Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-09-18
MANAGING HORSES.
How to Break Tricky Animals of Baking,
Running Back and Lying Down.


Horses that are in other respects ex-
! cellent animals sometimes have some
little trick or vice that spoils their
STABILITY and greatly impairs their
usefulness. If the trick can be eradi-
Gated they become valuable animals.
How to break them of these vicious
/ tricks becomes, therefore, an impor-
/ tant matter to the owners. Violence
/ and severity, when tried in such cases,
have always been found inadequate. In
deed, it is usually the case that such
treatment has been the cause of the
tricks, or at least has been the means
of confirming the animal in its evil
way. Take, for instance, the case of
the balky horse.
Baking is usually the result of bad
management or abusive treatment of
the horse. One thing is certain, and
that is, that it is of no use to whip the
balky horse. That only makes him
worse. If a horse refuses to go, let
him stand and think of it few min
utes. Oftentimes he will soon think
better of it, and start off of his own
accord. If he does not, get out and
pat him, speak kindly, give him a
bunch Of grass, a potato or an apple,
unhitch the ck-rein-doing some
thing just to take his attention off of
the baking, and generally he will go
along without further trouble. The
hn,n 10 To
kindness, and there is ten
times the chance to break up the habit
of baking by kindly treatment that
there is by abuse or violence. The
horse that can not be subdued by kind
ness, can not be by harsh means; or, at
least, harsh means should not be re-
sorted to until all devices prompted by
kindness have been thoroughly ex-
hausted.
Some horses, instead of refusing to
go at all, have trick of running back
when you want to start them. This is
a worse fault than that of refusing to
go at all, as it is liable to smash the
carriage or iniure those in it. In such
cases the same means as are recon-
mended for the balky horse may be
tried. If those fail, take the horse
into the middle of an open level field,
start him, and let him back as much
as he wishes, keeping the wheel turned
so as to make the circuit of the field as
many times as he wishes. Then make
him keep backing until he is heartily
sick of it and dizzy. Then he will see
that he has been beaten at his own
game, and viii not be likely to try it
again.
Some horses greatly annoy their
owners by lying down in the harness,
breaking shafts and doing other mis-
chief The best way to break them of
that trick is to give them an overdose
of it. When one of those lies down
get upon his head and neck and make
him stay there. He will soon want to
get up. but hold him down. keeping
his head fiat on the ground and hold
ing it there. If you are strong and
determined you can keep him down,
although it Will be lively work for
awhile. But don't give up. Keep him
there till he is tired out and gives up,
if it takes all day, and night too.
When he gives up he knows that he is
conquered. and that you are stronger
than he. He will not be likely to put
himself in a position that will giveyou
a chance to hold him down.
Whatever the trick or vice the
horse may have, it will generally do
70 good to whip or treat him harshly.
Il only exasperates him and makes
him more obstinate. and perhaps even
furious. Treat the horse kindly and
intelligently if you wish to reclaim
him. Y. Examiner.