TO GIVE A BALL. 95 



"Give liim two lessons a-day; and when you have 

 given him four lessons h,e will lie down by taking hold 

 of one foot. As soon as he is well broken to lie down 

 in this w^ay, tap him on the opposite leg with a stick 

 when you take hold of his foot, and in a few days he 

 will lie down from the mere motion of the stick." 



For the purpose of handling horses more easily 

 tvitJwut casting them, when slight operations have to 

 be performed, a twitch is used, made by 7 or 8 inches 

 of cord formed into a noose, which is attached to about 

 two feet of a strong stick. The noose is placed on the 

 upper lip of the horse, and by turning the stick round 

 and round, it is tightened. The pain thus occasioned 

 to the animal subdues him to bear almost anything, 

 and he can thus be subjected to minor operations 

 while standing, but it is also as well to place a cloth 

 over his eyes to prevent his being too well informed of 

 what is going on, — a precaution which may be used 

 with advantage under various other circumstances, such 

 as measuring the height, when the sight of the size- 

 measure as placed against his shoulder might alarm 

 him — in fact, upon any occasion when it may be desir- 

 able that a horse should not be aware of w^hat is 

 passing around him ; for instance, if he is unwilling to 

 go on board ship or into a horse-van. 



TO GIVE A BALL. ^ 



Turn the animal round in the stall so as to have his 

 head to the light, making the least possible fuss or 

 noise. 



Stand on a stool on the off side, and, gently putting 



