Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-03-22

When the fOaI is but a few DAYS
old, III fact, as soon as you have as
sured the dam that no harm is in
tended and she ceases to be nervous,
put a halter Oh the youngster and
give it the first lesson in restraint OF
course it will resist, but do not pull
it about by main strength. Ii you take
a halter or a lead strap and have an
attendant walk behind and tap the
baby with a switch when it hangs
back, it will soon step forward.
If you are alone and the colt re-
fuses to lead, take a short switch or
a riding whip in your left hand, and
as you lead the colt with the right,
reach back behind you and tap the colt
on the rump. 1t will at once step for
ward, and in this way soon learn to
lead. Be patient and gentle. Remem
Der you are endowed with reasoning
powers and the brute is not Then,
again, horses vary as much in dispo-
sitions, even at birth, as human be-
ngs. A little experience will soon
convince you Of this.
Some will be nervous, but apparently
quick to learn, and readily controlled
as soon as convinced that no harm is
intended. Others are born perverse,
always ready for a fight, sour and en-
tirely unsusceptible to petting and kind
treatment.
Do not make any mistake, but when
you know you have one of this kind,
be assured that like some human be-
lngs, it respects only when compelled
to obey. FirmneSs and determination
will alone carry the day when your
will and that of the foal lock horns
for the mastery.
There is another disposition that is
meaner than all these. 1t is the
phlegmatic, stubborn kind in foals
that have but little nervous energy,
but are like the mule. Such a foal
may lie down and refuse to move
rather than submit, and after you
have piled whip until your arm is
paralyzed, and the foal is still willing
to grin and bear it, you will realize
how futile man may be to command
and enforce obedience. You will re-
call the old adage of how impossible
it is to force a horse to drink even
with the water before it.
My experience with the first styled,
or nervous disposition, has been pleas
ant. 1t only needs patience and kind
treatment to win the confidence and
teach them to be subseryient to your
will. Such a little one will seek the
opposite side of the dam or the farth
.r corner of the box when you first APP
pear, and will be very much frightened
and probably struggle when first re-
strained by the halter. You will be
surprised, however, to find how soon
it will yield to kindness and come to
be fond of you and submit to being
led or petted without any protest.
If, Oh the other hand, the halter
breaking has been neglected until the
foal has acquired age and strength
say up to six months or more, there
will be trO uble before the teaching is
perfected. Right here [ want to i'm
press upon readers the value Of doing
even this apparently trifing thing
thoroughly. There are many dis
agreeable habits connected with the
use of the halter that a horse will
learn, and that should be corrected at
the beginning. For example, MANY
foals, even after being broken to lead,
run loose in a stall, and when tied into
a tie stall and fastened, the trouble be-
gins. It might be safe to extend this
habit of pulling back when restrained
to many mature horses, for we all
know it exists, and many horses are
not safe to hitch at the roadside
Another bad habit that young horses
soon fall into is jerking the head
away when the halter is removed, or
the bit, and riding or driving bride.
This is an unpleasant habit, and often
results in a horse leaping away when
the halter is partially removed, pre-
paratcry to a run in the paddock.
Have everything done thoroughly;
when halter breaking is finished, be
able to say that the foal is broken to
lead or stand quietly in any place or
under any reasonable circumstances.
To return to the foal that has been
neglected until age and strength have
added to the cares of teaching, would
say that at this age such a fOal Is
more than a match for a man single
handed, and not only will it's subjuga-
ton tax a mans strength, but the
fight, as it will surely develop into,
will not be calculated to benefit the
disposition of future usefulness Of the
yOngster. Never attempt a thing with
a young horse and fail Horses may not
be as intelligent as human beings, but
they possess enough intelligence to
know when they are, so to speak, on
op. Whatever you understand in
eaching or subduing a young horse,
slan thoroughly and carry it out. Be
lind, but firm, and from the first teach
the pupil that submission is necessary
and will be enforced.
A better plan to halter break an adj
vanced pupil is to first nl1t on stout
halter made Of firm leather that will
not break, and attach two lead straps,
one on each side. Give each lead strap
into the hands Of an attendant, one
on each side, and with an ordinary
buggy whip step behind the youngster,
at a safe distance, and start it with a
light tap of the whip. Sometimes it
will be necessary to administer sew
eral sharp blows before the colt will
cross the threshold and leave the box,
but once begun it must be carried out
on that line, and with a particularly
stubborn foal rather than use the whip
to excess, have frequently pushed it
f,n 11n