THE COLT. 51 



ining and understanding yon in his own way, by smelling and 

 breathing with the nose. At this age the little animal should not 

 know that sneh a thing as a whip exists. If you strike him with 

 the whip, he will probably shy from you and the whip as long as 

 he lives. You should teach him to love you, which he will 

 readily do if kindly treated. His affection for his master is not 

 as strong as that of the dog; if you cruelly treat him or whi]i him 

 he will lose his affection for you, while the dog may be whipped 

 and will even love you better. Now that you have gotten up to 

 him, and he has learnt that you will not hurt him, pat and caress 

 him. Handle him every day until he is perfectly gentle and 

 knows no fear. It is at this early age that most of the vices of 

 the mature horse are begotten. If the colt is left to himself with- 

 out proper training, he will just as certainly run into bad habits 

 and those vices which so much detract from the value of many 

 horses. The fundamental law of education applies to the colt, 

 and as "a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame," 

 so a colt left to himself brmgeth his master into trouble. 



The little colt forms bad habits at this age, and if not pre- 

 vented or broken while young the habit becomes strengthened 

 by long continuance. Some habits formed in the adult can never 

 be broken; for instance, the crib biter, wind sucker, and weaver. 

 It is much easier to keep the colt from acquiring ugly tricks 

 than it is to break mature horses of any settled vice. If the work 

 of educating the colt be neglected, no subsequent pains will 

 likely make good the deficiency. The colt of three or four years, 

 unbroken and untamed, is like the youth who has never known 

 parental control. He forms such tricks as backing, shying, kick- 

 ing, rearing, running away, breaking the halter, continued res- 

 tiveness; is vicious, nervous, fretful, kicks in the stall, and can 

 seldom be taught to stand without hitching. AVe must win the 

 colt's confidence, which may be done by uniform actions of a 

 kindly disjiosition. He takes man exactly for what he proves 

 himself by actions. By kind treatnient he leariis to associate with 



