The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-12-09
Ghe 6armer.
BALKY HORSES.

bAAh dO6L0G0.
"What shall do to cure horse of the
habit Of balking?" is the frequent question
which the editor of farm paper is called
upon to answer. The replies are various,
some of them sensible and some highly RI
diculous. A few days since we read of an
unfailing cure in an English paper. 1t was
to back the "horse and cart" under shed
and let the animal stand there until it got
ready to come out One was so stubborn,
it was said, that it did not come out for thir-
ty-six hours. 1t is not every man who has
balky horse that owns cart, and what is
to be done under such circumstances is not
related; and often when horse balks he is
with some other horse that does not balk,
and the English prescription certainly does
not mean that both horses, the willing and
the unwilling, should be backed under
shed and kept there until the balky horse
gets ready to move Perhaps if the "dose"
once administered should cure for all time,
we could afford to give it thirty-six hours to
work; but if it had to be administered very
frequently the loss of time would be very
CAp6ISlNC. we Uuluk SuCll d
have to be classed with the impracticable
ones.
When a horse balks, the first thing to do
is to find out what the trouble is, if that is
possible. When it happens few times it
becomes habit largely, but when it first
occurs it may be caused by an i'll fitting har-
ness, or some physical trouble. Sometimes
we have no doubt it is the resultof a playful
spirit, and in either of the cases named the
judicious handling of the animal will save
a world of trouble and prevent the animal
from being ruined We have seen horses
balk because the collar was SO small that
the horse could not draw without choking
itself, or because the breast plate, when a
breast plate was used, had been drawn up
until it interfered with the breathing of the
horse. And in such cases we have some
times heard the driver swear until every
thing turned blue, and beat the horse shame
fully. He had not sense enough to discover
the trouble and see that the horse was in
no wise to blame. Ten chances to one that
such treatment as this would make horse
balky In the first place, therefore, when
horse first balks, examine carefully every
thing about the animal to ascertain if phys
ical pain and Inconvenience causes the diff
ficulty, and if such case is found, remove
it, and the horse will balk no more. If
nothing of this character can be found, then
it is reasonable to suppose that the spirit of
playfulness or the spirit Of stubbornness is
the cause, and in either case such methods
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is not profitable to show such a spirit while
in harness. 1t is well to remember at the
very beginning of the trouble, that if man
shows no more sense than the horse, the
horse will know it, and will have the best
Of the contest, upon the principle that the
biggest brute usually whips. Loud talk
and swearing does no good and to show
that punishment injudiciously administered
is of no avail, we have seen fires built under
balky horses, and have seen them whipped
until the blood flowed, without accomplish
ing a particle of good. We think that
calmness, and the show of kindness even in
the infiction of little cruel treatment are
the secret of success with balky horses.
We have had horses that would indulge this
WedhueSSj lOT IetSOIiS IlldG We Coulu HUI uc-
termine, Ourplan has always been to show
the animal that we thought its baking was
legitimate part of the programme which
was being performed, and that if it had not
baked we should have felt very much dis
appointed. We get out of the wagon and
coolly pretend to arrange something about
the harness, as if the horse had stopped for
the express purpose of giving us an oppor-
tunity to do that very thing. All the while
we are doing this we speak kindly to the
animal, showing it that we are not angry or
perplexed, and while that impression is
being made upon the horse, we calmly take
hold of that sensitive part, the animals
nose, just as if that, too, was part of the
programme which could not be missed, and
giving it as painful twist as possible, bid
the animal 60 along, and we have never had
it refuse, and have never had it invite such
performance many times. The horse
under such circumstances seems to feel that
everything that is done appears to be done
because the driver misinterprets the situa-
ton, and it finally concludes that if the
driver cannot understand things any better
there is no use in "casting pearls before
swine" and so stops baking Western
Rural af