MANAGEMENT OF VICIOUS HORSES. 29 



this way a short distance, you can get into the 

 sulky, and all will go right. It is very important 

 to have your horse go gently when you first hitch 

 him. After you have walked him awhile, there is 

 not half so much danger of his scaring. Men do 

 very wrong to jump up behind a horse to drive liim 

 as soon as they have him hitched. There are too 

 many things for him to comprehend all at once. 

 The shafts, the lines, the harness, and the rattling 

 of the sulky, all tend to scare him, and he must be 

 made familiar Avith them by degrees. If your horse 

 is very wild, I would advise you to put up one foot 

 the first time you drive him. 



TAMING A HORSE WITH VICIOUS HABITS. 



Having given full instructions relative to my sys- 

 tem of dealing with young colts, I will now proceed 

 to detail the plan of operations for taming or sub- 

 duing wild or vicious horses. The principles of this 

 method are the same as those in managing colts — 

 kindness and gentleness — but the practice differs. 

 When you desire to subdue a horse that is very wild, 

 or has a vicious disposition, take up one fore-foot and 

 bend his knee till his hoof is bottom upwards, and 

 nearly touching his body ; then slip a loop over his 

 knee, and shove it up until it comes above the pas- 

 tern-joint, to keep it up, being careful to draw the 

 loop together between the hoof and pastern-joint 

 with a second strap of some kind to prevent the 

 loop from slipping down and coming off. This will 

 leave the horse standing on three legs ; you can 



