PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. 17^ 



hitched him to another vehicle and drove hini to the 

 very spot that he ran away from, and made him stand 

 until I went about three rods behind to shut the gate. 

 One week after that I had him liitched away from home 

 after night, when the hitching strap became untied; 

 he turned around with the buggy, went home, and from 

 all appearances walked every step of the way, and stood 

 by the stable door waiting to l^e unhitched, jnst as if 

 he had been driven there. The reason the colt did 

 not run and tear the buggy to peices was because he 

 thoroughly understood that the previous treatment 

 was for running away. A few months after that time 

 the colt was driven to a carriage, when the front wheel 

 came off while he was trotting at a fast rate. The axle 

 tree and weight of two persons came right against 

 his heels so hard that it tore the skin and flesh off both 

 of his heels, 3^et he was controlled and stopped in a very 

 short time, with all this weight directly against his 

 heels. This i^roved to me as well as to all who knew 

 of this case, that his submissiveness under such ex- 

 citement Avas entirely due to the treatment I gave him 

 for running away. The idea struck me then that if it 

 was possible to change a horse's character in so short 

 a time, and so fix the impression on the brain that he 

 would never forget his training, it would surely be 

 something worth knowing, and I began handling 

 horses and studying their nature from that time on. 

 I had handled £olts and bad horses for six months, 

 and had fully made up my mind to control and 

 educate horses, before I had ever heard of horse trainers 



