Horses 317 



171. Breaking and training colts. 1 The future value and 

 usefulness of a colt depends largely on whether or not he is 

 broken and trained so that he is safe to handle in the stable 

 and on the road and will obey orders of the rider or driver 

 promptly. The work of breaking and training should be done 

 when the animals are young, for old horses are much more 

 difficult to train than colts. The usual plan is to teach the colt 

 to stand tied and to lead before he is weaned and to break him 

 to harness and saddle between the ages of two and three years. 



Teaching the colt to stand tied. The first step is to teach 

 the colt to stand tied. This is accomplished by the use of 

 halter and ropes. First, place a halter on the animal, double 

 a four-foot rope, put the loop under the tail as a crupper, make 

 three twists in the rope, bring the two ends forward, and tie 

 them together in front of the chest. Next, tie a rope loosely 

 about the body back of the withers and knot it on both sides to 

 the crupper rope. With these ropes in position pass a twelve- 

 foot rope through the halter ring and tie one end to the crupper 

 rope at the breast of the animal and hitch the other end to a 

 strong post, leaving about three feet of slack. 



Gentling the colt. While tied the colt should be petted and 

 rubbed on the sides, hindquarters, and legs. This operation 

 is termed gentling. Hold the head-stall in one hand and with 

 the other pet and rub the head and neck. Then, gentle the 

 back, the sides, and lastly, the legs. In gentling the hind 

 parts make use of a stick about four feet long on one side of 

 which is a burlap bag wrapped and tied. First, let the colt 

 smell the stick, then rub the padded part over the legs and 

 on the body. If the colt kicks do not beat him, allow him to 

 examine the stick again, then rub him as before. The gentling 

 should be continued until the colt can be approached from 

 either side and rubbed all over his body. 



The second lesson should be the same as the first, teaching 

 him to stand tied and to be rubbed and petted. 

 1 Based on Farmers' Bulletin 667. 



