Part 6
This deer having been shut up all night, as I have observed, I got up early in the morning, and went to the room in which it was confined. As I opened the door, it appeared almost frightened to death. I shut the door, however, and remained perfectly still for some time. The deer had retired to the further corner of the room, which was very small: it had turned round, and was looking at me. I kept my position, with my left hand stretched out, for half an hour before I began to move, as slow as possible, towards the deer, which kept its eyes fixed steadfast upon me, and never stirred, till I got nigh enough to touch it. I moved my hand for some time, before I dared to let it fall upon its head: at last, I ventured to let the end of my fingers fall, as lightly as possible, upon its head; it trembled and flinched a little; I repeated, with the greatest rapidity, those very light touches, and in less than five minutes, as I suppose, (for it was impossible for me to look at my watch without frightening the deer,) I began to rub it upon the head; and, in less than half an hour, I took its head under my arm, and handled it all over in two hours from the time I went in to it. I made my servant and several others go to it, and stroke and rub it. It was a full-grown deer, and not less than two or three years old. The mode of taming it consisted in stroking it gently, and taking its head in my arms, &c. I relate this circumstance more to prove the astonishing effect the tact has upon some animals, and to point out the different ways of applying it, than from any benefit resulting from taming this latter kind of animals.
A REMEDY FOR AN OX THAT LIES DOWN, AND WONT GET UP.
I have seen some oxen lie down, when put before the plough, and show so much obstinacy, that they suffered themselves to be whipped most unmercifully, and even burnt, without showing signs of obedience. If an ox lies down and will not get up, either by gentle or rough means, tie him in such a manner that it will be impossible for him to get up. Let him remain in this situation, without eating or drinking, for ten hours: then untie him, and he will not fail to go off. Let him go two or three rounds, and then feed him well. It is not common for him to return to his former offence, unless he has been an old offender; in which case, let him remain tied two or three hours longer, and he will not fail of leaving off his old tricks.
A CURIOUS METHOD OF TEACHING TURKIES TO DANCE AT THE SOUND OF THE TRIANGLE OR ANY OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.
It is a well known fact, that in the East Indies, camels are often taught to dance at the sound of music. I knew that this was done by putting them upon hot floors, &c. They are afterwards exhibited at public spectacles. I never had learned the precise course pursued; yet notwithstanding, I undertook to teach a dog to dance. I heated large pieces of tin plate, put the dog upon them, and at the same time struck upon a triangle, that being the easiest instrument I knew of. I tried this several times, without any other success than having most miserably burnt two or three dogs’ feet in the experiments. At last, in one of my chemical operations, (for I was then teaching chemistry to a few young gentleman,) I made use of the sand-bath. It immediately occurred to me, that in teaching an animal to dance by means of heat, the heat ought to be tempered by something similar to the sand-bath. I therefore determined to make a new trial; and, having no dog at hand, I made choice of four good-looking turkies, two males and two females. I made two cages; the bottom of one was made of tin plates, upon which I strewed a certain portion of fine sand. Then I put fire under the cage. The turkies were in the other cage, which had a door of communication with the one having a tin bottom. When I thought the bottom of the cage sufficiently hot, I drove the turkies from the one to the other, shut the door, and began to strike rapidly and loudly upon the triangle, which I held in my hand. The sensation of heat which the turkies experienced, caused them to skip about as if they had been possessed with some evil spirit. After letting them continue their exercise for a quarter of an hour or so, I opened the door and drove them back into the first cage, and at the same time stopped playing. Then I fed them well, and lastly turned them loose in the yard. The next day, I made them go through the same ceremony, before I gave them any thing to eat, and so on, for a quarter of an hour or more every day, for ten days; at the end of which, I struck upon the triangle before I turned them into the hot cage. Only one of them, more docile than the other three, began to jump about a little. The others, it is true, looked up, and seemed, as it were, astonished. I was then fully convinced that they would all shortly learn to dance, if I continued the same method of giving them lessons. I accordingly continued on, in the same manner, for twenty days more; at the end of which, I let them loose one day in a room, and began to strike violently upon the triangle. All four of the turkies began to skip and run about, keeping pretty close to one another, and changing every minute their position. It was the most ludicrous, and, at the same time, entertaining sight imaginable. The impression which the sound of the triangle had made upon them, on account of their having felt the heat at the bottom of the cage, every time they had heard that music, became a lasting one; and they would begin to dance, ever after, though in the yard amidst the other turkies, whenever they heard the sound of that instrument. They generally separated themselves from the others, and run together. They may be taught with any other instrument, as well as with the triangle. It will take much longer to teach a dog, than a turkey. The reason is, as I suppose, that the dog is not so easily deceived. The only difficulty attending this mode of teaching turkies to dance is, to keep your tin plates neither too hot nor too cold; for, if too hot, they will get their feet burnt; and, if too cold, they won’t dance. I sold the four above-mentioned turkies, for four doubloons, to a man who went about exhibiting various curiosities.
