Handling with a Vehicle 70 



assistant remain at the horse's head to aid in 

 starting, stopping and turning if need be. When 

 all is ready, the driver should take his position behind 

 the cart, not on it at first, and start the horse at the 

 command ''get up." At the same time, the assistant 

 should aid by pulling the cart forward. After the 

 horse takes a few steps, stop at the command '' whoa." 

 Repeat until the horse understands what is expected 

 of him. At first it may be necessary for the driver 

 to aid in turning by carrying the cart around, 

 especially if the training inclosure is small. As 

 soon as the horse will obey the commands ''get up" 

 and "whoa" and will guide to the right and left, 

 the driver may mount the cart and drive out on the 

 highway. The assistant should be provided with a 

 long lead strap and should walk along beside the 

 horse until the latter becomes familiar with the new 

 environment. He may then mount the vehicle 

 with the driver, retaining the long lead strap so as 

 to be ready to meet any emergency. 



The horse should be stopped and started often to 

 assure him that he is doing what is expected of him. 

 After driving at a walk until all is going smoothly, 

 the horse may then be touched up into a trot. Slow 

 down to a walk and repeat. On the return to the 

 training paddock the horse should not go out of a 

 walk. It is not good practice to drive back and forth 

 past the barn during the first lesson, as the colt is 

 likely to want to turn in and he may give some trouble. 



