The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1878-06-25
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BREAKING IN.
The Art of Tanning Fiery and Vicious
Horses.

Horses.
From the Pail Mall (London) Gazette
Of yicious-tempered horses there have
from time immemorial been a great
many. How far the vice is natural and
how far it is acquired cannot be satisfac.
torily determined. That it may be in
herited is all but certain; but there are
obvious difficulties in the way of an at
tempt to solve the general question.
Some persons maintain that no horse is
born vicious, unless the vice be inher-
tied; and they are fond of asserting that
the spleen in horse is, proportionately,
of course, less than in the gentle dove,
But, on the other hand, there are those
who SITTER &t the psyyer bal i>...ets. Ass
c. the dove, and maintain that creature
may we'll have less spleen than that bird
has, and yet have " devil of temper"
However that may be, it is quite certain
that the "deviltry" of horse may some
times be accounted for by disease rather
than by temperament, and that it is fire.
quently produced by ali injudicious
method of =" breaking" As regards a
sort of madness arising from disease, an
anecdote is related in book lately pub
lished about "Life in the Mofussil' A
gentleman in India, where, by the way,
bad-tempered horses abound, had so fire.
quently found his life endangered by the
terribly excitable nature" of the ami
NAL he was in the habit of riding that he
sent the brute to Calcutta for sale, but
"the horse dropped dead on his way to
the stables, and post-mortem examina-
ton showed that he was suffering from
an abscess on the BRAIN" which was
quite enough to account for the vice ex-
hibited. As for the viciousness superin-
duced by bad breaking" it has often
been insisted upon, although few people,
when they see long line of horses COM
ing out for race, and remark how
placidly and unconcernedly one moves
along and what "tantrums" another
displays, think of seeking for the cause
anywhere else but in the natural dis
position Of the animals themselves.
TRIALS OF TEMPER.
Whether, as it is sometimes affirmed,
the French are masters in the art of
" breaking" or dressage," it cannot be
denied that they, or some of them,
preach excellent doctrine, though they
may not, any mere than we, practice
what they preach. They have at any
rate, OF have had, plenty Of vicious race
horses; but they may, of course, con-
slider that we, from whom they bor-
rowed their strains OF blood and from
whom they are not yet altogether eman-
cipated in affairs of horsehesh, are
originally responsible for that. How
ever, it is impossible not to agree with
the French authority who has written
that breaking is one of the most
important phases in the career of a
horse, and the one which has the great
est influence, probably, upon his future"
and that the qualities most requisite for
breaker are those which will instill a
wholesome awe into the the youngster,
without, however, inspiring terror and
arousing distrust.'' The first step is,
of course, to get the youngster accus-
toned to the cavesson and other para
phernalia; and bitterly, in most cases,
is this attempt to interfere with the lib
erty of the subject resented. 1t is re-
lated of the wild Sornetle that she took
her grievance so much to heart as to
break away from her breaker, take to
her heels, aud, with all the hated para
phernalia upon her, lie hid tor two
whole days in those grounds Of Vile
bon in which she afterward com.
mitted involuntary suicide. What
trials of temper the breaker must
undergo may be esaily imagined
and it is not wonderful if he should
sometimes forget that, as the authority
says, "a bad beginning of youngsters
schooling if nearly always the source OF
such defects of temper as may be after
ward displayed" and that, moreover,
ga brutal course of breaking frequently
causes blemishes which may affect a
horses whole career" 1t is complained
that Every few breakers appeal to the
animals intelligence; instead of trying
to make it understand what is required
eff it, and what at first simply dumb.
POUNDS it, they prefer to impose theil
will by force. A contest ensues, from
which the youngster energies for the
most part broken in no doubt, but also
heart-broken." Suppose the youngstel
to have become resigned or submissive
to the paraphernaiia, the nextand more
important operation is to put a rider or
it's back; and, unless the greatest pre-
cautions are taken, the animal will from
that time forth regard all mankind a
possible riders, and, therefore, enemies
And if, as sometimes happens, the effort
to get rid of the first rider have beef
successful, they are pretty sure to be re
newed upon subseq Henc
the necessity for not being in hurr.
and for employing gentleness and per
suasion; the more haste the worst speed
But /" the opposite course" it is asserted
els generally adopted, and the continues
, fight shown on all occasions by man
horses is traceable to no other cause.
! Hence, too, perhaps, the spectacle whic
! has before now been seen of horse al
) tended in public by men armed wit
bludgeons, and of a horse going nearl
frantic with emotion at the appearance
of particular individual.
THE TIME TO BEGIN.
As for the age at which the breakin
should begin, yearlings are sometime
! declared to be too young for it; but s
long as there are 2-year-old races thel
is no alternative with the majority {
=. race-horses. Moreover, it must be, n
!, membered that breaking is the necessar
preliminary to the arduous process
= = training; and that if the youngsters wei
. allowed to spend much time in idlene
{ they would not only become more diff
> cult to break, but they would run til
: risk of getting so much flesh on, of b
;, coming so much above themselves
L that the quantity of work required to r
u duce them by training might be mo-
than their legs would stand. As fl
nL..:eni s.Iayaiar,rosrt and wear ~,