F A R M E R S ' 11 E G I S r E R , 



[No. 1 



not escape you, and make him Ibllow there in like 

 manner. He will poon cease to iear any thing 

 which you thus prove to him that it will not hurt 

 him; or if lie is afraid, the great, fear ol" distance 

 and the lash will cast out ihe least fear of any 

 thing ill contact with you. Break your colts and 

 fillies in accordance with these principles, applied 

 by common sense, and they will play no tricks. 

 Give your colt a first lesson; at the next, make 

 him come up, lay the bridle on his head; when 

 used to put it on, make him Ibllow with the bridle 

 on without holding it; then lead him. Handle his 

 legs, and feel as you have seen done to-day. 

 Teach him also to bear the crack of the whip 

 near him, and over his back. These several 

 teachings should occupy fifteen or twenty minutes, 

 twice a day, for three or lour days; then you may 

 bring your blanket and circingle to him; go on as 

 with the umbrella. When he is used to them, girt 

 the blanket on; mak'e him Ibllow with it on; do this 

 several times; after that, bring in your saddle — use 

 him to it in the same mariner. Put it on, and make 

 him Ibllow; alter he is used to it, lay over it a long 

 narrow has;, with thirty poundf? in each end, and 

 let him Ibllow with these on in the stable and in 

 the lot, with the bridle drawn as tight as when in 

 the hands of a rider. Repeat this several times, 

 and you may put up your boy in the stable; still 

 let him follow you; then in the lot several times. 

 After a day or two, you may increase your dis- 

 tance from him, towards lhe centre of the circle in 

 which he walks. He will soon walk around the 

 lot, obey the bridle of the boy. You may now 

 bring in another gentle horse, wiih a bridle on, to 

 walk with him, but before him at first. After a 

 few walks thus in the lot, you may take them out, 

 and with ordinary care, your colt is broken and 

 gentle, without having injured himself or his ri- 

 der. To teach him to lie down is quite easy after 

 the foot lesson. Take a fore foot from the ground, 

 hold it firmly, tap the other fbre leg, and ask fbr 

 it. He will necessarily come to his knees. Per- 

 haps he will bounce up, alarmed at his new po- 

 sition. But you must have patience to teach a 

 horse what you want him to do. Begin again; 

 bring hira in the same manner as at first on his 

 knees, till he will remain quiet in that attitude, 

 permitting you to walk round him without at- 

 tempting to rise. Do this till he is used to it; 

 then, when he is on his knees, go to a hind foot, 

 and make him give that to you. When in that 

 poshion, ask fbr the other hind fbot; and down he 

 comes on his side. Perhaps (if he is a timid ani- 

 mal) he will be alarmed at his new position, and 

 rise up instantly; but take care to pat him as he 

 goes down, and while he is on the ground; but as 

 he rises, and is fairly on his feet, you must retire, 

 and give him a slight admonition with the lash, 

 that he is doing wrong to get up so soon. Go 

 again and again through the same routine, he will 

 Boon understand what you want him to do. And 

 a horse taught thus will do fbr you any thing that 

 he can do when he understands you; and, gen- 

 tlemen, he is not slow of understanding. The 

 horse is naturally a very observing, sagacious, and 

 sensible animal, docile and obedient when once 

 thoroughly convinced of the superior powers of 

 man. And his intellectual powers, if I may say 

 80 without offence, are like those of man, much 

 improved by proper exercise or education, with 

 this remarkable difference: 



"A man convinced against his will, 

 Is of the same opinion still." 



Not so with a horse. He never is of the same 

 opinion alter the argumentum ad equum has once 

 convinced him. The lesson of punishment at a 

 distance from you, and teaching that near you is 

 the place of safety and peace, with the conseciuent 

 fbllov.'ing you in ihe stable and out of it, is the first 

 step always, and the key of the whole system. 

 This first lesson must be made efl'eciual, by per- 

 severance and courage. 1 say courage, fbr some 

 horses fight bravely m the first lesson; never af- 

 terwards, if subdued. If they merely kick and 

 back towards you, (ha size of the room enablea 

 you, by keeping your eve constantly on litem, and 

 sideling round, to avoid their heels as you apply 

 the lash. The horse will soon be tired of present- 

 ing his hind Iciis to you. But if the horse be a 

 strong, high spirited stallion, of some age, who, 

 badly managed by a ti.mid groom, has had his own 

 way — when he turns his head towards you, then 

 comes the tug of war. In such cases, gentlemen, 

 I make myself a little ugly and outlandish in my 

 appearance before I enter his presence chamber; 

 and I enter in a very bolil, dashing style, (fbr hor- 

 ses are vpiy subject to panic from sudden unusual 

 appearances,) belbre he recovers his self-posses- 

 sion, and can wonder at my audacious impudence", 

 1 fall aboard of him like five and fbrty wild cats, 

 and before he is sufficiently self-possessrd to front 

 you, he is inspired with some considerable respect 

 fbr his new customer's courage and prowess. But 

 after a while he begins to think the joke is carry- 

 ing too fiir. He turns and gives you a look, which 

 plainly says, 'who the devil are you7' I am sorry 

 to make the noble horse swear on even vo provok- 

 ing an occasion; but I assure you he is not so much 

 addicted to it as jackasses, and some other inferior 

 animals, and he may at least plead the excuse ol^ — 

 'evil communication corrupts good manners,' for 

 this bad habit. Now he surveys you, notwith- 

 standing the sharp lash incessantly applied to the 

 hind legs, fixes his gaze on you, lays his ears 

 close to his head, draws back his lips, disclosing 

 his teeth, opens his mouth, raises his fbre feet, 

 and dashes right at you. Woe to the timid brag- 

 gart, who, with wandering eye or daunted breast, 

 is not ready with hand and heart, and heels, and 

 eyes fbr this crisis. Perhaps his lime is come! 



"Poor Johnny Raw, what madness could impel 

 So raw a flat to face so prime a swell." 



Let none such presume to exercise the art of mas- 

 tering even, much less the noble science of sub- 

 duing, the horse. But the fearless and practised 

 horse teacher is ready fbr the encounter. His eye 

 was fixed upon him, he foresaw the coming storm, 

 and as the open mouthed and high-raised hoof of 

 the indignant and enraged animal approach, he 

 seems to meet them: 



"But when the shadow's o'er fiis brow he slips aside. 

 So nimbly slips, that the vain robber past 

 Through empty air, and he so hi2;h, so vast. 

 Who dealt the stroke came thundTing to the ground; 

 Nor rest, nor pause, nor breathing time is given. 

 But rapid as the rattling hail from heaven. 

 Beats on the house top, showers of "horseman's shot" 

 Around the "stallion's legs fly peppering hot." 

 From this to the finish is all "tweedle dee — 

 You now have my secret, so hand me my fee." 



We did hand Jonathan his fee, and 1 have had 



