CHAPTER XI. 

 HOW TO TRAIN A HORSE. 



1. THE OLD SYSTEM AND THE NEW. -II. THE AMERICAN WAY BETTER THAN THE EN- 

 GLISH. III. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BREAKINa AND TRAINING. IV. FIRST LES- 

 SONS. V. LEARNING TO LEAD. VI. TO MAKE A COLT COME TO YOU. VII. LES- 

 SONS IN SOUND SIGNALS. VIII. FLEXIONS. IX. THE PROPER AGE FOR WORK. 



X. HARNESSING AND DRIVING. XI. THE A(!E FOR REAL WORK. XII. HOW 



TO SUBDUE A WILD COLT. XIII. HANDLIN(; A VICIOUS COLT. XIV. SUBDUING A 



VICIOUS OR TRICKY HORSE. XV. TRAINING A STALLION FOR SERVICE. XVI. 



TRAINING FOR DRAFT. XVII. HOW TO HAVE A (iOOD PLOW TEAM. XVIII. FORM- 

 ING A GOOD SADDLE HORSE. XIX. THE DIFFERENT GAITS. XX. TRAINING TO 



TROT IN HARNESS. XXI. FORMING A TROTTER. XXII. TO TRAIN A RACER. 



XXIII. SADDLING. XXIV. HARNESSING. 



I. The Old System and the New. 



L idcr the old system of training, an animal was subdued by main force. 

 What lie learned was acquired under the impulse of fear. Under the 

 new system, an animal is taught to depend upon and trust his master, by 

 convincing him that he will not be injured. Under the old system, ths 

 whip and spur, and "terrible voice," were the means used to drive and 

 force him up to, and beyond, an object that might be terrifying to a young 

 and inexperienced horse, however harmless in itself. Under the new sys- 

 tem, the young horse is allowed to see for himself that steam, harsh 

 noises, great crowds, locomotives, the beating of drums, the thunder of 

 cannon, and the various sights and sounds that, even to the savage and bar- 

 barian, would be terrible, are quite innocent, when the master's hand di- 

 rects. Hence, the horse, trained to obedience and made familiar with 

 the various sights he is to encounter, fears them as little, and is as eager 

 to witness them, as a child. The habit of entire dependence upon the mas- 

 ter prompts him to go forward, even into the most imminent danger, with- 

 out other sign than that of eager curiosity or of obedience to the will of 

 the rider or driver. 



It is true that all this may be accomplishea i>v the whip and spur, 

 vvhich are, even now, freely and needlessly used by some brutal teamsters, 

 as well as by many really liumane persons, who have never sought to un- 

 derstand the intelligence of the hor.se, .ind far less that of the other do- 

 mestic animals under their care. Hence, to persons of this latter class, 

 the horse is a slave, whereas, to the intelligent master, he is a servant anx- 

 ious and eager to do his will. The clement of fear cannot, of course, be 

 entirely dispensed with in training. A wilful animal must be subdued at 

 any cost of punishment , but this punishment should be as intelligently 

 and humanely administered as in the case of a child. Those who train 

 animals should first, themselves, lear-n to know what the animal means 



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