10 Jan., 1918.] Points about Jibbing Horses. 57 



only for a week or two, become a bit " collar proud." Such a horse 

 should never be suddenly asked to do heavy pulling before he has had 

 a turn round in an empty dray or any other light work to get his 

 shoulders thoroughly warm. To bluster and bounce such a horse is the 

 sure way to make him, if not a jib, certainly a rogue. Another cause of 

 jibbing is over-driving, when, perhaps, the horse is winded, and stops 

 virtually from exhaustion. Whipping it on again, and, as some bad 

 drivers do, keep on whipping when the animal is going its best, is not 

 the thing. This treatment will ruin any young horse, because, whether 

 he goes or stops, he is being whipped. 



Ai* Instance Given. 



An example shows the effect of such treatment. A good spring-cart 

 mare was being broken in to harness by an impetuous man. The mare 

 took to the collar beautifully, and was driven all over the place. After 

 dinner the man put it in again for another run, with the collar cold and 

 the shoulders tender. She w^ould not start. The cart was pushed into 

 the street, and the driver commenced to flog her. Being spirited, she 

 played up, but eventually went off at a great pace, with the owner still 

 flogging her. Next day the performance was worse, and eventually 

 what originally was the making of a good worker, took to jibbing and 

 throwing herself down. She was turned out as of no use. After having 

 a spell she was sold to a widow, who knew nothing about the animal's 

 reputation. Taking her kindly, and not overloading her to start with, 

 and by looking after the shoulders, the widow (who had not been taken 

 in, as some had thought) made a thoroughly staunch worker of what was 

 sold as a jibber, but was nothing of the sort. The habit was not con- 

 firmed, and after the spell, being tractable and handled properly, she 

 was all right. 



Another Illustration. 



Another illustration of a rogue and jibber combined can be quoted. 

 This was a horse with a bad shaped, prominent muscle. A farmer broke 

 it in at light ploughing and harness work. The horse was a bit heavy 

 for his buggy, and was sold to a tradesman, who had country rounds and 

 often heavy loads. The animal was most difficult to fit with a collar 

 that would not rock. However, he was put to work, and some days 

 would go fairly well, and on others work or stop when and where he 

 liked. To flog him was no good. Only one driver could get that horse 

 to do his round. This man used to watch his every action, and at the 

 first sign of stopping would pull him up, get down, rattle the back of 

 the cart, look round the harness, &c., for a minute or two, then get up 

 and start him off again. By adopting this plan that man got him to 

 work fairly well, but with others he would stop dead, and all the kno-mi 

 expedients, or flogging, to make him go, were of no avail. He started 

 when he liked. What was wrong here was a bad-shaped neck, bad seat- 

 ing for the collar, combined with a roguish temper. This horse was 

 quiet in every way, but unreliable, and always would be. The life of 

 a driver of a jibbing horse is never monotonous, because he must be ever 

 on the watch to stop him before the animal stops himself. By practising 

 this system regularly, and not overloading at first, many a reputed jib 

 can be turned into a fairly reliable worker, which a thorough rogue never 