REMEDY FOR THE GRIPES, OR COLIC.
Give to the horse a pint of port or claret wine, with a small nutmeg grated fine, and half a spoonful of powdered ginger, all well mixed, and given rather hotter than lukewarm. The best method is to get ready some boiling hot water, then put the nutmeg and ginger, together with a little loaf sugar, into a vessel, and pour the hot water upon them, and cover it for three minutes; then add the wine, and give this dose to the horse pretty warm. It generally gives relief in a short time. My intention is not to say any thing upon farriery, except two or three of the most common diseases to which horses are subject. Much has already been written by able professors.
CONCERNING THE BOTS.
In twenty-seven years time, I never had a horse die of the bots. I believe that almost every body is convinced that the bots come from the eggs or knits, which are deposited upon the horse’s hair, by that troublesome fly, resembling a bee in color. This has always been my opinion. Now, as it is generally known, that a horse that has the bots, does not appear to suffer, till he is too far gone to be cured, to prevent the fatal effects of this disease, I have made it a practice to give my horses, in the month of September, the following remedy: Of olive oil, honey and lemon-juice, each, two ounces and a half: mix and give these to the horse; the next day purge well. Whether a horse be inclined or not to have the bots, this remedy will do him no hurt.
THE BLIND STAGGERS.
It is believed, that the disease called STAGGERS, is generally occasioned by a diseased state of the stomach. Copious and timely bleeding is the sheet-anchor on which we must depend. I shall, however, give the following recipe, which has often proved serviceable: Take of oil of peppermint, one scruple; tincture of valerian, one ounce; assafœtida, five drachms: mix for a dose.
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TAMING OF WILD HORSES.
BY J. S. RAREY, THE AMERICAN HORSE TAMER.
THE THREE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF MY THEORY;
_Founded on the Leading Characteristics of the Horse._
FIRST.--That he is so constituted by nature that he will not offer resistance to any demand made of him which he fully comprehends, if made in a way consistent with the laws of his nature.
SECOND.--That he has no consciousness of his strength beyond his experience, and can be handled according to our will without force.
THIRD.--That we can, in compliance with the laws of his nature by which he examines all things new to him, take any object, however frightful around, over, or on him, that does not inflict pain, without causing him to fear.
To take these assertions in order, I will first give you some of the reasons why I think he is naturally obedient, and will not offer resistance to anything fully comprehended. The horse, though possessed of some faculties superior to man’s, being deficient in reasoning powers, has no knowledge of right or wrong, of free will and independent government, and knows not of any imposition practised upon him, however unreasonable these impositions may be. Consequently, he cannot come to any decision as to what he should or should not do, because he has not the reasoning faculties of man to argue the justice of the thing demanded of him. If he had, taking into consideration his superior strength, he would be useless to man as a servant. Give him mind in proportion to his strength, and he will demand of us the green fields for his inheritance, where he will roam at leisure, denying the right of servitude at all. God has wisely formed his nature so that it can be operated upon by the knowledge of man according to the dictates of his will; and he might well be termed an unconscious, submissive servant. This truth we can see verified in every day’s experience by the abuses practised upon him. Any one who chooses to be so cruel, can mount the noble steed and run him till he drops with fatigue, or, as is often the case with the more spirited, falls dead beneath his rider. If he had the power to reason, would he not rear and pitch his rider, rather than suffer him to run him to death? Or would he condescend to carry at all the vain impostor, who, with but equal intellect, was trying to impose on his equal rights and equally independent spirit. But happily for us, he has no consciousness of imposition, no thought of disobedience except by impulse caused by the violation of the law of his nature. Consequently, when disobedient, it is the fault of man.
Then, we can but come to the conclusion that, if a horse is not taken in a way at variance with the laws of his nature, he will do anything that he fully comprehends, without making any offer of resistance.
