BREAKING'IN YOUNG HORSES. 89 



Rest Required in Summer. — After colts or filUes 

 have liad a spell of work on the farm during the winter season, 

 it is advisable tO' give them a prolonged rest in the spring and 

 summer by turning tliem out to grass for three months or 

 more, after the spring cultivations have been completed. Such 

 a rest will do them immense good, while the want of it will 

 certainly prove injurious in the long run. There is no chance 

 of a young horse being worked too lightly, but there is always 

 much risk of its being w^orked too severely, and the breeder of 

 young horses should, in all cases, be careful not to tax their 

 [lowers too much by thoughtlessly letting them do more work 

 than they can stand without injury. 



Breaking:-in to Saddle and Harness. — The 



breaking-in of light horses to saddle and to harness is a much 

 more troublesome and laborious business than the breaking-in 

 of a draught horse to farm work. This is due, in part, to the 

 fact that light horses are much more high-spirited, and of a 

 more highly-strung temperament than draught horses, and in 

 part to the fact that the breaking-in to saddle and harness 

 work involves giving a Jiorse a much more complicated educa- 

 tion than is the case Avhen a horse is merely broken in to farm 

 work. 



In a great many cases, the breeder of light liorses has neither 

 the time nor the ability to break-in his young horses satisfac- 

 torily, and, under such circumstances, the only way is either to 

 send them to a professional breaker or to sell them in an 

 unbroken condition. 



Harness Horses and Hunters— Much can be done 

 to facilitate the actual breaking-in process of young harness 

 horses or hunters by giving them plenty of handling wdiile 

 they are foals, yearlings, two and three^year-olds. This hand- 

 lino" should consist in teaching them to wear a headstall and to 

 lead quietly, to allow themselves to be touched all over the 

 body, to let their feet be picked and held up, to stand quietly 

 when tied up in a stall, and to be generally docile. The 

 breeder of the young horses and their attendant should come 



