The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1915-08-06
Training The Horse.

safe to handle in the stable or on the
road and one that will promptly obey
the orders of the rider or driver.
Memory and habit are the two
main factors with which to deal
in training horses. A horse acts
through instinct and habit, and one
of its greatest characteristics is uni
formity of conduct. What a horse
is once trained to do he will nearly
always do it under like conditions.
The first thing in training a horse
is to get his attention. The second
is to make him understand what is
wanted. The education of the horse
is based on reward and punishment.
The reward a pat on the neck, etc,
should Immediately follow the act
of obedience. The punishment, to
be effective, should Immediately fol-
low the act of disobedience.
Few horses are inherently vicious.
Many horses are made vicious and
unreliable by the carelessness or I'M
necessary brutality of their trainers.
II horse kicks because the harness
hurts him, or SHES at something of
which he is afraid, punishment is
not justifable. If, however, after
being stopped, horse starts before
receiving the command to go, he
should be punished. Horses are
naturally obedient, and when thor
oughly trained their conduct is uni
formly good.
A horse should be trained so that
he thinks there is no limit to his
power to do the things required of
him, and believes that he has no
power to do that which is against the
wishes of his driver. Above all never
ask of horse something that he is
unable to perform, and then punish
him because it can not be done. If
during the first year of his work a
colt is hitched only to loads that he
can pull, he will develop into good
work horse, while If he is overloaded
a few times he may become sulky
and worthless. But al horses can
not be trained alike. A high-strung,
sensitive horse must be treated gen.
thy, the dullard sharply. The same
force applied to the sensitive horse
that is necessary to make the dullard
and would be likely to cause the
high-strung horse to rebel, while
gentleness would obtain obedience
To train horses successfully man
needs to exercise great patience,
gentleness and firmness. If you are
training a horse, says Mr.. Stambaugh
and you lose your temper, you had
better put the horse into the stable
until the next day, for further work
at this time will be worse than use
less and may undo the work already
done.
Horses may be broken at ages,
ranging from yearlings to old horses.
The instincts in horse which are
opposed to obedience to man increase
in strength with age. This accounts
for the difficulty encountered in hand
ling range horses that are allowed
their freedom until their instinct of
independence is so strongly develop
ed that it is proportionately difficult
to teach them that it is their duy o
obey some forces cher than their
own instinct.
The best plan is TO begin the edu-
cation of a colt as early as possible.
The method generally followed is to
break the colt to being led and
handled before it is weaned, and to
break to hMnes between the ages OF
2 and 8 years. Colts should rot do
break to arhness between the ages OF
old, and should be accustomed to ii
gradually.
Before a colt is broken to being
led, it should be taught to stand tied
this applies to unbroken horses oil
all ages. To do this, put a stronger
halter on the colt; then take a rope
about IA feet long, double y, putting
the loop under the horses tail as
crupper, twist the two ropes together
about three times, then let one rope
come forward on each side OF the
horse, and tie the ends together IN
front against the chest just tight
enough SO that it will not drop down
then run a surcingle loosely around
the horse behind the withers, tyine
into it the crupper rope at both sides
Have an additional rope about IL
feet long. run it throuh the halter
ring, and tie it at the breast to the
rope that forms the crupper. Tie the
other end of the rope to a solid post
allowed about feet Of slack. Leave
the colt tied for about an hour.
While emphasis is laid on the i'm