496 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 



CHAPTER XX. 



GENTLING, BREAKING, AND TRAINING. 



GENTLING. 



The time to begin the work of gentling is seldom improved 

 by stock- raisers. They have so much else to do that they 

 L can not devote the requisite time and attention to this mat- 



ter; and, in fact, not a few of them neglect this important 

 I • department of their business entirely, committing it alto- 

 gether to other hands. In many cases, professional stock- 

 raisers do not so much as superintend the feeding and salt- 

 ing of any of their own stock, much less gentling and breaking 

 their colts. Such men must be but poorly qualified for the 

 important vocation which they do indeed* follow — afar off— 

 and many serious evils result from their negligence. 



In relation to the subject-matter of this entire chapter, 

 . there is a deplorable ignorance and lack of interest among 

 ,^^ the masses of our farmers. It is quite as much as thousands 

 ^ of them care about, if they can provide some sort of food 

 for their colts, and salt once a week. JS'o further pains are 

 bestowed upon the young animal until he is old enough to 

 m be put to work; and then, • instead of being gentled and 



■ trained for the duties he is to perform, he is very probably 



disposed of at a sacrifice of twenty or thirty dollars, or even 

 more, in consequence of his being unbroken. The market 

 value of a good colt is lessened by from twenty "to fifty dol- 

 lars, or even more, by this circumstance ; and, as a rule, the 

 * young horse trained for service, for either the saddle or har- 

 ness, is worth fifty per cent, more upon that account than he 

 was before. Thousands of our stock-raisers submit to this 

 # • pecuniary loss every year, rather than undertake the labor 

 of breaking, which their timidity or indolence shrinks from. 