Second--The fact of the horse being unconscious of the amount of his strength can be proven to the satisfaction of any one. For instance, such remarks as these are common, and perhaps familiar to your recollection. One person says to another, “If that wild horse there was conscious of the amount of his strength, his owner would have no business with him in that vehicle; such light reins and harness too--if he knew he could snap them asunder in a minute and be as free as the air we breathe;” and, “That horse yonder, that is pawing and fretting to follow the company that is fast leaving him--if he knew his strength, he would not remain long fastened to that hitching post so much against his will, by a strap that would no more resist his powerful weight and strength than a cotton thread would bind a strong man.” Yet these facts, made common by every-day occurrence, are not thought of as anything wonderful. Like the ignorant man who looks at the different phases of the moon, you look at these things as he looks at her different changes without troubling your mind with the question, “Why are these things so?” What would be the condition of the world if all our minds lay dormant? If men did not think, reason, and act, our undisturbed, slumbering intellects would not excel the imbecility of the brute; we should live in chaos, hardly aware of our existence. And yet, with all our activity of mind, we daily pass by unobserved that which would be wonderful if philosophized and reasoned upon; and with the same inconsistency wonder at that which a little consideration, reason, and philosophy would make but a simple affair.
Third--He will allow any object, however frightful in appearance, to come around, over, or on him, that does not inflict pain.
We know from a natural course of reasoning, that there has never been an effect without a cause, and we infer from this, that there can be no action
either in animate or inanimate matter, without there first being some cause to produce it. And from this self-evident fact we know that there is some cause for every impulse or movement of either mind or matter, and that this law governs every action or movement of the animal kingdom. Then, according to this theory, there must be some cause before fear can exist; and, if fear exists from the effect of imagination, and not from the infliction of real pain, it can be removed by complying with those laws of nature by which the horse examines an object, and determines upon its innocence or harm.
A log or stump by the road side may be, in the imagination of the horse, some great beast about to pounce upon him; but after you take him up to it and let him stand by it a little while, and touch it with his nose, and go through his process of examination, he will not care anything more about it. And the same principle and process will have the same effect with any other object, however frightful in appearance, in which there is no harm. Take a boy that has been frightened by a false face, or any other object that he could not comprehend at once; but let him take that face, or object in his hands and examine it, and he will not care anything more about it. This is a demonstration of the same principle.
With this introduction to the principles of my theory, I shall next attempt to teach you how to put it into practice; and, whatever instructions may follow you can rely on, as having been proven practically by my own experiments. And knowing from experience just what obstacles I have met with in handling bad horses, I shall try to anticipate them for you, and assist you in surmounting them, by commencing with the first steps to be taken with the colt, and accompany you through the whole task of breaking.
HOW TO SUCCEED IN GETTING THE COLT FROM PASTURE.
Go to the pasture and walk around the whole herd quietly, and at such a distance as not to cause them to scare and run. Then approach them very slowly, and if they stick up their heads and seem to be frightened, wait until they become quiet, so as not to make them run before you are close enough to drive them in the direction you want them to go. And when you begin to drive, do not flourish your arms or halloo, but gently follow them off, leaving the direction free for them that you wish them to take. Thus taking advantage of their ignorance, you will be able to get them into the pound as easily as the hunter drives the quails into his net. For, if they have always run in the pasture uncared for (as many horses do in prairie countries and on large plantations), there is no reason why they should not be as wild as the sportsman’s birds, and require the same gentle treatment, if you want to get them without trouble; for the horse in his natural state, is as wild as any of the undomesticated animals, though more easily tamed than the most of them.
HOW TO STABLE A COLT WITHOUT TROUBLE.
The next step will be, to get the horse into a stable or shed. This should be done as quietly as possible, so as not to excite any suspicion in the horse of any danger befalling him. The best way to do this, is to lead a gentle horse into the stable first, and hitch him, then quietly walk around the colt and let him go in of his own accord. It is almost impossible to get men who have never practised on this principle to go slowly and considerately enough about it. They do not know that in handling a wild horse, above all other things, is that good old adage true, that “haste makes waste;” that is, waste of time--for the gain of trouble and perplexity.
One wrong move may frighten your horse, and make him think it necessary to escape at all hazards for the safety of his life--and thus make two hours’ work of a ten minutes’ job; and this would be all your own fault, and entirely unnecessary--for he will not run unless you run after him, and that would not be good policy unless you knew that you could outrun him, for you will have to let him stop of his own accord after all. But he will not try to break away unless you attempt to force him into measures. If he does not see the way at once, and is a little fretful about going in, do not undertake to drive him, but give him a little less room outside, by gently closing in around him. Do not raise your arms, but let them hang at your side, for you might as well raise a club: the horse has never studied anatomy, and does not know but that they will unhinge themselves and fly at him. If he attempts to turn back, walk before him, but do not run; and if he gets past you, encircle him again in the same quiet manner, and he will soon find that you are not going to hurt him; and then you can walk so close around him that he will go into the stable for more room, and to get farther from you. As soon as he is in, remove the quiet horse and shut the door. This will be his first notion of confinement--not knowing how he got into such a place, nor how to get out of it. That he may take it as quietly as possible, see that the shed is entirely free from dogs, chickens, or anything that would annoy him. Then give him a few ears of corn, and let him remain alone fifteen or twenty minutes, until he has examined his apartment, and has become reconciled to his confinement.
