Driving the Horse with Lines 65 



the horse is Hable to lower his head and give himself 

 a jerk and thus distract his attention from the work 

 in hand. For a few minutes allow the horse consid- 

 erable liberty, in order that he may become accus- 

 tomed to going away from you, at the same time 

 permitting you to walk behind. This first driving 

 lesson should not last long, and the horse should be 

 started by tapping him with the line, and he should 

 be stopped by gentle pressure on the bit. Avoid 

 using spoken language until ready to teach the 

 meaning of the words. 



The horse should now be taught to guide to the 

 right and to the left. To teach him to turn to the 

 left, slacken the right line and pull smartly on the 

 left one, not wdth a jerk, but with a swinging pull. 

 If the horse comes around too far, hold the whip 

 on the left shoulder. Do not pull him back with the 

 right line, and do not strike him with the whip, as 

 either movement will confuse him. If, however, the 

 horse does not respond when the left line is pulled, 

 tap him on the right shoulder with the whip to in- 

 duce him to turn away quickly and not to give him 

 time to fight the bit. After he has turned a few 

 times to the left, slacken the left side-line and give 

 a swinging pull on the right one to induce him to 

 turn to the right, taking the same precautions as 

 above. Repeat this process, using less and less force 

 as the animal learns to turn. 



Teaching the command "whoa.^^ — If all has gone 



