Chapter 18

The Drum.--The Umbrella.--Riding-habit.--How to bit a colt.--How to saddle.--To mount.--To ride.--To break.--To harness.--To make a horse follow and stand without holding.--Baucher's plan.--Nolan's plan.

It is an excellent practice to accustom all horses to strange sounds and sights, and of very great importance to young horses which are to be ridden or driven in large towns, or used as chargers. Although some horses are very much more timid and nervous than others, the very worst can be very much improved by acting on the first principles laid down in the introduction to this book--that is, by proving that the strange sights and sounds will do them no harm.

When a railway is first opened, the sheep, the cattle, and especially the horses, grazing in the neighbouring fields, are terribly alarmed at the sight of the swift, dark, moving trains, and the terrible snorting and hissing of the steam-engines. They start away--they gallop in circles--and when they stop, gaze with head and tail erect, until the monsters have disappeared. But from day to day the live stock become more accustomed to the sight and sound of the steam horse, and after a while they do not even cease grazing when the train passes. They have learned that it will do them no harm. The same result may be observed with respect to young horses when first they are brought to a large town, and have to meet great loads of hay, omnibuses crowded with passengers, and other strange or noisy objects--if judiciously treated, not flogged and ill-used, they lose their fears without losing their high courage. Nothing is more astonishing in London than the steadiness of the high-bred and highly-fed horses in the streets and in Hyde Park.

But until Mr. Rarey went to first principles, and taught "the reason why" there were horses that could not be brought to bear the beating of a drum, the rustling of an umbrella, or the flapping of a riding-habit against their legs--and all attempts to compel them by force to submit to these objects of their terror failed and made them furious. Mr. Rarey, in his lectures, often told a story of a horse which shied at buffalo-robes--the owner tied him up fast and laid a robe on him--the poor animal died instantly with fright. And yet nothing can be more simple.

_To accustom a horse to a drum._--Place it near him on the ground, and, without forcing him, induce him to smell it again and again until he is thoroughly accustomed to it. Then lift it up, and slowly place it on the side of his neck, where he can see it, and tap it gently with a stick or your finger. If he starts, pause, and let him carefully examine it. Then re-commence, gradually moving it backwards until it rests upon his withers, by degrees playing louder and louder, pausing always when he seems alarmed, to let him look at it and smell, if needful. In a very few minutes you may play with all your force, without his taking any notice. When this practice has been repeated a few times, your horse, however spirited, will rest his nose unmoved on the big drum while the most thundering piece is played.

_To teach a horse to bear an umbrella_, go through the same cautious forms, let him see it, and smell it, open it by degrees--gain your point inch by inch, passing it always from his eyes to his neck, and from his neck to his back and tail; and so with a riding-habit, in half an hour any horse may be taught that it will not hurt him, and then the difficulty is over.

_To fire off a horse's back._--Begin with caps, and, by degrees, as with the drum, instead of lengthening the reins, stretch the bridle hand to the front, and raise it for the carbine to rest on, with the muzzle clear of the horse's head, a little to one side. Lean the body forward without rising in the stirrups. _Avoid interfering with the horse's mouth, or exciting his fears by suddenly closing your legs either before or after firing--be quiet yourself and your horse will be quiet._ The colt can learn, as I have already observed, to bear a rider on his bare back during his first lessons, when prostrate and powerless, fast bound by straps. The surcingle has accustomed him to girths--he leads well, and has learned that when the right rein is pulled he must go to the right, and when the left rein to the left. You may now teach him to bear the BIT and the SADDLE--if you have not placed it upon his back while on the ground, and for this operation I cannot do better than return, and quote literally from Mr. Rarey.

"HOW TO ACCUSTOM A HORSE TO A BIT.

"You should use a large, smooth, snaffle bit, so as not to hurt his mouth, with a bar to each side, to prevent the bit from pulling through either way. This you should attach to the head-stall of your bridle, and put it on your colt without any reins to it, and let him run loose in a large stable or shed some time, until he becomes a little used to the bit, and will bear it without trying to get it out of his mouth. It would be well, if convenient, to repeat this several times, before you do anything more with the colt; as soon as he will bear the bit, attach a single rein to it. You should also have a halter on your colt, or a bridle made after the fashion of a halter, with a strap to it, so that you can hold or lead him about without pulling on the bit much. (See Woodcut, p. 39.) He is now ready for the saddle.

"THE PROPER WAY TO BIT A COLT.

