BREAKING 



him before starting, for if he comes out of the stable fresh, 

 he is easily excited, and may struggle, thereby injuring 

 himself, or becoming so scared that he may be timid for 

 the rest of his life. After he has become amenable to the 

 touch of the reins, a saddle or harness may be put on him, 

 the way to proceed being to let him have a good look and 

 smell at them first and then gently to put them on, taking 

 care that the girths or belly-band, as the case may be, are not 

 drawn too tight, and that the collar fits very easily. It is 

 not desirable that the colt should be taken out at once when 

 harnessed or saddled, it being the better plan to let him 

 stand in the stable on the pillar reins for a few hours a day 

 with the saddle or harness on, his exercise being taken with 

 the long reins and cavesson, but the girths or belly - band 

 can be taken up a hole each day until tight enough for 

 business purposes. 



If he is being broken to harness it is necessary that 

 everything, the collar in particular, should fit well, and be 

 perfectly sound and strong, for if anything breaks, not only 

 may a serious accident occur, but he may be scared out 

 of his wits. At first he may be led about with part or all 

 of the harness on him, according to the way he is behaving, 

 and knee-caps should be worn to prevent injury if he comes 

 down, every precaution being taken to prevent any part 

 of the harness not in use from flapping against his legs, 

 particularly behind, else he is sure to start kicking. The 

 first vehicle he should go in is a brake alongside a good 

 steady horse who will do all the work, and the earlier lessons 

 should be short, their duration being extended as the colt 

 learns what is required of him. After he is steady in double 

 harness he can be put in a two-wheeled trap, a fairly heavy 

 one, with a kicking strap on, every possible care being taken 

 to avoid his being frightened in any way by the shafts 

 coming roughly against him. Some colts will take to their 

 leather at once, others give a good deal of trouble, in which 

 case the golden gift of patience must be exercised by the 

 breaker. If he is disinclined to move, a man can lead the 



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