THE FIRST DRIVE IN HARNESS 47 



colt will allow the stick to touch any part of his body it 

 is then time to teach him to stand quietly to be crup- 

 pered. Make your motions carefully so as not to excite 

 the colt. After this training you will never have any 

 trouble in cruppering your colt. 



Never jerk the crupper out from under the tail, for 

 by so doing you often hurt the colt and he may after- 

 wards prove difficult to crupper, which tends to develop 

 the kicking habit. 



THE FIRST DRIVE IN HARNESS 



The colt should now be ready to harness up, so put 

 the harness on gently, and be sure it is good strong 

 harness. Drive the colt with the harness on up and 

 down the road or field, and give repetition of previous 

 lessons of " Whoa " and " Get up," turning him to the 

 left and to the right. 



I use a long-shaft cart for this purpose, and some- 

 times I have used a four-wheeled American buggy or 

 show waggon. They are easy for the colt to guide or 

 steer. When the colt is familiar with the vehicle you 

 should get a groom to hold the shafts up and walk the 

 colt beneath them a few times. When he has decided 

 to stand quietly, lower the shafts gently on to his back, 

 hold them there, and repeat this several times before 



