Oxford Democrat., 1914-08-25
Training the Colt.

In training the colt, remember there
are certain natural laws that govern
him. For instance, it is natural for him
to kick whenever he gets badly frighten-
ed. 1t is natural for him TO escape from
whatever he thinks will do him harm.
His faculties of seeing, hearing and
smelling have been given him to exam.
inc everything that he is brought in con-
tact with. As long as you present him
with nothing that offends his eyes, nose
or ears, you can handle him at will.
One of the most essential points is
breaking the colt to the halter. This is
with many farmers very difficult task.
Just after the colt il born, is the correct
time to break him to the halter. He
should be halter broken before he is old
enough to know his own power.
The next point is getting him used to
the bride. This can easily be done by
using the four and one-half inch bar.bit
and by putting the bride on and letting
him get used to it before you undertake
any other point Put the bride on and
put the colt in box-stall where he can
have plenty room to move about, think,
and get used to the bits. After day or
so with the bride on, try leading him
out to water, getting him accustomed to
drinking with the bits in his mouth.
After he has cotton fully used TO the
bride and bits, try swapping pair of
lines on the bride and see what he
thinks of this. Instead of leading him
to water, try driving him with the lines.
After the colt is accustomed to the
new order of things, put on the harness,
allowing him to remain in the stable for
awhile till he RECEIVERS from his fright.
II no resistance is offered or any excite.
ment aroused and he is taught to stand
and learns what "whoa" means, yon
have half the battle won.
When you decide to hitch him to
something, hitch him beside an old
steady work horse, one that can be
trusted. Iprefer hitching him double
for various reasons: First, because he
is young and has not taken up any bad
habits. If be is hitched beside a good
horse, he will want to initiate his COM
panion. If fast walker is desired,
hitch him with fast walker.
We prefer bitching to vehicle that is
not heavy and will not worry the colt
much. Many condemn using a vehicle
because it may run down on the colts
heels and tends to force him to kick.
But we have been breaking colts this
way for many years and have found it
the safest and easiest way we have
tried.
Kindness and frmness are essential.
All the whipping and spurring of horses
for stumbling and shying is useless and
cruel. II the colt shies and you whip
him for it, it only makes the object
worse than it otherwise would have
been. Take the colt up to the object
and let him examine it.
Remember to treat him kindly at all
times, for when you require obedience
from any subject, II Is much better to
have it rendered from sense OF love
than fear. You should be careful not to
chafe the lips of the colt or hurt his
mouth in any way. If you do he will
dislike to have the bride on. Teach
him to stand still before he is ever
hitched. You then have control over
him. If he gets frightened, the lines
should be used az sort Of telegraph to
let him know what you would have him
do. When the colt gets frightened, al
ways speak with calm voice; If you are
excited, the colt can soon detect it,
W hich adds to his fright.