Connecticut western news. [volume] (Salisbury, Litchfield Co., Conn.) 1871-1970, 1901-02-14

AADDLrNG.
much of the colt for few minutes be
should slip the saddle gently over him,
place 1t squarely upon his back, slip
the girths quietly from the top OF the
saddle, and In girthing him he must be
careful not to draw too tightly at first.
Nothing frightens a colt more than
straining him round the middle sudden.
ly. The breaker must never hurry nor
do anything clumsily, but move about
the colt with ease and confidence, aud
he will soon grow familiar with the
appearance and feeling of the saddle.
1t should be frequently put on and
taken off his back, first from one side
and then from the other, and when he
becomes thoroughly accustomed TO this
the flaps Of the saddle should be beaten
very gently at first TO familiarfze him
with noise like the swinging Of straps
and rattling Of irons.
After training the colt with the feel
Ing of the saddle for three or four con-
secutive days he should receive lessons
In turning to the bit. This Is best &C
complished by walking close to his
side-the near side-and reaching the
right hand well over the withers to use
the OF rein, while the left Is worked
by the other hand, making him move
backward and forward and turn In all
directions.
The colt should be led In the open a
few days by long rein attached to the
front cavesson ring. He should be tax
en- along public highways. so that he
may become familiar with objects on
the road
Many colts are frightened to pass
swiftly driven vehicles and "scorch-
ing" cyclists. From the number OF BIZ
cycles now being ridden over the pub
lie roads, together with the phenome-
nal appearance of an occasional motor
car, the passing of those objects quiet
ly by horses is an important and essen
tial point In their early training.
In addition to the ordinary breaking
harness. II is a capital plan to fix a
chain to the crupper just above the
colts quarters. The chain should be
about eight feet long. so that 1t will
hang about foot beneath the tanks OF
the colt on either side of him. 1t will
dangle and play about his legs and
tanks by the motion of his body and
will have a tendency to remove any
ticklishness that may be about him. A
pair of common farm mouth bags
should be tied together, fixed In the
center of the saddle and suspended as
far as the feet Of the rider will reach.
They should be filled with some heavy
material-corn or turnips will do-and
their weight. pressing against the sides
Of the colt, has an excellent effect In
preparing him for the pressure OF the
riders legs.
The colt should frequently be driven
round In q circle, first to the right and
then to the left, and never too long at
time. In this way II Is easy to give
him plenty of exercise before he can
be ridden. He should be sent round
at trot and a canter. sweating him a
little. but not firing him. In running
him to the left the right hand rein can
be used as a whip II necessary, and
vice versa In running to the right. The
breaker should always stop the colt
when the direction of his course is re-
versed and induce him to walk close
up. when he should be encouraged by
fondling and kind, assuring words. He
will learn this almost sooner than any
thing else IL he Is kindly treated. The
reason for stopping him when his
course Is reversed Is to prevent him
running one action into another and
confusing his PAGES. Walking. trot-
ting. cantering and galloping are all
distinct PAGES and should be done sepa-
rately.
The halter should always be left on
the head Of the colt below the bride.
The halter shank should pass between
the fore legs and be securely fixed 10
the saddle glrths, and when the colt
throws up his head the pressure comes
upon his nose, which does not check
him so severely as when the strap Is
attached to the rings of the bit. The
driving reins should be ten yards long.
and they should pass from the colts
mouth along through the stirrups. The
stirrups should always be fixed to the
a1rths to prevent them being displaced
when the reins are drawn upon. In
this manner the driver can lever the
reins round the hind quarters of the
colt and wheel him about In all dlrec-
tons with the greatest ease.
When the colt has been driven about
the fields and roads for a few days. he
should he mounted. While we recon.
mend mounting proper In the open, II
Is well to accustom the colt to the
weight and appearance of the rider In
the stall The colt should be turned In
81
rings on either side. The breaker must
work quietly about him for some time,
catching the saddle by the right side.
and lean the weight of the body upon
II. He should insert the left foot In
the stirrup, taking II out and putting II
In often. so as to get the colt to un-
derstand what the noise means. When
he has learned this In the STALL he will
remember II in the open and will not
heed the Jlngling of the boot In the
stirrup afterward, When he Is quiet
under this treatment, the breaker must
get his foot In the stirrup. raise the
body slowly and gradually up and lean
across the back of the colt without
putting the leg across him. He should
continue doing this for half an hour
from both sides OF the colt and then
slip his right leg quietly over him. He
should settle the body well down In
the saddle and move the arms and legs
continuously about him. He should
move them cautiously at FIRST and
gradually increase the motion accord
ing to the behavior of the colt. He
should mount and dismount often on
both sides Of him and never appear to