56 KICKING. 



all right, take tlie appliances off and drive him a little 

 while without the rope, and put him awa}^ for that day. 

 My experience has taught me that it requires from 

 tvs^enty to thirty days to educate a had, confirmed kick- 

 er; to fix the impression on the brain so that there will 

 be no inclination to repeat the habit; while you may 

 not need to use coercive, or subjective treatment more 

 than the first four or five lessons, yet it will be absolute- 

 ly necessary to be on your guard, and not allow him to 

 resist at any time. Be ready with Double Safety Eope 

 to rebuke disobedience, and also be ready with caresses 

 and kind treatment to reward obedience. Possibly the 

 horse will make attempts to resist even after having 

 given it eight or ten lessons, and if you are careless and 

 not on your guard, he will get the advantage of you 

 and go to kicking. If we allow the horse to resist after 

 once forcing submission, it will only make him worse 

 than he was before; because it gives him increased 

 courage and confidence in himself to know that he can 

 resist after treatment, and in that way make his charac- 

 ter doubtful and treacherous. Hence the importance 

 of being firm, and not allowing him to resist at all after 

 having been subdued. If you will keep your horse from 

 resisting, according to my system of training for three 

 or four weeks, I will guarantee that he will have but 

 very little inclination to kick, and will bear tests that 



