772 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



blunders, for he will be all the more liable to fear the same or similar objects again, and such 

 a course will therefore increase the evil, rather than correct it. When breaking a colt, he 

 should be permitted to examine everything used about him in this way, the harness, saddle, 

 wagon, and when an object on the road startles him, he should be led up towards it carefully, 

 and by kind words and pats be assured that it is all right by smelling it. 



When young horses are being driven to the city or busy town for the first time, and 

 have to encounter so many strange sights and sounds, if carefully and gently treated, they 

 will soon lose all fear without at the same time losing their courage. 



Mr. Rarey tells, in his lectures, an incident of a timid horse shying at a buffalo robe. 

 His ignorant and brutal owner tied him fast so that he could not get free, and laid a buffalo 

 robe on him. The poor animal died almost instantly from fright. Had he been permitted 

 to approach the robe gradually and smell of it a moment, he would probably never have been 

 frightened at a robe afterward. 



Balking. This, in the colt, we beh eve to be mainly due to ill treatment or misman 

 agement on the part of the trainer. In horses this vice may generally be corrected by 

 patience and kindness, but never by blows, kicks, jerking at the bit, and angry tones. Only 

 the most ignorant and stupid of drivers will resort to such measures. 



Cases have come to our personal knowledge where balky horses have been beaten by 

 brutal men until they died from the effects in a few hours afterward, and yet this excessive 

 cruelty did not result in making the horse go. We recall an incident of this kind, of which 

 we afterward had authentic knowledge, that occurred in a small country town, where a horse 

 persistently refused to draw even an empty buggy. The whip was applied without effect, 

 and as the crowd that collected about the exasperated animal knew of no other way of 

 accomplishing the object, it was continued by different members of the company, taking 

 turns, when one became tired. The poor horse died from the effect of the brutal treatment 

 in the course of twelve hours, but during none of the time that he was receiving it, did it 

 have the effect of making him go. Some of the so-called &quot;leading men&quot; of that country 

 town were among that crowd, and helped administer the blows, one or two members of Chris 

 tian churches, yet none took measures to have this inhuman treatment stopped. 



On the other hand, we have known the most vicious and obstinate balkers cured of this 

 vice by a few kind words or pats, or perhaps a bit of apple or sugar given him to eat. 

 Horses are very susceptible to kindness, and can be persuaded by this means, when the most 

 severe punishment would only result in exasperating and exciting them. 



Sometimes very slight causes will tend to make a horse balk ; it may be produced by 

 fright or by the collar not fitting well; by its pressing more upon some parts of the shoulder 

 than others; sometimes from the coldness of the collar; or the load may be too heavy, or the 

 shoulder sore. It is most frequently caused, we believe, by improper treatment while the 

 horse was being broken, and the tendency once acquired, it is not easily cured. Whatever 

 may be the cause, there is one thing that should be remembered and observed in such cases, 

 and that is, never whip a balky horse. Robert Jennings, veterinary surgeon, says in his work 

 entitled &quot;The Horse and His Diseases: &quot; 



&quot; This species of restiveness is one of the most provoking vices of the horse, and it can 

 be successfully combatted only by a man of the most imperturbable temper. The slightest 

 sign of vexation only increases the evil, and makes the animal more and more troublesome 

 each time that he refuses his work. Many a thick-headed, quick-tempered driver flies into 

 a passion and beats or otherwise abuses his horse on the least symptom of balking, until the 

 animal becomes utterly worthless from a confirmation of the habit. 



Asa rule, it may be stated that horses balk from nervousness or unsteadiness of dispo 

 sition; if not, indeed, from an over-anxiety to perform their work. Nervous well-bred 

 horses are more susceptible to the influences which induce balking, than are cold-blooded, 



