The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-12-11
The Shying Horse.

The newspapers are full Of accounts
of accidents from horses being scared
by automobiles. In many places farm
ers' wives have become SO much afraid
of these accidents that they will not
drive out on the roads at all alone. The
last number of the Indiana Farmer
contained an article showing how a
horse can be trained so as not to fear
these machines. 1t is we'll known that
horses do get so used to them that
they pay no attention to them any
more than to another team. You can
see this any day on the streets Of
Jacksonville. We never go to the city
that we do not see numerous autOmO
biles on the streets, but we never saw
a horse show any signs Of fear, it is
simply matter Of education. The ar
ticle we refer to is as follows:
When street cars first appeared hors-
es had to become used to them in
order to be safe drivers, and the auto
on the road is new alarm for horses,
and both the auto driver and horseman
will have to learn to be cautious A
writer on the shying horse makes some
good suggestions that are worthy Of
noting and we give a few paragraphs
below from the Farmers Advocate:
The chief difficulty was to accustom
them to the trolley-cars which came
along the roads at any speed up to
thirty miles an hour.
My plan was to ride quietly to the
terminus, and wait, at a respectful dis
lance, the advent of a car. When it
was stationary, [ spent the ten minutes
of it's stay in riding round it in circles
of gradually diminishing size, but never
trying to force the horse nearer than
he could be cOaxed to app zach.
Generally in less than an hour, the
horse would go right up to the car
and accept caresses from the conduct
or.
The next step was to follow the
starting car, which, luckily went slowly
for the first mile, trotting behind and
alongside, till the horse took no notice
of it whatever. After that it was mere
w a matter of meeting cars at points
where they moved slowly, till gradually,
the horse grew accustomed to face
them at any speed.
In teaching a horse to be fearless of
any strange, and therefore, to him,
alarming object, there are three rules
of conduct to which there is no ex-
ception: Never speak sharply; never
use your whip, and never urge him
forward with tight rein. A frighten-
ed or nervous horse is psychologically
the equivalent of a frightened child.
Would any one in his senses expect to
cure his child's timidity by scolding or
whipping him, or by yanking him sud
denly by the arm?
1t is impossible to condemn TOO
strongly the pulling Of horses mouth,
and laying the whip smartly across his
back, which is the practice usually seen
and popularity advocated ito distract
his attention." when a horse shows
symptoms of alarm at an approaching
object, such as a motor-car; a greater
mistake or one more productive Of
future trouble for the driver, was never
made.
The ancient superstition that
horse can think of only one thing at
time, and that, therefore, the whip
will divert his attention from the OBJ
ject of his fears, is neither logical, nor
tenable in practice.
'Put yourself in his place." is a good
motto when dealing with horses. A
sudden curtailment of his usual free
dom Of movement, by tightening the
reins, when a nervous horse is looking
suspiciously at some strange approach
ing object, naturally increases his