"Farmers often put bitting harness on a colt the first thing they do to him, buckling up the bitting as tight as they can draw it, to make him carry his head high, and then turn him out in a field to run a half-day at a time. This is one of the worst of punishments that they could inflict on the colt, and very injurious to a young horse that has been used to running in pasture with his head down. I have seen colts so injured in this way that they never got over it.

"A horse should be well accustomed to the bit before you put on the bitting harness, and when you first bit him you should only rein his head up to that point where he naturally holds it, let that be high or low; he will soon learn that he cannot lower his head, and that raising it a little will loosen the bit in his mouth. This will give him the idea of raising his head to loosen the bit, and then you can draw the bitting a little tighter every time you put it on, and he will still raise his head to loosen it; by this means you will gradually get his head and neck in the position you want him to carry it, and give him a nice and graceful carriage without hurting him, making him mad, or causing his mouth to get sore.

"If you put the bitting on very tight the first time, he cannot raise his head enough to loosen it, but will bear on it all the time, and paw, sweat, and throw himself. Many horses have been killed by falling backward with the bitting on; their heads being drawn up strike the ground with the whole weight of the body. Horses that have their heads drawn up tightly should not have the bitting on more than fifteen or twenty minutes at a time.

"HOW TO SADDLE A COLT.

"The first thing will be to tie each stirrup-strap into a loose knot to make them short, and prevent the stirrups from flying about and hitting him. Then double up the skirts and take the saddle under your right arm, so as not to frighten him with it as you approach. When you get to him rub him gently a few times with your hand, and then raise the saddle very slowly, until he can see it, and smell and feel it with his nose. Then let the skirt loose, and rub it very gently against his neck the way the hair lies, letting him hear the rattle of the skirts as he feels them against him; each time getting a little farther backward, and finally slipping it over his shoulders on his back. Shake it a little with your hand, and in less than five minutes you can rattle it about over his back as much as you please, and pull it off and throw it on again, without his paying much attention to it.

"As soon as you have accustomed him to the saddle, fasten the girth. Be careful how you do this. It often frightens the colt when he feels the girth binding him, and making the saddle fit tight on his back. You should bring up the girth very gently, and not draw it too tight at first, just enough to hold the saddle on. Move him a little, and then girth it as tight as you choose, and he will not mind it.

"You should see that the pad of your saddle is all right before you put it on, and that there is nothing to make it hurt him, or feel unpleasant to his back. It should not have any loose straps on the back part of it, to flap about and scare him. After you have saddled him in this way, take a switch in your right hand to tap him up with, and walk about in the stable a few times with your right arm over your saddle, taking hold of the reins on each side of his neck with your right and left hands, thus marching him about in the stable until you teach him the use of the bridle and can turn him about in any direction, and stop him by a gentle pull of the rein. Always caress him, and loose the reins a little every time you stop him.

"You should always be alone, and have your colt in some light stable or shed, the first time you ride him; the loft should be high, so that you can sit on his back without endangering your head. You can teach him more in two hours' time in a stable of this kind, than you could in two weeks in the common way of breaking colts, out in an open place. If you follow my course of treatment, you need not run any risk, or have any trouble in riding the worst kind of horse. You take him a step at a time, until you get up a mutual confidence and trust between yourself and horse. First teach him to lead and stand hitched; next acquaint him with the saddle, and the use of the bit; and then all that remains is to get on him without scaring him, and you can ride him as well as any horse.

"HOW TO MOUNT THE COLT.

"First gentle him well on both sides, about the saddle, and all over until he will stand still without holding, and is not afraid to see you anywhere about him.

"As soon as you have him thus gentled, get a small block, about one foot or eighteen inches in height, and set it down by the side of him, about where you want to stand to mount him; step up on this, raising yourself very gently: horses notice every change of position very closely, and, if you were to step up suddenly on the block, it would be very apt to scare him; but, by raising yourself gradually on it, he will see you, without being frightened, in a position very nearly the same as when you are on his back.

"As soon as he will bear this without alarm, untie the stirrup-strap next to you, and put your left foot into the stirrup, and stand square over it, holding your knee against the horse, and your toe out, so as not to touch him under the shoulder with the toe of your boot. Place your right hand on the front of the saddle, and on the opposite side of you, taking hold of a portion of the mane and the reins, as they hang loosely over his neck, with your left hand; then gradually bear your weight on the stirrup, and on your right hand, until the horse feels your whole weight on the saddle: repeat this several times, each time raising yourself a little higher from the block, until he will allow you to raise your leg over his croup and place yourself in the saddle.

