66 THE AET OF TAMING HOUSES. 



than half or three-quarters of an hour to handle any 

 kind of colt, and have him run_iing about in the stable 

 after me ; though I would advise a new beginner to take 

 more time, and not be in too much of a hurry. If you 

 have but one colt to gentle, and are not particular about 

 the length of time you spend, and have not had any 

 experience in handling colts, I would advise you to take 

 Mr. Powell's method at first, till you gentle him, which, 

 he says, takes from two to six hours. But as I want to 

 accomplish the same, and, what is more, teach the horse 

 to lead, in less than one hour, I shall give you a much 

 quicker process of accomplishing the same end. Ac- 

 cordingly, when you have entered the stable, stand still, 

 and let your horse look at you a minute or two, and as 

 soon as he is settled in one place, approach him slowly, 

 with both arms stationary, your right hanging by your 

 side, holding the whip as directed, and the left bent at 

 the elbow, with your hand projecting. As you approach 

 him, go not too much towards his head or croup, so as 

 not to make him move either forward or backward, thus 

 keeping your horse stationary ; if he does move a little 

 either forward or backward, step a little to the right or 

 left very cautiously; this will keep him in one place. 

 As you get very near him, draw a little to his shoulder, 

 and stop a few seconds. If you are in his reach he will 

 turn his head and smell your hand, not that he has any 

 preference for your hand, but because that is projecting, 

 and is the nearest portion of your body to the horse. 

 This all colts will do, and they will smell your naked 

 hand just as quickly as they will of anything that you 

 can put in it, and with just as good an effect, however 

 much some men have preached the doctrine of taming 

 horses by giving them the scent of articles from the hand. 

 I have already proved that to be a mistake. As soon as 



