Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-07-21
EARLY DAYS OF THE COLT.


1t is often the case that the different
prices which men receive for their work
and the different degree of efficiency with
which they are able to follow their
chosen occupations or professions, is
wholly due tOa difference of education,
says writer in the American Farmer
and Farm News. OF two men who
start in life with equal abilities, one NAV
be merely a day laborer and the other
may be famous lawyer, or be distin-
guished in some other field of profession
a life. The difference in the position
which they attain is not due to the
greater natural ability of the one who
becomes famous, but grows out of the
fact that his powers have been trained
and developed, while those of the other
man have remained comparatively I'M
improved. There is no dishonor In being
day laborer. 1t Is the character and
not the occupation that makes the man.
But it is evident that man who is edu-
Gated, and whose intellectual powers
have been strengthened by training and
continued work. can be far more useful
and influential than he could possibly
have been IL his mental strength had
never been developed.
The same difference in usefulness, and
also IN financial worth, is seen in horses
Some horses sell for twice as much as
Others which are of the same age and
which have equal capacities. Training
has made some of these animals valua-
BILE. Want of training has left the
Others in the class of ordinary stock.
The horses which haye been trained are
easily managed, can do many things of
which the Others know nothing, and can
De trusted in many places in which the
others would be absolutely unsafe.
Either for driving on the road or for
working on the farm the horses that are
properly trained are far more readily
sold, and command much higher prices
than those which are naturally just as
good, but which have not been taught
to do many of the things which every
avoid things which would make his use
unpleasant if not actually dangerous.
The moral of the foregoing is that men
who raise horses to sell should have the
animals properly and thoroughly trained.
1t is hardly necessary to remark that the
time to attend to this work is when the
intelligent, can be easily taught. With
the horse teaching is far more difficult
and is much less successful. 1t is also
much more expensive, as the horse has
reached an age at which it should be at
work. The time taken for teaching a
horse ought to be available for profitable
service by the animal. When it is old
enough and strong enough to work 1t
should be of use to its master. After
this point has been reached the owner
should not be put to an expense for
teaching, which should have been given
years before. Yet it often happens that
man buys horse which still requires
good deal of instruction to make it
even fairly satisfactory.
Possibly the objection will be raised
that many farmers who breed horses
are not very skillful managers of these
animals and that they cannot afford to
employ a professional trainer. 1t is true
that some breeders are not well fitted to
train horses, but there are many who
with care and patience could give all the
training which the average horse re-
quires. Men who have some taste in
this direction, and the only ones who
should attempt to handle horses any
more than is absolutely necessary, can
easily learn to manage colts. Then, too,
IN sections in which the breeding of
horses is an important industry, there
can always be found competent men who
will train collie well and do it for a
reasonable price. The value of the train
ing which such a man will give colt
that is put into his care, is many times
1