold of his halter, and turn him towards you, at the same time touching
him lightly over the hips with a long whip. Lead him the length of the
stable, rubbing him on the neck, saying in a steady tone of voice as you
lead him, "Come along, boy!" or use his name instead of "boy," if you
choose. Every time you turn, touch him slightly with the whip, to make
him step up close to you, and then caress him with your hand. He will
soon learn to hurry up to escape the whip and be caressed, and you can
make him follow you around without taking hold of the halter. If he
should stop and turn from you, give him a few sharp cuts about the hind
legs, and he will soon turn his head towards you, when you must always
caress him. A few lessons of this kind will make him run after you, when
he sees the motion of the whip--in twenty or thirty minutes he will
follow you about the stable. After you have given him two or three
lessons in the stable, take him out into a small field and train him;
and from thence you can take him into the road and make him follow you
anywhere, and run after you.
To make a horse stand without holding, after you have him well broken to
follow you, place him in the centre of the stable--begin at his head to
caress him, gradually working backwards. If he move, give him a cut with
the whip, and put him back to the same spot from which he started. If he
stands, caress him as before, and continue gentling him in this way
until you can get round him without making him move. Keep walking around
him, increasing your pace, and only touch him occasionally. Enlarge your
circle as you walk around, and if he then moves, give him another cut
with the whip, and put him back to his place. If he stands, go to him
frequently and caress him, and then walk around him again. Do not keep
him in one position too long at a time, but make him come to you
occasionally, and follow you around the stable. Then make him stand in
another place, and proceed as before. You should not train your horse
more than half an hour at a time.
The following is Baucher's method of making a horse stand to be mounted,
which, he says, may be taught in two lessons, of half an hour each. I
do not know any one who has tried, but it is worth trying.
"Go up to him, pat him on the neck (_i. e._ gentle him), and speak to
him; then taking the curb reins a few inches from the rings with the
left hand, place yourself so as to offer as much resistance as possible
to him when he tries to break away. Take the whip in the right hand with
the point down, raise it quietly and tap the horse on the chest; he will
rein back to avoid punishment; resist and follow him, continuing the
tapping of the whip, but without anger or haste. The horse, soon tired
of running back, will endeavour to avoid the infliction by rushing
forward; then stop and make much of him. This repeated once or twice
will teach the horse that, to stand still, is to avoid punishment, and
will move up to you on a slight motion of the whip."
I doubt whether high-spirited horses would stand this treatment.
_To teach a horse to stand in the field._--Nolan's plan was, to draw the
reins over the horse's head and fasten them to the ground with a peg,
walk away, return in a few minutes and reward him with bread, salt, or
carrot; in a short time the horse will fancy himself fast whenever the
reins are drawn over his head. It may be doubted whether, in the
excitement of the hunting-field, either Rarey's or Nolan's plan would
avail to make a huntsman's horse stand while hounds were running.
Scrutator gives another method which is not within everyone's means to
execute.
"In my father's time we had a large field, enclosed by a high wall,
round which the lads used to exercise their horses, with a thick rug
only, doubled, to sit upon. A single snaffle and a sharp curb-bit were
placed in the horse's mouth; the former to ride and guide by. To the
curb was attached a long single rein, which was placed in the boy's
hand, or attached to his wrist. When the horse was in motion, either
walking, trotting, or cantering, the lad would throw himself off,
holding only the long rein attached to the curb, the sudden pull upon
which, when the lad was on the ground, would cause the horse's head to
be turned round, and stop him in his career. The boy would then
gradually shorten the rein, until the horse was brought up to him, then
patting and caressing him, he would again mount. After a very few
lessons of this kind, the horse would always stop the instant the boy
fell, and remain stationary beside him. The lads, as well as the horses,
were rewarded by my father for their proper performance of this rather
singular manoeuvre, but I never saw or knew any accident occur. The
horses thus trained proved excellent hunters, and would never run away
from their riders when thrown, always standing by them until re-mounted.
From the lads constantly rubbing and pulling their legs about, we had no
kickers. When a boy of only fifteen, I was allowed to ride a fine mare
which has been thus broken in, in company with the hounds. Being nearly
sixteen hands high, I had some difficulty in clambering up and down; but
when dislodged from my seat, she would stand quietly by until
re-mounted, and appeared as anxious for me to get up again as I was
myself.
