The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1901-09-20
CART FOR COLT BREAKING.

make him respect the superior
strength of man. Catch him with one
arm around his neck and the other
hold of his tail SO he cannot get away,
run ahead or kick you. Bring the
hand, in contact with all parts of his
body and from both sides. Be gentle,
and when done press a little sugar be-
follow you all over. By this means you
have gained his confidence. The hogs,
hens, dogs and sheep come for food
when called; why not the horsees?
At ten days put on the halter. No
trouble to do this. But if you begin to
pull on the strap he obeys natural
law and begins to run back. A clothes
line should be put around his body in
front of the hips, and the end be put
through the halter ring, so both strap
and rope are held at once. A pull on
the rope will land him nearly on top
of you. Would not put under his tail
or any part where harness would come
later. Give sugar after each lesson.
Do not teach tricks, but useful les
sons. The colt should be weaned at
five months. Separate him from his
dam and put him in a box stall. The
best food is sweet, warm skinned
cows milk, about one quart per day,
with a little sugar, grain and lit
tie hay with oats. Do not feed so as
to distend the stomach, and do not
feed first day until night. Put milk
in pan and bring lips in contact with
it and he will soon learn to drink.
Construct cart with shafts IA feet
long. Put a crossbar across the shafts
quite a distance from the wheels. Put
a well-trained horse in the shafts.
Four colts can be trained at once, two
on each side. A jockey stick attached
to end of shaft extends in front of
them and a snap on it is snapped into
halter ring. Straps from halter ring
go back to crossbar for tugs and short
straps connect the halter rings. When
the cart starts they hang back and the
crossbar strikes the heels and they
soon learn to walk and trot.
With the word whoa. pull up the
mare and every colt gets kink in the
neck from the jockey stick; few les
sons are all that are needed. Drive
through mud'holes, over bridges and
raise umbrellas. The old horse holds
them to their place, and in few days
they are we'll trained.
Never break horse. A good collar,
properly fitted, never makes a horse
sore, and sweat pads are not only use
less, but harmful. Most collars are
too large, and the draft is either too
low or too high. There should be but
little if any motion or twist when the
horse is moving. A sloping shoulder
requires a close fit to sides of neck;
most collars are too broad at bottom,
and. names will not bring it up. All
collars are fitted over the same block
and new one is round, but an old one
fat.
The horse does his work from the
shoulder, and should have his own
collar. A new collar should be put
in water over night and kept on the
horse all the next day while he is
working. 1t will give and stretch until
it is a perfect fit. If the horse is in
good flesh, buy collar which will
only allow four fingers between it and
the breast. You can let out hole at
first. A horse is not worth a cent to
us, except when he is in motion. Knees
and toes should be straight and in
line with shoulder-for anything out
of line interferes with the gait.-Farm
and, Home.