"There are three great advantages in having a block to mount from. First, a sudden change of position is very apt to frighten a young horse who has never been handled: he will allow you to walk up to him, and stand by his side without scaring at you, because you have gentled him to that position; but if you get down on your hands and knees and crawl towards him, he will be very much frightened; and upon the same principle, he would be frightened at your new position if you had the power to hold yourself over his back without touching him. Then the first great advantage of the block is to gradually gentle him to that new position in which he will see you when you ride him.

"Secondly, by the process of leaning your weight in the stirrups, and on your hand, you can gradually accustom him to your weight, so as not to frighten him by having him feel it all at once. And, in the third place, the block elevates you so that you will not have to make a spring in order to get on the horse's back, but from it you can gradually raise yourself into the saddle. When you take these precautions, there is no horse so wild but what you can mount him without making him jump. I have tried it on the worst horses that could be found, and have never failed in any case. When mounting, your horse should always stand without being held. _A horse is never well broken when he has to be held with a tight rein when mounting_; and a colt is never so safe to mount as when you see that assurance of confidence, and absence of fear, which cause him to stand without holding." [Mr. Rarey's improved plan is to press the palm of the right hand on the off-side of the Saddle, and as you rise lean your weight on it; by this means you can mount with the girths loose, or without any girths at all.--EDITOR.]

"HOW TO RIDE THE COLT.

"When you want him to start do not touch him on the side with your heel, or do anything to frighten him and make him jump. But speak to him kindly, and if he does not start pull him a little to the left until he starts, and then let him walk off slowly with the reins loose. Walk him around in the stable a few times until he gets used to the bit, and you can turn him about in every direction and stop him as you please. It would be well to get on and off a good many times until he gets perfectly used to it before you take him out of the stable.

"After you have trained him in this way, which should not take you more than one or two hours, you can ride him anywhere you choose without ever having him jump or make any effort to throw you.

"When you first take him out of the stable be very gentle with him, as he will feel a little more at liberty to jump or run, and be a little easier frightened than he was while in the stable. But after handling him so much in the stable he will be pretty well broken, and you will be able to manage him without trouble or danger.

"When you first mount him take a little the shortest hold on the left rein, so that if anything frightens him you can prevent him from jumping by pulling his head round to you. This operation of pulling a horse's head round against his side will prevent any horse from jumping ahead, rearing up, or running away. If he is stubborn and will not go, you can make him move by pulling his head round to one side, when whipping would have no effect. And turning him round a few times will make him dizzy, and then by letting him have his head straight, and giving him a little touch with the whip, he will go along without any trouble.

"Never use martingales on a colt when you first ride him; every movement of the hand should go right to the bit in the direction in which it is applied to the reins, without a martingale to change the direction of the force applied. You can guide the colt much better without it, and teach him the use of the bit in much less time. Besides, martingales would prevent you from pulling his head round if he should try to jump.

"After your colt has been ridden until he is gentle and well accustomed to the bit, you may find it an advantage, if he carries his head too high or his nose too far out, to put martingales on him.

"_You should be careful not to ride your colt so far at first as to heat, worry, or tire him._ Get off as soon as you see he is a little fatigued; gentle him and let him rest; this will make him kind to you, and prevent him from getting stubborn or mad.

"TO BREAK A HORSE TO HARNESS.

"Take him in a light stable, as you did to ride him; take the harness and go through the same process that you did with the saddle, until you get him familiar with it, so that you can put it on him, and rattle it about without his caring for it. As soon as he will bear this, put on the lines, caress him as you draw them over him, and drive him about in the stable till he will bear them over his hips. The _lines_ are a great aggravation to some colts, and often frighten them as much as if you were to raise a whip over them. As soon as he is familiar with the harness and lines, take him out and put him by the side of a gentle horse, and go through the same process that you did with the balking horse. _Always use a bridle without blinkers when you are breaking a horse to harness._