"It may be said that all this was time and trouble thrown away, and that
the present plan of riding a young four-year-old, straight across
country at once, will answer the same purpose. My reply is, that a good
education, either upon man, horse, or dog, will never be thrown away;
and, notwithstanding the number of horses now brought into the
hunting-field, there are still few well-trained hunters to be met with.
The horse, the most beautiful and useful of animals to man, is seldom
sufficiently instructed or familiarised, although certainly capable of
the greatest attachment to his master when well used, and deserving to
be treated more as a friend than a slave. It is a general remark how
quiet some high-spirited horses will become when ridden by ladies. The
cause of this is, that they are more quietly handled, patted, and
caressed by them, and become soon sensible of this difference of
treatment, from the rough whip-and-spur system, too generally adopted by
men."
ON BAULKING OR JIBBING HORSES.
Horses are taught the dangerous vice of baulking, or jibbing, as it is
called in England, by improper management. When a horse jibs in harness,
it is generally from some mismanagement, excitement, confusion, or from
not knowing how to pull, but seldom from any unwillingness to perform
all that he understands. High-spirited free-going horses are the most
subject to baulking, and only so because drivers do not properly
understand how to manage this kind. A free horse in a team may be so
anxious to go, that when he hears the word he will start with a jump,
which will not move the load, but give him such a severe jerk on the
shoulders that he will fly back and stop the other horse. The teamster
will continue his driving without any cessation, and by the time he has
the slow horse started again, he will find that the free horse has made
another jump, and again flown back. And now he has them both badly
baulked, and so confused that neither of them knows what is the matter,
or how to start the load. Next will come the slashing and cracking of
the whip, and hallooing of the driver, till something is broken, or he
is through with his course of treatment. But what a mistake the driver
commits by whipping his horse for this act! Reason and common sense
should teach him that the horse was willing and anxious to go, but did
not know how to start the load. And should he whip him for that? If so,
he should whip him again for not knowing how to talk. A man that wants
to act with reason should not fly into a passion, but should always
think before he strikes. It takes a steady pressure against the collar
to move a load, and you cannot expect him to act with a steady,
determined purpose while you are whipping him. There is hardly one
baulking horse in five hundred that will pull truly from whipping: it is
only adding fuel to fire, and will make him more liable to baulk another
time. You always see horses that have been baulked a few times turn
their heads and look back as soon as they are a little frustrated. This
is because they have been whipped, and are afraid of what is behind
them. This is an invariable rule with baulked horses, just as much as it
is for them to look around at their sides when they have the
bots.[106-*] In either case they are deserving of the same sympathy and
the same kind, rational treatment.
When your horse baulks, or is a little excited, if he wants to start
quickly, or looks around and doesn't want to go, there is something
wrong, and he needs kind treatment immediately. Caress him kindly, and
if he doesn't understand at once what you want him to do, he will not be
so much excited as to jump and break things, and do everything wrong
through fear. As long as you are calm, and keep down the excitement of
the horse, there are ten chances that you will make him understand you,
where there would not be one under harsh treatment; and then the little
_flare up_ will not carry with it any unfavourable recollections, and he
will soon forget all about it, and learn to pull truly. Almost every
wrong act the horse commits is from mismanagement, fear, or excitement:
one harsh word will so excite a nervous horse as to increase his pulse
ten beats in a minute.
When we remember that we are dealing with dumb brutes, and reflect how
difficult it must be for them to understand our motions, signs, and
language, we should never get out of patience with them because they
don't understand us, or wonder at their doing things wrong. With all our
intellect, if we were placed in the horse's situation, it would be
difficult for us to understand the driving of some foreigner, of foreign
ways and foreign language. We should always recollect that our ways and
language are just as foreign and unknown to the horse as any language in
the world is to us, and should try to practise what we could understand
were we the horse, endeavouring by some simple means to work on his
understanding rather than on the different parts of his body. All
baulked horses can be started true and steady in a few minutes' time:
they are all willing to pull as soon as they know how, and I never yet
found a baulked horse that I could not teach to start his load in
fifteen, and often less than three, minutes' time.
