TRAINING THE HORSE. 9I 



of an inch wide and eighteen inches long, with a ring 

 one and a half inches in diameter sewed on to each 

 end, and two smaller rings running loose on the strap. 

 Take and place the middle of the strap directly under 



the horse's lower jaw and bring the ends through the 

 mouth from opposite sides; buckle the reins into the 

 larger rings and the cheek pieces of the bridle into 

 the smaller ones. This makes the most simple and 

 yet effective appliance for a puller I have ever seen. 



ABOUT THE WORD " WHOA." 



In relation to the word whoa, you should never use 

 it unless you want the horse to stop short. It is the 

 habit of every horseman, as perhaps you have often 

 noticed, while driving, and, come to a crossing or 

 something strange on the roadside, and are going at 

 the rate of seven to eight miles an hour, and wish to 

 slack up the pace a little, to say "Whoa." Of course 

 the horse stops, and in consequence receives a few 

 sharp cuts of the whip in return. Under such a driver 

 the horse in a few months learns the wrong meaning 

 to the word; and when a person takes him out to 

 drive, and a piece of paper or what not excites fear 

 and the driver says "Whoa," the horse starts up and 

 goes faster. The more the driver shouts '*whoa," the 

 faster the horse will go. Why ? Because he has been 

 taught to stop at the whoa and then receive punish- 

 ment. So you have actually taught your horse to run 

 away. I will now give you a practicable substitute 

 for the word whoa in tliis case. If you wish to slack 

 up a little, instead of saying " Whoa," say " Steady 

 there, boy," or " Easy, sir." In a few lessons the horse 



