LECTURE LXVI. 



BREAKING AND FITTING HORSES FOR MARKET. 



This is one of the most important things to be consid- 

 ered in connection with the horse industry. More men fail 

 to reach the top in the horse business, due to lack of intelli- 

 gence in the breaking and preparation of horses for the mar- 

 ket, than from any other cause. This subject is of peculiar 

 interest, due to the fact that so many men are concerned in 

 the production of horses. The proper breaking of a colt 

 determines to a considerable extent the future usefulness of 

 the horse, and no man who has ever dealt in horses and 

 experienced difficulty in their management will deny that there 

 is room for a great deal of improvement over our present 

 methods of doing this work. From time to time we see illus- 

 trations of improper breaking. We see people who have 

 driven horses for two or three years which have never been 

 taught the lesson of how to back. A horse is not thor- 

 oughly broken until it is taught each and every one of the 

 things which it may be called upon to do at any time. In 

 addition to the losses resulting from improper breaking, 

 millions of dollars are lost to the farmers of this country 

 every year by selling horses that have not been properly 

 prepared for sale. It is a comparatively easy matter to fit 

 horses for sale. It can be done without taking them from 

 their regular work. Still, where heavy gains are to be made, 

 the less work a horse does and the quieter he is kept, the 

 quicker he will put on flesh. 



In breaking a colt the first thing to be considered is 

 the nature of the animal. The disposition of no two horses 

 is exactly alike. As a rule there is a great difference in 

 the disposition of the native horse and those from the west- 

 ern states, especially from the ranges. The native horse is 

 much easier broken than the western horse, though the lat- 

 ter, when properly broken, is a very reliable animal. There is 

 also a great difference in draft and light horses, especially 

 those which are bred for trotting and running purposes. 



