The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1879-10-30
Breaking Colts.

HAVE had considerable, experience
in handling colts, and have come to the
conclusion that the training Il prefer
that word to breaking) cannot begin
too early. l have adopted the rule of
halterirg my colt at ten days, old, and
lead it at the mothers side whenever l
drive her. / have fievef found any
trouble in teaching a colt to lead in
this way, and long before it is weaned
it will be perfectly halter-broken. l
have just brought up from the pasture
a colt that was two years old in April,
to give it little training. This colt
was halter-broke and led at the side of
its mother when sucking, and it is now
as docile as any horse on the farm. A
boy sixteen yeats old, who is living
with me, harnessed it few days ago,
and, after driving it round the yard a
short time, hitched it to a spring wag-
on and went off alone with it. Ishould
not have allowed it had l known what
he was about, but he came back with
the colt as gentle as my old carriage
horse. This has been about my ex-
perience with colts that have been
taught to lead and handle when young.
1t is easy to accustom a colt to have the
harness thrown on it, and chains
wrapped around it's legs, or to have
something fall from it's back, without
its being frightened, and if these things
are ever learned, it must be when the
animal is young. I believe that it is
easy to so train colt that if the hold
backs come loose on hill, and let the
buggy against 1t, instead Of being
frightened and running away it will
brace itself and stop the buggy. II re-
member twice being placed in condi-
ton of great danger, with a spirited
mare that I had trained from colt,
and if / had not accustomed her to just
such treatment as recommend, should
undoubtedly have been severely injured
or killed. The instances were these: l
was approaching the Miami River,
on a turnpike, and had just start
ed down a long, winding hill, over
a fourth of a mile long, when one
of the bolts by which the shafts
were attached to the buggy dropped
out. That side of the shafts dropped
on to the mares heels, and whenever l
attempted to rein her in to stop her,
the buggy would run against her. J.
went fully three hundred yards, down
the hill before could get her checked
so that it was safe for me to jump out
and catch the wheel and stop the buggy,
but the mare made no attempt to kick
or run. The other case was this: l
had stopped at the top of a long hill
with load of wood, and when stepped
on to the doubletree to climb on to
the load, the stick took hold of, to
pull myself up by, pulled out and I fell
with my head between the mare heels,
and the stick came rattling down over
the chains on top of me. If she had
started at all the wagon would have
run over me, for was exactly in front
of the wheel. Now do not say that
every horse can be trained to do as
mine did, but 1 do say that if it is ever
done it must be while it is young, and
that what the colt is taught young it
never fOrgets. have no faith in the
theory that a colt should never be put
to work until it is four years old. OF
course, we must exercise judgment
and not strain our young horses by
pulling them hard, but see no more
reason why colt should do nothing
until it is full grown, than a boy, and
every boy works from the time he is
twelve or fourteen years old: A well
grown colt can be used for light work
from the time it is thirty months old
and made to. pay its keeping, and if good
Judgment is exercised it viii be all the
better for it. One thing is indispensable
in training colt, and that is that you
control your temper. The man who will
get angry, and jerk and whip colt, is
not fit to have charge of it, and need moi
expect to render it docile and obedient
Cor. Practical Farmer. -'a'st