Almost any team, when first baulked, will start kindly if you let them
stand five or ten minutes as though there was nothing wrong, and then
speak to them with a steady voice, and turn them a little to the right
or left, so as to get them both in motion before they feel the pinch of
the load. But if you want to start a team that you are not driving
yourself, that has been baulked, fooled, and whipped for some time, go
to them and hang the lines on their hames, or fasten them to the waggon,
so that they will be perfectly loose; make the driver and spectators (if
there are any) stand off some distance to one side, so as not to attract
the attention of the horses; unloose their check-reins, so that they can
get their heads down if they choose; let them stand a few minutes in
this condition until you can see that they are a little composed. While
they are standing, you should be about their heads, gentling them: it
will make them a little more kind, and the spectators will think that
you are doing something that they do not understand, and will not learn
the secret. When you have them ready to start, stand before them, and,
as you seldom have but one baulky horse in a team, get as near in front
of him as you can, and, if he is too fast for the other horse, let his
nose come against your breast: this will keep him steady, for he will go
slow rather than run on you. Turn them gently to the right, without
letting them pull on the traces as far as the tongue will let them go:
stop them with a kind word, gentle them a little, and then turn them
back to the left, by the same process. You will then have them under
your control by this time; and as you turn them again to the right,
steady them in the collar, and you can take them where you please.
There is a quicker process that will generally start a baulky horse, but
not so sure. Stand him a little ahead, so that his shoulders will be
against the collar; and then take up one of his fore feet in your hand,
and let the driver start them, and when the weight comes against his
shoulders he will try to step: then let him have his foot, and he will
go right along. If you want to break a horse from baulking that has long
been in that habit, you ought to set apart a half-day for that purpose.
Put him by the side of some steady horse; have driving reins on them;
tie up all the traces and straps, so that there will be nothing to
excite them; do not rein them up, but let them have their heads loose.
Walk them about together for some time as slowly and lazily as possible;
stop often, and go up to your baulky horse and gentle him. Do not take
any whip about him, or do anything to excite him, but keep him just as
quiet as you can. He will soon learn to start off at the word, and stop
whenever you tell him.
As soon as he performs rightly, hitch him in an empty waggon; have it
standing in a favourable position for starting. It would be well to
shorten the trace-chain behind the steady horse, so that, if it is
necessary, he can take the weight of the waggon the first time you start
them. Do not drive more than a few rods at first; watch your jibbing
horse closely, and if you see that he is getting excited, stop him
before he stops of his own accord, caress him a little, and start again.
As soon as they go well, drive them over a small hill a few times, and
then over a larger one, occasionally adding a little load. This process
will make any horse true to pull.
The following anecdote from Scrutator's "Horses and Hounds," illustrates
the soundness of Mr. Rarey's system:--"A gentleman in our neighbourhood
having purchased a very fine carriage horse, at a high price, was not a
little annoyed, upon trial, to find that he would not pull an ounce, and
when the whip was applied he began plunging and kicking. After one or
two trials the coachman declared he could do nothing with him, and our
neighbour, meeting my father, expressed his grievances at being thus
taken in, and asked what he had better do. The reply was 'Send the horse
to me tomorrow morning, and I will return him a good puller within a
week.' The horse being brought, was put into the shafts of a wagon, in a
field, with the hind wheels tied, and being reined up so that he could
not get his head between his legs, was there left, with a man to watch
him for five or six hours, and, of course, without any food. When my
father thought he had enough of standing still, he went up to him with a
handful of sweet hay, let down the bearing rein, and had the wheels of
the wagon released. After patting the horse on the neck, when he had
taken a mouthful or two of hay, he took hold of the bridle and led him
away--the wagon followed--thus proving stratagem to be better than
force. Another lesson was scarcely required, but, to make sure, it was
repeated, and, after that, the horse was sent back to the owner. There
was no complaint ever made of his jibbing again. The wagon to which he
was attached was both light and empty, and the ground inclined rather
towards the stable."
FOOTNOTES:
[106-*] A much more severe disease in America than in England.--EDIT.
[Illustration: LADY'S SEAT, WITH HUNTING-HORN POMMEL.]