IN CHAIN HARROW. 185 



410. — Having then been duly prepared, bring the colt to the 

 field, with nothing on him but a good strong leather halter, 

 and tie him to the side of a quiet, good tempered horse, 

 and let him walk by the side of a team at work until he 

 learns to walk before any farm implement without any alarm or 

 any desire to keep further forward than his companions. When 

 he has learned to go well on one side put him on the other 

 side. It will do him good and will be very little trouble to let 

 him walk two or three days like this, although a much shorter 

 time can be made to do. 



411. — The next step will depend on what you have found 

 the colt to be as a puller, and how easily he is restrained. If he 

 is a gentle, easily restrained colt, that was at first reluctant to 

 pull resolutely in the collar, he must not be hitched to a large 

 team, or to anything very heavy. Put him on a light chain 

 harrow alone, and drive him carefully for two or three hours 

 on several successive days, increasing the weight a little each day, 

 until he will pull without hesitation all that be is fit to pull alone. 

 When his starting and pulling in this way have been made quite 

 satisfactory, put him to the same kind of work, and to not more 

 than the same weight between the two, alongside another horse, 

 and take care that he has not much to pull until he has become 

 entirely reconciled to the restraint of being tied to a mate. AVhen 

 this has been done the transfer to a two-horse plough will be 

 easy, and his hours of labour may be increased, carefully watching 

 his shoulders so that they shall not be made even tender (388). 

 The longer such a colt works on the balanced swingletrees of a 

 light two-horse plough, before he is transferred to a larger team 

 the better, as there will for a long time be a danger of his getting 

 alarmed at a pull that will not yield to his unassisted effort. 



412. — This is the safest way to treat any young, quiet horse. 

 Ploughing is often heavy pulling, but is constant, and being 

 generally on balanced swingletrees, and never demanding a pull 

 that cannot be eased ofi" without much trouble, a colt is seldom 

 spoiled at it, so that in ordinary hands, it is upon the whole the 

 best school for a young draft horse, and turns out the greater 

 part of our very best pullers. When carefully handled at light 



