The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1902-11-29
TRICKS FOR HORSES.
THE ANIMALS ARE EASILY TAUGHT
AND QUICK TO LEARN.

Made TO signal "fes~ and "No," "a
Shake Hands and "a Lie Down at
the Word OF Command.
There are so many things that a
horse can be taught TO do. says Sue
cess. that IL is hard to tell which TO
select as best illustrating the methods
by which we teach them. The follow
ing. however, VIII furnish the key:
Take pin in your hand. and. stand
ing abreast of n horses near shout
der prick him lightly on the breast.
This resembles the bite Of fly. and
to drive of the nuisance he Will bring
down his nose TO his breast. This you
accept as Yes and Immediately re-
ward him by feeding him lump Of
sugar or some other trihe that he likes.
Repeat the operation tin he brings
down his head az the slightest move.
ment or your hand towurd his breast.
By degrees YOU can substitute q Simple
downward movement Of the hand.
which Is less noticeable 10 an onloon-
en-. but equally effective.
Standing IN the same position. plici
him lightly with pin on ,he top OF d
neca he VIII az once shake his hoe
which Is accepted as "No." then r..
WEIRD him as before Repeat this anal
be shakes his head ut die least upward
movement Of thc haMd This signal.
MS he learns his lesson more perfectly.
can he gradually lcsseucd until II Is
very slight indeed TO say Yes" on
NO Is a very simple trick. ana yet
there is none That shows TO better I'D
vantage OF course when horse has
thoroughly learned 10 obey the signals
YOU can ask him some questions and
then, by the motion OF your hand
make him shy yes" or NO as YOU
please,
TO teach u horse 10 shake hands fas-
ten short strap 10 one fore foot below
tie fetlock Then standing IN front 81
the horse and having the strap In your
hand, say, shake hands" and imme-
dialely pull up his foot and take il IN
your hand. Then. still holding the foot.
reward and carcss him exactly MS YOU
would if he had given il to you Of Ills
own accord. Keep repeating the oper-
alton. being careful TO reward bin only
while his foot Is in your hand. He viii
very soon learn 70 give you his foot
the moment you reach your hand To-
ward IL.
To teach a horse to lie down at
word OF command first select q good.
smooth piece OF greensward. where he
Will not hurt himself. Harness him
with surcinglc and bride and strap
up his off fore foot. A common breech-
ing strap is best for this, the short
loop around his foot between the fet-
lock and the hoof and the long one
around his forearm. Fasten one end
OF Il strap TO the near fore foot below
the fetlock, pass the other end up
through the surcingle and take Ii in
your right hand and the bride rein IN
your left hand. Push him slightly, and
the moment he steps pull sharply OH
the strap.
This OF course Will bring him TO his
knees. Ii he Is horse OF any spirit.
he will generally fight very pertina-
ciously before he goes down; but. hay.
ing the use OF only his two hind legs.
he soon becomes wearied and rests
with his knees on the ground Now
pull his head toward you. and he will
fall over the other way.
Hold him down for some minutes.
meanwhile speaking TO him very sooth-
ingly. Feed him Jumps OF sugar In
fact make as much as possible OF him
while in this position. Then release
him and repeat the lesson. lie soon
learns TO lie down very readily. and
then you can omit strapping his Off
fore foot. Later you can also abandon
the use OF the strap and surcingle by
taking his near foot In your hand.
Then you can accomplish the purpose
by simply touching the near fore leg
with your hand and finally by a mo
ton OF your hand toward his leg.
You should always accompany the
signal by the command, Lie down.
BY degrees he learns its meaning, and
the signal can be dispensed with. If
horse is large and strong. the trainer
must be cool. wide awake and alert;
otherwise he may make botch OF II
and injure the horse or himself or
both