"Lead him to and around a light gig or phaeton; let him look at it, touch it with his nose, and stand by it till he does not care for it; then pull the shafts a little to the left, and stand your horse in front of the off-wheel. Let some one stand on the right side of the horse, and hold him by the bit, while you stand on the left side, facing the sulky. This will keep him straight. Run your left hand back, and let it rest on his hip, and lay hold of the shafts with your right, bringing them up very gently to the left hand, which still remains stationary. Do not let anything but your arm touch his back, and as soon as you have the shafts square over him, let the person on the opposite side take hold of one of them, and lower them very gently to the shaft-bearers. Be very slow and deliberate about hitching; the longer time you take the better, as a general thing. When you have the shafts placed, shake them slightly, so that he will feel them against each side. As soon as he will bear them without scaring, fasten your braces, &c., and start him along very slowly. Let one man lead the horse, to keep him gentle, while the other gradually works back with the lines till he can get behind and drive him. After you have driven him in this way a short distance, you can get into the sulky, and all will go right. It is very important to have your horse go gently when you first hitch him. After you have walked him awhile, there is not half so much danger of his scaring. Men do very wrong to jump up behind a horse to drive him as soon as they have him hitched. There are too many things for him to comprehend all at once. The shifts, the lines, the harness, and the rattling of the sulky, all tend to scare him, and he must be made familiar with them by degrees. If your horse is very wild, I would advise you to put up one foot the first time you drive him."

With the leg strapped up, the lighter the break or gig the better, and four wheels are better than two.

TO MAKE A HORSE FOLLOW YOU.

The directions make simple what have hitherto been among the mysteries of the circus. I can assert from personal observation that by the means described by Mr. Rarey a very nervous thorough-bred mare, the property of the Earl of Derby, was taught to stand, answer to her name, and follow one of his pupils in less than a week.

No hack, and certainly no lady's horse, is perfect until he has been taught to stand still, and no hunter is complete until he has learned to follow his master. Huntsmen may spend a few hours in the summer very usefully in teaching their old favourites to wait outside cover until wanted.

Turn him into a large stable or shed, where there is no chance to get out, with a halter or bridal on. Go to him and gentle him a little, take hold of his halter, and turn him towards you, at the same time touching him lightly over the hips with a long whip. Lead him the length of the stable, rubbing him on the neck, saying in a steady tone of voice as you lead him, "Come along, boy!" or use his name instead of "boy," if you choose. Every time you turn, touch him slightly with the whip, to make him step up close to you, and then caress him with your hand. He will soon learn to hurry up to escape the whip and be caressed, and you can make him follow you around without taking hold of the halter. If he should stop and turn from you, give him a few sharp cuts about the hind legs, and he will soon turn his head towards you, when you must always caress him. A few lessons of this kind will make him run after you, when he sees the motion of the whip--in twenty or thirty minutes he will follow you about the stable. After you have given him two or three lessons in the stable, take him out into a small field and train him; and from thence you can take him into the road and make him follow you anywhere, and run after you.

To make a horse stand without holding, after you have him well broken to follow you, place him in the centre of the stable--begin at his head to caress him, gradually working backwards. If he move, give him a cut with the whip, and put him back to the same spot from which he started. If he stands, caress him as before, and continue gentling him in this way until you can get round him without making him move. Keep walking around him, increasing your pace, and only touch him occasionally. Enlarge your circle as you walk around, and if he then moves, give him another cut with the whip, and put him back to his place. If he stands, go to him frequently and caress him, and then walk around him again. Do not keep him in one position too long at a time, but make him come to you occasionally, and follow you around the stable. Then make him stand in another place, and proceed as before. You should not train your horse more than half an hour at a time.

The following is Baucher's method of making a horse stand to be mounted, which, he says, may be taught in two lessons, of half an hour each. I do not know any one who has tried, but it is worth trying.

"Go up to him, pat him on the neck (_i. e._ gentle him), and speak to him; then taking the curb reins a few inches from the rings with the left hand, place yourself so as to offer as much resistance as possible to him when he tries to break away. Take the whip in the right hand with the point down, raise it quietly and tap the horse on the chest; he will rein back to avoid punishment; resist and follow him, continuing the tapping of the whip, but without anger or haste. The horse, soon tired of running back, will endeavour to avoid the infliction by rushing forward; then stop and make much of him. This repeated once or twice will teach the horse that, to stand still, is to avoid punishment, and will move up to you on a slight motion of the whip."

I doubt whether high-spirited horses would stand this treatment.

_To teach a horse to stand in the field._--Nolan's plan was, to draw the reins over the horse's head and fasten them to the ground with a peg, walk away, return in a few minutes and reward him with bread, salt, or carrot; in a short time the horse will fancy himself fast whenever the reins are drawn over his head. It may be doubted whether, in the excitement of the hunting-field, either Rarey's or Nolan's plan would avail to make a huntsman's horse stand while hounds were running. Scrutator gives another method which is not within everyone's means to execute.

