The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1908-10-02

AliA.>blLl.Nu 1IlE OH L I-Nd IASA'oH'
Many high-strung young horse is
made much less valuable and not in
frequently spoiled for road work by
careless and ignorant treatment in
the hands of persons who neither
know nor care what vices the horse
contracts, so long as they can have
the satisfaction of venting spite on
the animal when he SHES or shows
signs of fear at objects that fill him
with alarm. The following sugges-
tons given by writer in Farmers
Almanac while referring chiefly to
acquainting a horse with street cars,
will be found of value in accustom-
ing him to automobiles, steam
ers, road rollers, etc. A few
spent in thus educating the q
horse to lose fear of what terri
him is time we'll spent and may
vent loss of life or serious !
later, and in the case of first
road animals will frequently a.
half or more to their selling VI
The writer referred to says:
The chief difficulty was To assus.
tom 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 respect
full distance, the advent of a car
When it was stationary, spent the
ten minutes of its stay in riding
round it in circles of gradually dimin.
ishing size. but never trying to force
the horse nearer than he could be
coaXed to approach. Generally. in
less than an hour, the horse would
80 right up to the car and accept
caresses from the conductor
The next step was to follow the
starting car, which, luckily, went
Slowly for the first mile, trotting be-
mind and alongside, till the horse
took no notice of it whatever. After
That 1t was merely a matter of meet.
ing cars at points where they moved
Slowly till gradually the horse grew
accustomed to face them at any speed.
IL teaching a horse to be fearless
or any strange, and therefore, to him,
alarming object, there are three rules
OF conduct to which there is no ey-
ception Never speak sharply. New.
er use your whip and never urge
him forward with a tight rein. A
or nervous horse is psycho.
logically the equivalent of a fright.
ened child. Would any one in his
senses expect to cure his childs tim
idity by scolding him Or whipping
him, or by yanking him suddenly by
the arm?
1t is impossible to condemn too
strongly the pulling Of, a horses
mouth, and laying the WHIP smartly
across his back, which is he nrac.
tice usually seen and populs,ly ad.
Vocated ito distract his attentNn"
when a horse shows symptoms OIL
alarm at an approaching object, such
as motor-car; a greater mistake or
'one more productive of future tr0u-
BILE for the driver. was never made.
The ancient superstition that
horse can think of only one thins
at a time, and that, therefore the
whip will divert his attention from
the object of his fears is neither log
1cal nor tenable in practice.
Put yourself in his place." is
good motto when dealing with horses.
A sudden curtailmers of his usual
freedom of movement, by Tightening
the reins, when a nervous horse is
looking suspiciously at some strange
approaching object, naturally increases
his alarm; while use of the whip en-.
genders fea. of the object, which it
Will take no end OF time and trouble
to eradicate.
The fact that the approach of the
alarming object was quickly follow
ed by punishment naturally produces
an association of the two in the
equine mind, and a logical objection
to face that object again,