The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-06-23
MANAGING HORSES.
HOW you SHOULD AND HOW YOU
SHOULD NOT TREAT THEM.


Horsss Err From Ignorance, Pain or Fright.
} Ehsy Must Bs Convinced That Resist
snos h Ussisss-Uss the whip spsrinsIy
and Never Kick tho Animal.
Horses are essentially creatures of
'h&bit; Of gentle. confiding dispositions.
'butexcessively nervous; timid, at times
azzitable. and prone to resist strenuous
ly anything that frightens them. II, for
example, you put q rope halter on an
pnbroken colt and tie him to post, the
more the rope cuts into his tender skin
che sSeater will be bis struggles, while
no Will soon Yield TO halter that In
u1icts no pain.
Through nervous fright horses some.
times. beeume panic stricken and abso-
lute1y uncomfortable. They suffer also
Occasionally from what. for want Of q
better name, may be called nervous
paralysis. when they seem to be phys
tcaIly incapable Of motion. This CON-
dttion II almost invariably the result Of
brutal treatment, and the only reason
ablo explanation of IL 10 that the first
emotion aroused In the horse by punish
ment Is fear: that when he finds that
ho cannot escape anger and spirit Of
Res3stxnoe are mingled with his fright.
and that these combined emotions pro.
duce this morbid state.
The horse Is quick to take advantage
Of the ignorance or the fear of those
who control him. As compared with
the dog. he is somewhat slow Of com.
prehension, but he differs from the dog
In this also--that he seldom becomes
"too old to learn new tricks. and hii
memory Is 20 retentive that he never
forgets what hc has once thoroughly
learned.
It may also be set down az q rule,
yith but few exceptions, that he intends
to do just right. II he err. it is from
ignorance. pain or fright, rarely from
stubbornness or vicC-~ This seems to be
generally unknown or at least disre
garded, for Of all animals the horse ID
the least understood, the most harshly
Judged and unjustly treated, and for the
least infraction Of discipline he Is toe
often brutally punished. II men who
train horses would control their tenn.
pers and endeavor to ascertain the cause
Of the ANIMAL q misbehavior. they would
find that there is often Q good excuse fol
his actions.
The eye Is the best index to the ami
malls feelings. The ears are very ex
pressive, but they do not reveal sc
plainly the emotions that are dominat-
Ing him a. the eye does. Therefort
study the eye with its varying express
dons. and when you can read it, mean
Ing you hold the hey to one Of the chief
secrets Of successful horse training.
The horse should be convinced that
xesistance IL useless, but do not be I'm
patient or harsh. Remember that suo
oess 10 the reward Of unwearied pa
thence. If you fail at first, keep trying
until you succeed. Do not be discour.
aged if you do not seem to make much
progress. Your task may take weeks O.
even months, but if you persevere you
will triumph.
While it is true that with some horses
the whip must be occasionally used, il
should be the very last resort, and re-
member always that one, or at most
two, cuts and q few sternly spoken
words are more efficacious than al
hours punishment. There is no more
vicious or false idea than that horse j.
benefited by "sound thrashing." Or
the contrary, it is the very worst thing
you can do, because the horses recollec
tion Of the pain and the fright occa
stoned by it is more vivid and enduring
than his remembrance of why it was
administered, and at your next lesson
he is nervous and afraid and at the least
note Of anger in your voice (for horses
judge the mood of the trainer by hit
manner and his tone Of voice) he may
become almost uncomfortable in his ef
forts to escape the expected fagellation.
It is a safe rule for any one having
hasty temper not to. have whip al
hand. The temptation to use it may be
too great. And it is also wise not to at.
tempt to teach him when you are in a
bad humor, for il he does not do just
right you will probably vent some Of il
ON him.
When whipping is used only as last
resort. the necessity for it seldom arises.
As the horse makes progress in his edu.
cation he understands better what is re.
quired of him and transgresses less fre.
quently, and nearly always sound rat.
ing when he knows that he is misbe-
having is sufficient. Smetimes when
this is disregarded slap with the open
hand will cause instant obedience.
There are two forms Of punishment,
or rather brutality, that are inexcusa-
bic under any circumstances are
striking horse over the head, no mat
ter how light the blow, and kicking
him-and aside from their inhumanity
there is great danger Of permanently in
juring him. Whenever during lesson
a colt or young horse becomes heated
and angry, cease at once, and IL you
have been impatient and abused him
keep away from him and do not ap-
proach him until he has forgotten the
occurrence