Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1861-02-08
AGRICULTURAL.
From Tue Americ~h AgricuHuruIst'
Two Hours with Mr.. Rarey.
USEFUL HINTS ON BREAKING AND TRAIN
ING HORSES.

been entertaining and instructing the citi
gems Of New York, and thousands VIII
have come in from the surrounding country
with lectures and illustrations Of his theor,
or system of breaking and training horses
We very cheerfully accepted his invitation
to spend couple Of hours in listening t.
his explanations and studying the practica
application Of his method upon sevcra
horses. His quiet manner, and eviden
consciousness of being in the right, are cal
culated to win favor. The principles a
the foundation Of his method are SO self
evident, that few persons can listen to hin
and see him operate, without coming away
feeling that he is about right-or at Least
that he is no charlatan. We may mention
nm incident that illustrates the influence he
exerts over those who hear and see him.
When going through the process Of subdu-
ing vicious horse, he referred to the ef-
fects Of kindness and an opposite treatment.
A gentleman who sat by onr side remarked
Il shall send my coachman TO hear him il
Il costs me fifty dollars--it will be worth
that TO my horses" Several others sitting
near responded that they should do the
same thing.
In short, we endorse most of the teach
ings Of Mr.. Rarey they are such as we
have. for years, tried to inc1lcate in the
griculrurist-though in less clear and
definite manner than is done by him--and
we think he is doing the country real SER
vice in these exhibitions and lectures. We
will try to give our readers some intelli-
gent idea of the subject by brief outline
Of part Of one of his entertainments,
throwing in some Of his remarks in quo
tations."
A horse is brought in, said not to be a
bad one. Mr.. Rarey approaches him in
firm, but gentle, soothing manner, rubs his
face, pats and fondles him, until the animal
seems to really take liking to him on first
acquaintance. He SO far gets the good
will Of the horse that he readily follows
him by barely touching the bride. He
next ties straw in the bit, and the horse
leads as well with this as with halter, and
even better. "All hard bits, and hard
pulling make hard MOUTHS your barbed,
and curbed, and crooked bits only tougher
the mouth and stir up resistance. .. The
horse must be treated as a thinking animal,
in part. A horse always carries HIM
self more gracefully, and is more readily
guided by a lady rider, than by man, be-
cause the former carries an easier rein. +. {. :. !"
A vicious, biting, kicking, untamed horse
was brought in. His first manifestation
was to bite, but Mr. Rarey was quickly at
his left side, and Selling the bride hanging
over the neck, he began to turn the horse
round to the right (away from himself) by
pulling the strap over his neck in that d.
rection. The horse thus turned round was
too busy in keeping his center of gravity
right, to stop to bite or kick. "If you are
riding or driving horse hard on the bit,
and he attempts to run, or rear up, don't
pull straight back with both hands, but with
one rein turn him round if riding, or first
one side and then the other if driving. This
will require so much effort on his part to
keep square on his feet that he will neither
run nor rear" ......" A balky horse may
usually be started by simply turning his
head round so as to disturb his center of
gravity" Having pretty thoroughly di-
verted the horses attention by frequent
turnings, he next gets up the near foot and
buckles strap around it. "To raise
fore foot readily, press one hand upon the
shoulder excepting his head turned from
you with the bride strap if he be yicious)
and with the other hand strike the leg gen.
tly in front; the horse will involuntarily
raise it up"
When one leg is thus fastened in bent
or doubled position, the horse is compelled
! to stand and hobble round upon three legs
This of course also requires his whole at
tention. He is then turned round and led
about on three legs, until he manifests con-
siderable anxiety. A strong strap or belt
is then buckled round the body behind the
fore legs. A long small strap is thrust I'M
der this, and one end fastened to the right
fore leg, below the fetlock joint. The other
end is held in the hand, and as it passes
under the body strap, pulling it raises the
other fore leg. The horse isthenled round
and when he raises the off leg to hobble
along gentle pull on the strap doubles it
up and the horse is brought upon his knees.
Holding the strap firmly in the hand will
prevent his strengthening out the leg, and
he is kept upon his knees. In all these
movements keep cool but firm. Exhibit
no temper, but act as If conscious of your
superior power. and do not irritate the an
imal."
The strap was made fast to the belt so
that it was impossible for the horse to rise
from his knees. While thus kept on their
knees, sumo Of the wilder horses ioundered
good deal. Mr.. Rarey sometimes left
them alone TO fight it out by themselves
but he usually kept turning the head round
to induce them to put forth effort. and thus
more readily learn that they were in his
power. A thick bed of straw prevented
injury 10 the knees during this floundering.
Sometimes an animal holds out long time,
but usually in from three to seven minutes
yen can plainly discern that his spirit is
being conquered, and that he begins to be
sensible of his helplessness. You can see
an imploring look in the eye of the mos,
vicious animal, after few more struggles
he gives up completely and stretches him.
self upon his side. His muscles relax, and
he permits himself to be handled in any
way you desire. The result is the same in
every case. When the horse yields-and
every horse will yield under such treatment
--he yields completely. When this point
j. reached, Mr.. Rarey soothes him to show
he Is . friendly conqueror and handles
him in variety of ways-lifts ND his feet.
lies down on him, strikes his fore and hind
feet together, sits astride of him. opens his
mouth, sits upon all parts of his body. etc.
In one case the horse sprang upon his knees
nd ersol ~ e