346 MANUAL OF MODERN FARRIERY 



the best method to break them off it is to place a 

 large heavy stone behind the wheel ; and the horse, 

 feeling he is unable to back, will generally proceed 

 forward, finding it more easy to do so ; and by 

 carefully continuing this practice, the horse will 

 gradually be broken off the bad habit. Another 

 plan, nearly as good, is to start the horse, if it can 

 possibly be managed, with the back of the machine 

 placed towards a rising ground ; and as it is more 

 difficult at all times to force it backward than forward, 

 besides the hill being against him, he will prefer going 

 forward to backward. Sometimes it will be necessary 

 to lead the horse for a short distance, and when the 

 groom has quitted the reins, a gentle touch with the 

 whip will make him proceed. If, however, he is 

 determinedly obstinate, there will be little chance of 

 succeeding by forcible means ; and if the driver is 

 resolved to use compulsion, we would recommend 

 that it should not be attempted unless there is a 

 wide space, where by tight reining the driver may 

 back him in the particular direction which he wishes, 

 and it would be very desirable to do so uphill if the 

 ground inclines in the neighbourhood. But still there 

 is considerable danger in the attempt. 



Gibbing and backing are" frequently produced by 

 the pain inflicted on a horse where the collar is tight 

 or does not fit. Some horses have also a great 

 dislike to a cold collar, and when this is the case it 

 ought to be lined with cloth instead of leather, or a 

 false collar or strip of cloth may be worn round the 

 shoulders. Many horses, not otherwise gibbers, will 

 not start if their shoulders have been chafed with the 

 collar and has left a rawness, as the coldness of the 

 collar gives considerable pain ; but after the collar 

 becomes of the same temperature as the animal, then 