"In my father's time we had a large field, enclosed by a high wall, round which the lads used to exercise their horses, with a thick rug only, doubled, to sit upon. A single snaffle and a sharp curb-bit were placed in the horse's mouth; the former to ride and guide by. To the curb was attached a long single rein, which was placed in the boy's hand, or attached to his wrist. When the horse was in motion, either walking, trotting, or cantering, the lad would throw himself off, holding only the long rein attached to the curb, the sudden pull upon which, when the lad was on the ground, would cause the horse's head to be turned round, and stop him in his career. The boy would then gradually shorten the rein, until the horse was brought up to him, then patting and caressing him, he would again mount. After a very few lessons of this kind, the horse would always stop the instant the boy fell, and remain stationary beside him. The lads, as well as the horses, were rewarded by my father for their proper performance of this rather singular manoeuvre, but I never saw or knew any accident occur. The horses thus trained proved excellent hunters, and would never run away from their riders when thrown, always standing by them until re-mounted. From the lads constantly rubbing and pulling their legs about, we had no kickers. When a boy of only fifteen, I was allowed to ride a fine mare which has been thus broken in, in company with the hounds. Being nearly sixteen hands high, I had some difficulty in clambering up and down; but when dislodged from my seat, she would stand quietly by until re-mounted, and appeared as anxious for me to get up again as I was myself.

"It may be said that all this was time and trouble thrown away, and that the present plan of riding a young four-year-old, straight across country at once, will answer the same purpose. My reply is, that a good education, either upon man, horse, or dog, will never be thrown away; and, notwithstanding the number of horses now brought into the hunting-field, there are still few well-trained hunters to be met with. The horse, the most beautiful and useful of animals to man, is seldom sufficiently instructed or familiarised, although certainly capable of the greatest attachment to his master when well used, and deserving to be treated more as a friend than a slave. It is a general remark how quiet some high-spirited horses will become when ridden by ladies. The cause of this is, that they are more quietly handled, patted, and caressed by them, and become soon sensible of this difference of treatment, from the rough whip-and-spur system, too generally adopted by men."

ON BAULKING OR JIBBING HORSES.

Horses are taught the dangerous vice of baulking, or jibbing, as it is called in England, by improper management. When a horse jibs in harness, it is generally from some mismanagement, excitement, confusion, or from not knowing how to pull, but seldom from any unwillingness to perform all that he understands. High-spirited free-going horses are the most subject to baulking, and only so because drivers do not properly understand how to manage this kind. A free horse in a team may be so anxious to go, that when he hears the word he will start with a jump, which will not move the load, but give him such a severe jerk on the shoulders that he will fly back and stop the other horse. The teamster will continue his driving without any cessation, and by the time he has the slow horse started again, he will find that the free horse has made another jump, and again flown back. And now he has them both badly baulked, and so confused that neither of them knows what is the matter, or how to start the load. Next will come the slashing and cracking of the whip, and hallooing of the driver, till something is broken, or he is through with his course of treatment. But what a mistake the driver commits by whipping his horse for this act! Reason and common sense should teach him that the horse was willing and anxious to go, but did not know how to start the load. And should he whip him for that? If so, he should whip him again for not knowing how to talk. A man that wants to act with reason should not fly into a passion, but should always think before he strikes. It takes a steady pressure against the collar to move a load, and you cannot expect him to act with a steady, determined purpose while you are whipping him. There is hardly one baulking horse in five hundred that will pull truly from whipping: it is only adding fuel to fire, and will make him more liable to baulk another time. You always see horses that have been baulked a few times turn their heads and look back as soon as they are a little frustrated. This is because they have been whipped, and are afraid of what is behind them. This is an invariable rule with baulked horses, just as much as it is for them to look around at their sides when they have the bots.[106-*] In either case they are deserving of the same sympathy and the same kind, rational treatment.

When your horse baulks, or is a little excited, if he wants to start quickly, or looks around and doesn't want to go, there is something wrong, and he needs kind treatment immediately. Caress him kindly, and if he doesn't understand at once what you want him to do, he will not be so much excited as to jump and break things, and do everything wrong through fear. As long as you are calm, and keep down the excitement of the horse, there are ten chances that you will make him understand you, where there would not be one under harsh treatment; and then the little _flare up_ will not carry with it any unfavourable recollections, and he will soon forget all about it, and learn to pull truly. Almost every wrong act the horse commits is from mismanagement, fear, or excitement: one harsh word will so excite a nervous horse as to increase his pulse ten beats in a minute.

