TO LEAD INTO A STABLE. 63 



once in this way, turn him about and walk him around 

 in every direction, until you can get him up to the door 

 without pulling at him. Then let him stand a few 

 minutes, keeping his head in the right direction with 

 the halter, and he will walk in in less than ten minutes. 

 Never attempt to pull the colt into the stable; that 

 would make him think at once that it was a dangerous 

 place, and if he was not afraid of it before he would 

 be then. Besides, we do not want him to know any- 

 thing about pulling on the halter. Colts are often hurt 

 and sometimes killed, by trying to force them into the 

 stable: and those who attempt to do it in that way 

 go into an up-hill business, when a plain smooth road is 

 before them. 



If you want to tie up your colt, put him in a toler- 

 ably wide stall, which should not be too long, and 

 should be connected by a bar or something of that kind 

 to the partition behind it ; so that, after the colt is in 

 he cannot go far enough back to take a straight, back- 

 ward pull on the halter ; then by tying him in the centre 

 of the stall, it would be impossible for him to pull on the 

 halter, the partition behind preventing him from going 

 back, and the halter in the centre checking him every 

 time he turns to the right or left. In a stall of this kind 

 you can break any horse to stand tied with a light strap, 

 anywhere, without his ever knowing anything about 

 pulling. For if you have broken your horse to lead, 

 and have taught him the use of the halter (which you 

 should always do before you hitch him to anything), you 

 can hitch him in any kind of a stall, and if you give 

 him something to eat to keep him up to his place for a 

 few minutes at first, there is not one colt in fifty that 

 will pull on his halter. 



