St. Landry democrat., 1888-04-07
TREATMENT OF HORSES,
How to Insure Satisfactory Results IA
Training Young Animals.

How to Insure Satisfactory Results fa
Training Young Animals.
Ihave had some experience in driving
horses and breaking colts and though
the whip has its uses and is valuable in
the hands of the man who knows when
and how to use it, / have never consid-
cred it of much value as means of
punishment or of compelling obedi-
ence. In fact punishment should sell
dom be resorted to and when it does be-
come necessary the indiscriminate use
of the whip is almost certain to rouse
the horses luminosity and make him
worse. This is especially the case with
colts, which are often whipped for stub
bornness, when the real difficulty lies
in their not clearly understanding what
is required of them. In such case
whipping is ruinous; it does not call the
attention of the colt to the point we
are trying to teach him and it is of no
use in controlling him should he be-
come desperate and reckless, as he
often will under such treatment.
To insure the best results in training,
the horse or colt should be taught to
love as we'll as fear his master. These
two points gained, he will try to do al
most any thing you require OF him, u
he only understands a0hat 1t IS. And al
though tirmness is necessary, and im-
plicit obedience must be exacted, re-
wards will be found more efficient aids
than punishments. They show the
horse your appreciation when he does
what you want, and he Will both I'M
derstand and appreciate it.
One of my colts, a three-year mare,
half thoroughbred, when taken to be
shod for the first time, stood pretty
we'll until nearly done, when she sud-
denly pulled away from the black
smith. The blacksmith losing his tenn
per, gave her violent jerk by the
head. This excited her, and reused
her resentment, and it was with diff
Guilty that the shoeing was completed.
Shortly afterwards the mare was to be
clipped, and the blacksmith told the
man who was to clip her that he would
have a sweet time clipping that mare,
as she would not allow any of her feet
to be handled. He came with his
clippers, nevertheless, and told him /
thought there would be no trouble.
When it was necessary to take up her
feet, I took my stand at her head,
having few oats in MY pocket She
resisted little at first, but as soon as
she yielded her foot readily, I would
give her handful of oats, and con-
tinued fond]ing her, and occasionally
giving her few oats as long as she
was quiet. She " caught on at
once, and though the rewards were
gradually discontinued, there was no
further trouble in handling her feet.
Two other colts, which for amuse-
ment I taught to play see-saw on
''teeter,'' or plank, l invariably re-
warded after each performance by a
caress and handful of oats; and so
eager were they for their reward that
sometimes when they saw me coming
they would scramble ON the plank
without waiting to be told to do so.
In training them they were never
struck with any thing more severe
than little twig or switch, and seldom
with that.
That the horse possesses reasoning
faculties of high order is beyond dis
pute. And when we consider that it is
his reason to which we must appeal in
training him, the folly of whipping is
apparent, for when excited, by this Or,
any other cause, he is not in fit condi-
ton to be reasoned with. If properly
handled from the first, there will sell
dom be any difficulty, but if from any
cause he becomes unruly, and is dis
posed to find out who is master, some
simple device, such as the foot-strap,
which convinces him of his own help
lessness and your superiority. but at
the same time does not hurt or excite
him, will be found far better and more
certain means of control than the best
whip that ever was made.-Davsd Buff
fam, in Country Gentleman.