228 



HORSE SENSE. 



ing. Every horseman of experience and observation knows that 

 whenever a horse gets his front foot over an obstruction of any kind 

 and feels the pressure on the foot or leg — even if it is not six inches 

 above ground — he goes backwards until he frees himself, even when 

 he could step over the obstruction by a forward movement; and when 

 the hind foot is fast he goes forward. 



It is also well known that when the halter is put upon the colt's 

 head for the first time and the "breaker" begins to pull upon the 

 halter that the colt will invariably go backwards to get out of the 

 difficulty, yet how many colt handlers ever stopped to consider for 

 one moment why the colt goes in that direction in preference to any 

 other? And still everybody knows this to be the fact. Every colt 

 "breaker" realizes in the beginning that it is a question of man power 



Fig. 1 represents Betsy, at three days old, and the manner of catching the 

 colt at both ends at the same time for success. 



at one end of the halter and horse power at the other. If there is 

 more horse power than human strength, too oft^n a confirmed halter 

 puller follows. If the halter is broken in the struggle a like result is 

 quite evident. 



To still further illustrate this great natural law, just take up the 

 front foot of the horse and carry it forward to the straining point 

 and the horse invariably goes backwards. Now carry the same foot 

 back under the body back of its center and a forward movement 

 is the result. Then take up a hind foot and carry it backwards and 

 the horse moves forward for relief; but carry it under the body for- 

 wards of the center and the horse again attempts a backward action 

 to get away from its efifect. Whenever a horse is seen to try the 

 passage of a narrow doorway, gate or between two posts, which 

 makes pressure on both his sides, if he gets more than half way 



