CHAPTER X. 



BREAKING A HORSE SLOWLY AND THOROUGHLY. 



183. — In England the education of a horse often and wiselj 

 begins on the first day of its existence. The little long legged 

 animal is brought into a loose box with its mother, and if not 

 actually haltered and taught to lead, is gently handled from head 

 to foot, which has a great effect in making it ever after fearless 

 of the approach of man. The more often this is repeated the 

 better. When two or three months old it is often fed from a 

 manger with its mother, and frequent opportunities taken to 

 handle it. It is sometimes shut up in a loose box during the 

 forced absence of its mother, and at others follows her through 

 the roads, over the bridges, and amongst the sights and scenes 

 of its future life. 



184. — At weaning time, if not already done, it is often 

 subjected to the important lesson of being tied up. A strong 

 wide smooth leather halter is quietly, cautiously, and securely 

 fixed on its head. It is placed in a stall and fed from a manger. 

 Some door, gate, hurdle, or slip bar is closed behind it so that it 

 cannot run back far. Then a rope is tied to each side of the 

 stall sufficiently loose to allow the colt to feed freely, but not 

 long enough to allow it to turn round. As it cannot get far 

 backwards or forwards it will first feel the restraint of the rope 

 sideways, in which direction it can exert but little power and 

 can hardly hurt itself. In this position it may be tied for two 

 hours or more, on several days in succession, when, if it has 

 been well managed so that it has neither broken away nor hurt 

 itself, it will have come to the conclusion that it cannot break 

 anything that it is tied with, and will not try, however weak 

 the line by which it may afterwards be fastened. 



