50 Training the Work Horse 



which is impossible for him to accomplish. If we pro- 

 ceed with such a horse as if he was normal, he may 

 become confused, frightened, difficult to control and 

 may endanger his own life as well as that of his 

 master. 



HANDLE THE HORSE BEFORE TRAINING 



In many cases the horse breeder will not feel war- 

 ranted in taking the time to train the foal as sug- 

 gested in the previous chapter, even though the ani- 

 mal's future usefulness is materially lessened by 

 such neglect. The horse may be given his freedom 

 until old enough to work, perhaps never being taught 

 the use of the halter. Such a horse should first 

 of all be made gentle, so that he will permit his en- 

 tire body to be handled. Some untrained horses are 

 so quiet that they will readily submit to any amount 

 of handling, whereas others offer resistance, even 

 when lightly touched. Familiarizing some horses 

 to the touch requires much patience. Most horses 

 are particularly sensitive about the ears, the under- 

 line and the legs. v 



It is a common practice to use some form of twitch 

 to attract the horse's attention while handling these 

 sensitive parts. While the use of the twitch is 

 recommended in training vicious or spoiled horses, 

 it should be used on the untrained horse only as a 

 last resort. Kind treatment, well-directed effort 



