A Cause of Halter-pulling 35 



animals which have been very teachable up to this 

 time are often spoiled by improper methods of train- 

 ing to lead, and thus the first impressions they re- 

 ceive as to the use of the halter are bad. In this 

 way the foundation is laid for a confirmed halter- 

 puller, a vice which will materially lessen the future 

 usefulness of the animal (p. 269). This comes about 

 because we are not mindful of the natural tendency 

 of the horse to move backward when pressure is 

 applied at the front and to move forward when the 

 rear end is touched. Without thinking, the halter 

 is placed on his head and we begin to pull on the strap. 

 True to his instincts the foal goes backward. Occa- 

 sionally the face and neck are deformed in this man- 

 ner, as the harder we pull the harder the colt pulls 

 back. It is not necessary to drag the foal by the 

 halter in order to suggest to him that his business is 

 to follow. To avoid all this we need but to remem- 

 ber the animal's natural instinct — pressure in front 

 implies a backward movement, whereas pressure be- 

 hind implies a forward movement. 



Choose a strong, well fitting halter. — For the foal a 

 web halter is preferable to a leather one, as it is 

 much lighter and softer and not so likely to injure 

 or frighten him. Never use a rope halter on the 

 young foal. An old halter that has been in constant 

 use is better, all things considered, than one that 

 has been hanging up or even a new one that smells 

 of a lot of things that are strange to the animal. 



