156 TEACHING TRICKS. 



To convey your idea to the horse, you should put 

 the lines on him; and when you move the whip back- 

 ward and forward in that position, give the horse- 

 little quick jerks wath the lines until he understands- 

 that the whip in that position means ^'hack." Xow to 

 reduce the compulsory part of it to the whip stand on 

 the near side well back toward the hip, so that the lash 

 of the whip will reach over his head. Tap him over the 

 head a few times in connection with the backward 

 movement of the whip. Tap lightly at first, then a 

 little harder, until he will step back freely, then caress- 

 him. Now if he should fail to respond to the signal 

 when you have no bridle on him, you can force him 

 to do so by tapping him over the forehead. When 

 you want him to start or go faster touch him on top 

 of neck or back. The signal for "steady/' or to go 

 slower, is to elevate the whip about half way up: as 

 soon as he comes down to a walk, lower the whip again. 

 The single foot strap will greatly assist in teaching the- 

 signals meaning Steady and Whoa. 



When a horse is trained as just described, it makes 

 him appear much more intelligent than he otherwise 

 would, and he will attract attention wherever he is 

 seen. 



TO IMITATE A BALKY HORSE. 



It seems foolish to instruct the public how ta 

 teach a horse to balk; for my observation has convinced 

 me that they have a better knowledge of this particular 

 feature than any other branch of horsemanship. How- 

 ever when a horse is educated, the trick of ^'acting the 



