HOW TO TEAIN A COLT. 181 



in less than a week's time, so that, when streaming round 

 the exercise-lot at a swinging gait, they would stop at 

 the word sent forth from the mouth of the trainer, so 

 quickly as to actually throw themselves upon their 

 haunches. The method is simple. Put your bridle on 

 to your colt, buckle in a pair of long lines, and, taking 

 position in the rear, start him along. After he has taken 

 a few steps, say " Whoa ! " and at the same time give him 

 a slight twitch on the bit sufficient to cause him to stop. 

 Do not be rude or harsh, but gentle and firm. Start 

 him now again, and repeat the sound and the move- 

 ment of the hand. The colt will soon catch the idea, 

 and learn what the sound means. Then you can go on, 

 and teach him that it not only means stop^ but that it 

 means to stop instantly. A few days of this simple 

 treatment will suffice to teach him thoroughly the 

 lesson, which, when well learned, he never forgets, and 

 the real value of which can scarcely be overestimated. 

 If the colt is worth five hundred dollars Avhen broken 

 in the ordinary way, he is certainly worth six hundred 

 when instructed fully in the manner I have set forth. 

 Any sensible man, in purchasing a horse for family ser- 

 vice or for fast driving on the road, Avill gladly pay a 

 hundred dollars extra if the breeder can show to him 

 that the colt will stop short in his tracks at the word ; 

 for he sees, that, amid even the average risks and hazards 

 of driving, such a power over the animal may prove of 

 supreme importance. 



Next to this understanding, on the part of the colt. 



