THE PLACE FOR TKAISIXG A COLT. 87 



nection with this strapping up and laying down process, 

 is, that the moment the horse rises he seems to have con- 

 tracted a personal friendship for the operator, and with a 

 very little encouragement will generally follow him 

 round the box or circus ; this feeling may as well be en- 

 couraged by a little bit of carrot or bread and sugar. 



PLACE AND PREPARATIONS FOR TRAINING A COLT. 



It is almost impossible to train or tame a horse quickly 

 in an open space. As his falls are violent, the floor must 

 be very soft. The best place is a space boarded off with 

 partitions six or seven feet high, and on the floor a deep 

 layer of tan or sand or saw-dust, on which a thick layer of 

 straw has been spread ; but the floor must not be too soft ; 

 if it is, the horse will sink on his knees without fight- 

 hag, and without the lesson of exhaustion, which is so im- 

 portant. To throw a horse for a surgical operation, the 

 floor cannot be too soft : the enclosure should be about 

 thirty feet from side to side, of a square or octagonal 

 shape ; but not round if possible, because it is of great 

 advantage to have a corner into which a colt may turn 

 when you are teaching him the first haltering lesson. A 

 barn may be converted into a training-school, if the floor 

 be made soft enough with straw. But in every case, it is 

 extremely dangerous to have pillars, posts, or any projec- 

 tions against which the horse in rearing might strike ; as 

 when the legs are tied, a horse is apt to miscalculate his 

 distance. And if the space is too narrow, the trainer, in 

 dealing with a violent horse, may get crushed or kicked. 

 It is of great advantage that the training-school should 

 be roofed, and if possible, every living thing, that might 

 distract the horse's attention by sight or sound, should 

 be removed. Other horses, cattle, pigs, and even dogs 



