MANAGEMENT OF BROOD MARES. 105 



sewed about half way down the off side of the 

 surcingle. The horse can walk all right, trot and 

 even run when the rope is slack, but a steady 

 pull on the rope will jerk his fore feet up against 

 the floor of his chest and down he goes on his 

 knees and nose. A rasping hard fall takes the 

 tuck out of most horses, two or three will usual- 

 ly do the business for the most incorrigible, but 

 it is a dangerous game to play. 



I have mentioned the Earey tackle only for 

 the reason that its general use in colt-breaking 

 has been advocated by one or two writers in 

 high position, whose experience with it can not 

 have been extensive. It should be used in colt- 

 breaking only as a last resort. Horse-breaking, 

 to be sure, is no job for a nursery governess, 

 but there are only a very few colts — probably 

 not one in 5,000— that ever need a fall in the 

 Earey tackle. 



Once upon a time I was employed by an im- 

 porter of coaching stallions and one of his chief 

 talking points was the facility with which the 

 imported stallions of full age could be broken to 

 harness. When some customer announced that 

 he had to be shown the foreman and I took oc- 

 casion to put the stallion in question through a 

 course of sprouts with the Earey tackle in a 

 long shed deeply bedded with shavings, and then 

 sallied forth with him. As soon as the horse 

 felt the body band of the harness tighten around 

 him he was in mortal terror of being thrown 



