THE HORSE 277 



the morning the soaked collar should be adjusted snugly to the 

 horse's neck with the hanie straps. Then the horse should be 

 worked moderately through the day. Soaking the collar in this 

 way serves to soften it, after w^hich it will adjust itself to every 

 inequality of the shoulders and the horse will seldom be troubled 

 with soreness. 



Sore shoulder. — In case such sores occur, the parts may be 

 washed with cold salt water and, when dry, dusted with tannin 

 or finely pulverized, air-slaked lime. Oxide of zinc ointment is 

 good. This is made by mixing one ounce of oxide of zinc with 

 four ounces of benzoated lard* If the parts become calloused a 

 dull red blister may be applied, w^hich will absorb the callous. It 

 will be necessary to rest the horse while applying the blister. 



Care of the harness. — The harness should receive good care, 

 as this will increase the duration of its usefulness and lessen the 

 likelihood of its injuring the horse. It is very important that 

 the bearing parts be kept scrupulously clean at all times. This 

 applies especially to collar, saddle, and crupper. It is not pos- 

 sible to jirevent sores if these parts are permitted to become 

 dirty, which they are sure to do, if not cared for, because of 

 sweat and dandruff. Collar, saddle, and crupper should be thor- 

 oughly cleaned each morning before the horse is harnessed. 



Training and breaking the colt. — The profit and pleasure to 

 be derived from the use of a horse depend on his being subser- 

 vient to his master's will. The more complete his training the 

 better horse he Avill be. The problem is, then, so to train the 

 horse as to bring him to his maximum usefulness. This is dif- 

 ficult. No rules can be laid down that will apply in their entirety, 

 or in every case. Much depends on attendant conditions. The 

 type or breed, the individuality of the horse, the individuality 

 of the trainer, the object for which the horse is being trained, 

 are factors that will have much influence on the methods of 

 training. No attempt is made here to discuss the various train- 

 ing methods, or to go into the matter in detail; only a few brief 

 suggestions are given in the hope that they will clarify the 

 mysteries of so-called ''horse breaking," for entirely too much 

 is ordinarily made of training the horse, particularly the heavy 

 types. 



The colt should become familiar with man while young. In 

 the very beginning he should bo taught sul)ordination and should 

 not be allowed to become willful or headstrong. The usefulness 

 of the horse will depend much on his courage and fearlessness, 

 and it is in order to promote these characteristics that the colt 