When we remember that we are dealing with dumb brutes, and reflect how difficult it must be for them to understand our motions, signs, and language, we should never get out of patience with them because they don't understand us, or wonder at their doing things wrong. With all our intellect, if we were placed in the horse's situation, it would be difficult for us to understand the driving of some foreigner, of foreign ways and foreign language. We should always recollect that our ways and language are just as foreign and unknown to the horse as any language in the world is to us, and should try to practise what we could understand were we the horse, endeavouring by some simple means to work on his understanding rather than on the different parts of his body. All baulked horses can be started true and steady in a few minutes' time: they are all willing to pull as soon as they know how, and I never yet found a baulked horse that I could not teach to start his load in fifteen, and often less than three, minutes' time.

Almost any team, when first baulked, will start kindly if you let them stand five or ten minutes as though there was nothing wrong, and then speak to them with a steady voice, and turn them a little to the right or left, so as to get them both in motion before they feel the pinch of the load. But if you want to start a team that you are not driving yourself, that has been baulked, fooled, and whipped for some time, go to them and hang the lines on their hames, or fasten them to the waggon, so that they will be perfectly loose; make the driver and spectators (if there are any) stand off some distance to one side, so as not to attract the attention of the horses; unloose their check-reins, so that they can get their heads down if they choose; let them stand a few minutes in this condition until you can see that they are a little composed. While they are standing, you should be about their heads, gentling them: it will make them a little more kind, and the spectators will think that you are doing something that they do not understand, and will not learn the secret. When you have them ready to start, stand before them, and, as you seldom have but one baulky horse in a team, get as near in front of him as you can, and, if he is too fast for the other horse, let his nose come against your breast: this will keep him steady, for he will go slow rather than run on you. Turn them gently to the right, without letting them pull on the traces as far as the tongue will let them go: stop them with a kind word, gentle them a little, and then turn them back to the left, by the same process. You will then have them under your control by this time; and as you turn them again to the right, steady them in the collar, and you can take them where you please.

There is a quicker process that will generally start a baulky horse, but not so sure. Stand him a little ahead, so that his shoulders will be against the collar; and then take up one of his fore feet in your hand, and let the driver start them, and when the weight comes against his shoulders he will try to step: then let him have his foot, and he will go right along. If you want to break a horse from baulking that has long been in that habit, you ought to set apart a half-day for that purpose. Put him by the side of some steady horse; have driving reins on them; tie up all the traces and straps, so that there will be nothing to excite them; do not rein them up, but let them have their heads loose. Walk them about together for some time as slowly and lazily as possible; stop often, and go up to your baulky horse and gentle him. Do not take any whip about him, or do anything to excite him, but keep him just as quiet as you can. He will soon learn to start off at the word, and stop whenever you tell him.

As soon as he performs rightly, hitch him in an empty waggon; have it standing in a favourable position for starting. It would be well to shorten the trace-chain behind the steady horse, so that, if it is necessary, he can take the weight of the waggon the first time you start them. Do not drive more than a few rods at first; watch your jibbing horse closely, and if you see that he is getting excited, stop him before he stops of his own accord, caress him a little, and start again. As soon as they go well, drive them over a small hill a few times, and then over a larger one, occasionally adding a little load. This process will make any horse true to pull.

The following anecdote from Scrutator's "Horses and Hounds," illustrates the soundness of Mr. Rarey's system:--"A gentleman in our neighbourhood having purchased a very fine carriage horse, at a high price, was not a little annoyed, upon trial, to find that he would not pull an ounce, and when the whip was applied he began plunging and kicking. After one or two trials the coachman declared he could do nothing with him, and our neighbour, meeting my father, expressed his grievances at being thus taken in, and asked what he had better do. The reply was 'Send the horse to me tomorrow morning, and I will return him a good puller within a week.' The horse being brought, was put into the shafts of a wagon, in a field, with the hind wheels tied, and being reined up so that he could not get his head between his legs, was there left, with a man to watch him for five or six hours, and, of course, without any food. When my father thought he had enough of standing still, he went up to him with a handful of sweet hay, let down the bearing rein, and had the wheels of the wagon released. After patting the horse on the neck, when he had taken a mouthful or two of hay, he took hold of the bridle and led him away--the wagon followed--thus proving stratagem to be better than force. Another lesson was scarcely required, but, to make sure, it was repeated, and, after that, the horse was sent back to the owner. There was no complaint ever made of his jibbing again. The wagon to which he was attached was both light and empty, and the ground inclined rather towards the stable."

FOOTNOTES:

[106-*] A much more severe disease in America than in England.--EDIT.