The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-03-03
Breaking Horses

The Subject Of breaking horses is ono
That is frequently preached by CORE
spondents. and is of 30 much importance
taat we never tire of answering ques-
uons and make suggestions with refer
ence 70 1t. Horses are very valuable
property, as those who have them to buy
especially recognize, and yet the value
OF horses which are annually ruined
through ignorance and carelessness in
breaking is very large. We now call to
mind a fine colt which was practically
ruined last year by the laundering of the
man who was trying to teach it the ways
OF horse civilization" but who did not
know, or did not seem to know, any
more than the colt did, if he did as much.
Just through clear stupidity that animal
was converted into kicker of the most
vicious kind, and is one to-day. 1t, there
fore, is very important that if we have
colts at all, we should know how to man
age them, to the end that they NAV be
developed into as perfect horses as posi-.
BILE.
In order to accomplish this kindness
will not do it all, but it will go a very
long ways, and without kindness moth
ing can be accomplished. You cannot
beat and swear colt into good horse.
This course has been pursued ever
since the first few colts were foiled and
the universal verdict is that it is la
mentable failure. Even they who whip
the hardest, and swear the loudest will
agree to that verdict. The Arab, as is
well known brings the horse to such
marvellous perfection as characterizes
Arabian horses, through the exercise of
unvarying kindness from the time the
colt is foiled until the horse dies. The
family and the colt occupy the same
apartments frequently, and the animal
is at all times perfectly familiar with the
voice and touch of those about him.
He fears nothing, for there is nothing to
fear. He learns from the very begin
ming that man is his friend and pro-
tector. The idea of master, which OBJ
tains among us, is never entertained in
Arabia, while in truth the Arabian is
more truly and perfectly the master
than we are. We are apparently salts
fed with the name, and with what sat.
isfaction comes from acting the role of
the tyrant, while the Arab seeks the
reality, and does not aspire to be ty-
ranical.
As soon as we learn the important
lesson which Arabian horsemanship
teaches we shall have more good horses
and shall be better satisfied with our
selves. We shall then find the colt
broken at the time we now usually be-
gin to break it for from the very COM
mencement of its existence, we shall
accustom it to being handled, and
gradually accustom it to trappings
which will resemble the harness, until
the time comes for turning the play into
reality, the work will have all been
done. This should be the aim of every
horse-breeder. The confidence of the
colt should be early won, and it can be
won much earlier in colthood than it
can be when the time has arrived at
what we now call the breaking time.
The age at which colt should be put
to work should be when it has substan-
tally obtained its growth, or rather when
it has become perfectly developed. The
most of our colts are put to work too
young, especially if they have grown
rapidly. We seem to forget that an
overgrown colt is like an overgrown boy
has the size but not the strength.
Strength, which is only another term for
complete physical development, must
come with time as rule, and if we put
a colt to work before its development
has been secured, we shall injure it just
in proportion as we work it beyond its
strength. The laws of nature cannot be
violated with .mpunity. 1t may be said
that our colts are usually broken from
one to three years sooner than they
should be.
In horse breeding and horse rearing,
we are like, as we are in most everything
else, a little careless. This country ought
to breed and rear the best horses in the
world, as is evidenced in our success in
trotting stock. # America continues to
out-strip the European horse upon the
European race-course, the time will come
when the trotter of the European will
come from America But that style of
horses is the most useless of any, and we
should endeavor to breed up our general
purpose and draft horses, until we can
export instead of being under the neces-
sity of importing. We can do it, too, If
we are careful Western Rural.