TIME TO REFLECT.
And now, while your horse is eating those few ears of corn, is the proper time to see that your halter is ready and all right, and to reflect on the best mode of operations; for in horsebreaking it is highly important that you should be governed by some system. And you should know, before you attempt to do anything, just what you are going to do, and how you are going to do it. And, if you are experienced in the art of taming wild horses, you ought to be able to tell, within a few minutes, the length of time it would take you to halter the colt, and teach him to lead.
THE KIND OF HALTER.
Always use a leather halter, and be sure to have it made so that it will not draw tight around his nose if he pulls on it. It should be of the right size to fit his head easily and nicely; so that the nose-band will not be too tight or too low. Never put a rope halter on an unbroken colt, under any circumstances whatever. They have caused more horses to hurt or kill themselves than would pay for twice the cost of all the leather halters that have ever been needed for the purpose of haltering colts. It is almost impossible to break a colt that is very wild with a rope halter, without having him pull, rear, and throw himself, and thus endanger his life; and I will tell you why. It is just as natural for a horse to try to get his head out of anything that hurts it, or feels unpleasant, as it would be for you to try to get your hand out of a fire. The cords of the rope are hard and cutting; this makes him raise his head and draw on it, and as soon as he pulls, the slip noose (the way rope halters are always made) tightens, and pinches his nose, and then he will struggle for life, until, perchance, he throws himself; and who would have his horse throw himself, and run the risk of breaking his neck, rather than pay the price of a leather halter? But this is not the worst. A horse that has once pulled on his halter can never be as well broken as one that has never pulled at all.
REMARKS ON THE HORSE.
But before we attempt to do anything more with the colt, I will give you some of the characteristics of his nature, that you may better understand his motions. Every one that has ever paid any attention to the horse, has noticed his natural inclination to smell everything which to him looks new and frightful. This is their strange mode of examining everything. And, when they are frightened at anything, though they look at it sharply, they seem to have no confidence in this optical examination alone, but must touch it with the nose before they are entirely satisfied; and, as soon as this is done, all is right.
EXPERIMENT WITH THE ROBE.
If you want to satisfy yourself of this characteristic of the horse, and to learn something of importance concerning the peculiarities of his nature, &c., turn him into the barn-yard, or a large stable will do, and then gather up something that you know will frighten him--a red blanket, buffalo-robe, or something of that kind. Hold it up so that he can see it, he will stick up his head and snort. Then throw it down somewhere in the centre of the lot or barn, and walk off to one side. Watch his motions, and study his nature. If he is frightened at the object, he will not rest until he has touched it with his nose. You will see him begin to walk around the robe and snort, all the time getting a little closer, as if drawn up by some magic spell, until he finally gets within reach of it. He will then very cautiously stretch out his neck as far as he can reach, merely touching it with his nose, as though he thought it was ready to fly at him. But after he has repeated these touches a few times, for the first time (though he has been looking at it all the while,) he seems to have an idea what it is. But now he has found, by the sense of feeling, that it is nothing that will do him any harm, and he is ready to play with it. And if you watch him closely, you will see him take hold of it with his teeth, and raise it up and pull at it. And in a few minutes you can see that he has not that same wild look about his eye, but stands like a horse biting at some familiar stump.
Yet the horse is never so well satisfied when he is about anything that has frightened him, as when he is standing with his nose to it. And, in nine cases out of ten, you will see some of that same wild look about him again, as he turns to walk from it. And you will probably see him looking back very suspiciously as he walks away, as though he thought it might come after him yet. And in all probability, he will have to go back and make another examination before he is satisfied. But he will familiarize himself with it, and, if he should run in that lot a few days, the robe that frightened him so much at first will be no more to him than a familiar stump.
SUGGESTIONS ON THE HABIT OF SMELLING.
We might very naturally suppose from the fact of the horse’s applying his nose to everything new to him, that he always does so for the purpose of smelling these objects; but I believe that it is as much or more for the purpose of feeling, and that he makes use of his nose, or muzzle, (as it is sometimes called), as we would of our hands; because it is the only organ by which he can touch or feel anything with much susceptibility.