Smyrna times., 1902-07-09
TRAINING OF HORSES
CAREFUL HANDLING TO FIT THEM
FOR CIRCUS TRICKS.


velOped - Horses Can Be COaxed,
Like "A Child, but Not Forced.
"a trainer must possess two qualifi-
cations before he can successfully ed
ucate horse to do the tricks seen in
circus-he must possess kindness and
perseverance.
"a veteran trainer selects his horses
with as much care as a society woman
plans party gown. The candidate for
the future applause of the circus going
people of the world must be handsome
in color, as near perfect as possible in
conformation and possess an even tenn
perament. His eyes must be large and
devoid of the least trace of vicious
ness, he must hold his ears pointed
slightly forward, and he must have a
sensible looking head, broad between
the eyes. Horses that lay back their
ears at the approach of a man. who
nip viciOusly at every passerby and
whose eyes plainly demonstrate a
mean disposition are discarded. A
trainer will handle no animal of this
kind.
"Once the candidate is selected he is
shipped to the winter quarters of the
circus and assigned to a comfortable
stall in large, clean, well ventilated
barn tenanted by several hundred beau
ties of his kind. Good hay and oats are
his in abundance, and for several days
he is allowed to rest and become famil-
| lar with his surroundings. The trainer
visits him daily and by speaking kind
ly and occasionally giving the animal a
bit of sugar gains his confidence. After
time the horse begins to whinny at
the approach of the trainer and the
bond of friendship is thus quickly ce-
| mented.
"Then comes the first lesson. The
! candidate is introduced to the training
ring constructed near the barn and al
lowed to wander about at will He
smells the sawdust. the pedestals and
the harness and ropes that will soon
be buckled about his body and then,
hOrselike lies down in the center of the
ring and enjoys a good roll.
Next day he is led around and
around the ring for several hours and
soon understands that he is expected
to encircle the ring of his own accord.
! Then a strap is placed around his right
fOreleg. and from this strap rope is
run through harness fastened around
his body. The trainer grasps the free
/ nf in ho nd nd ~
| of lines attached to the horses bride
in the other. The animal is told to
get up and after the ring is encircled
few times the command whoa is
given. If the horse refuses to obey, u
quick pull on the rope draws his leg
from under him, and he is forced to
stop. Only a few demonstrations Of
this kind are necessary to show the
horse that he must stop when the COM
mand is given.
After these preliminaries are salts
factorily accomplished the equine pupil
is taught to kneel first on one knee,
then on the other and finally on both.
All this is accomplished by drawing
up the front legs. one at time, thus
forcing him down. His knees are
padded to prevent injury. and every
time he is forced down the command
TO kneel is given, and the animal is
petted and reassured with kind words
until finally he kneels at the word.
ut is in these preliminary lessons
that a good performer is made or
spoiled. The instructor must be firm
and resolute, but kind. always kind. A
horse is like a child; you may coax
him, but you can't force without spoil
3 ing his disposition. The animal quick
ly notices any show of i'll temper OF
rOughness on the part Of the instructor
and resents it by becoming balky and
: obstinate. Blows or harsh punishment
only make him worse. You frequently
! hear people assert that animals are
{ beaten into submission in teaching
them tricks. People who say this never
saw the inside Of the training quarters
of a modern circus. A horse or any 9th
er animal conquered in this way is
never reliable and is apt to spoil per
formance by an outbreak of bad TEN
per, besides being dangerous to handle
= 'The next lesson for the horse is tn,
: art of lying down and remaining mo
S tiOnless until the word is given to rise
:. This information is impaired to tn,
!, horse in q manner similar to the kneel
o ing lesson. An ingenious harness
;. makes it possible for the trainer t,
e draw the horse down on a soft bed o
. hay without injuring him. When tn
horse willingly lies down at the wor,
Of command. he is taught to sit upol
his launches and then is gradual,
: drilled into the other tricks that al
! ways draw applause from children an
d adults alike
n 1T is usually an easy matter to teacl
z horse to stand upon a pedestal, {
Q waltz, rear ON his hind legs and marc
It in unison with equine companions aft
s er these simple lessons are thorough
/ learned and the horse understands th
s trainer is his friend and not his enemy
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