HOW TO TRAIN A COLT. 159 



When the foal is fifteen months old, I begin again to 

 educate him. My object now is to get him thoroughly 

 acquainted with the harness, and to teach him to stand 

 quietly to be harnessed. To this end I direct my 

 efforts. If the colt is high-mettled or timid, great 

 care must be exercised, and patience also. Most colts, 

 remember, are timid : they are born so. Animals that 

 are not armed with claws and teeth, with which to pro- 

 tect themselves when attacked, are created by the all- 

 wise Creator with the power to fly and the timid heart. 

 The horse is constitutionally timid, then. It is natural 

 for him to shrink from strange, new sights, and jump 

 at sudden movements and loud noises. Remember this 

 when you come to harness your colt, and have patience. 

 This is the order of procedure in my stable : The first 

 day, I simply put the saddle without the back-strap on, 

 buckling up the belly-band loosely. This is done many 

 times, increasing the pressure of the band until I have it 

 quite as tight as is the custom. Then I take the neck-col- 

 lar, and put that over his head, first permitting him to 

 smell of it, and touch it with his nose^ until h^ is entirely 

 convinced that it is not calculated to hurt him. In like 

 manner I continue adding part to part until the colt is 

 fully harnessed. He is then allowed to stand with the 

 harness on him until he has time to reflect upon the 

 whole matter, and become accustomed to the unusual 

 sensations by the pressure of the several parts of the 

 harness against his sensitive skin ; for we must re- 

 member that all this performance seems very queer 



