22 THE HORSE 



either cow your horse or injure his temper. If you are 

 "gentling" him, and he refuses to do what you want, 

 you will wait for him, or keep at him quietly but firmly 

 until he is sick of the contest and yields. This is what 

 is meant by "letting the colt train himself." A colt 

 trained in this manner will insensibly acquire the habit 

 of willing obedience, which is far better than obedience 

 rendered through fear. 



John Young, a very successful trainer says: 



The colt himself must do much of his own training, and the 

 man who can discover the many different ways differently 

 tempered youngsters have of aiding their own education is the 

 man who is bound to succeed. 



Perhaps the art of training or gentling colts may be 

 summed up by saying that it consists in putting the mind 

 of the man against the mind of the horse. I would 

 rather have my colts handled by a man of the right 

 sort — courageous, firm, good-tempered, kind, who had 

 no experience with horses whatsoever, than by the most 

 experienced man who was ill-tempered or cowardly. 



