60. DOMESTIC A^UMALS. 



more from playfulness than desire of mischief. A moderate application 

 of the whip will usually be effectual. Others, even after starting, ex- 

 hibit considerable obstinacy and viciousness. This is frequently the 

 effect of bad breakino-. Either the shoulder of the horse had been 

 ■wrung when he was first put to the collar, or he had been foolishly 

 accustomed to be started in the break up-hill, and, therefore, all his 

 work coming upon him at once, he gradually acquired this dangerous 

 habit. 



A hasty and passionate breaker will often make a really good-tem- 

 pered young horse an inveterate balker. Every young horse is at first 

 shy of the collar. If he is too quickly forced to throw his weight into 

 it, he will possibly take a dislike to it, that will occasionally show itself 

 in the form of balking as long as he lives. The judicious horse-breaker 

 will resort to no severity, even if the colt should go out several times 

 without even touching the collar. The example of his companion will 

 ultimately induce him to take it voluntarily and effectually. 



A large and heavy stone should be put behind the wheel before 

 starting, when the horse, finding it more difficult to back than to go 

 forward, will gradually forget this unpleasant trick. It will likewise be 

 of advantage, as often as it can be managed, so to start that the horse 

 will have to back up-hill. The difficulty of accomplishing this will soon 

 make him readily go forward. A little coaxing, or leading, or moderate 

 flagellation will assist in accomplishing the cure. 



When, however, a horse, thinking he has had enough of work, or 

 has been improperly checked or corrected, or beginning to feel the pain- 

 ful pressure of the collar, swerves, and balks, and backs, it is a more 

 serious matter. Persuasion should first be tried ; and, afterward, rea- 

 sonable coercion, but no cruelty : for the brutality which is often exer- 

 cised to compel a balking horse to throw himself habitually into the 

 collar, never yet accomplished the purpose. The horse may, perhaps, 

 be whipped into motion ; but if he has once begun to balk, he will have 

 recourse to it again whenever any circumstance displeases or annoys 

 him, and the habit will be so rapidly and completely formed, that he 

 will become insensible to all severity. 



Sometimes a horse not often accustomed to balk betrays a reluctance 

 to move, or a determination not to move. Before resorting to severity, 

 the cause, if practicable, should be ascertained. The horse may be 

 over-taxed, his withers may be wrung, or he may be insupportably 

 galled or pained by the harness. These things should be examined into, 

 and, if possible, rectified ; for, under such circumstances, cruelty may 

 produce obstinacy and vice, but not willing obedience. 



They who are accustomed to horses know what seemingly trivial cir- 

 cumstances occasionally produce this vice. A horse whose shoulders 

 are raw, or have frequently been so, will not start with a cold collar. 

 When the collar has acquired the warmth of the parts on which it 

 presses, the animal will go without reluctance. Some determined 

 balkers have been reformed by constantly wearing a false collar, or 

 strip of cloth round the shoulders, so that tlie coldness of the usual col- 

 lar should never be felt ; and others have been cured of the habit by 

 keeping the collar on night and day, for the animal is not able to lie 



