84 Training the Work Horse 



This object should not be such as to frighten him, 

 as a robe, but something famihar to the horse. 

 Keep caressing him as he follows along by stroking 

 with the whip and by an occasional taste of sugar. 

 After following to a few familiar objects try a strange 

 one, as a robe, since horses are naturally afraid of 

 robes. This time care must be exercised. It may 

 be necessary to try several times before he will 

 touch the robe with his nose, but by constant caress- 

 ing and occasional tastes of sweets he will walk up to 

 it. By this time he has come to look upon the con- 

 stant stroking as a signal that no harm is to come 

 to him. 



Hitching double. — If the horse is to be worked in 

 a team, his training should be similar to that sug- 

 gested above. When ready to hitch double, get a 

 well-trained, gentle, but active horse, if the one you 

 are training is active, for it is a mistake to hitch a 

 quick, active one with a slow, lazy horse. The 

 vehicle to which they are attached should be pro- 

 vided with a good brake. The horse in training 

 should be hitched to the off side and the team should 

 be driven at first in a closed field. When hitching 

 double for the first time, it is a good practice to keep 

 a pair of single lines on the horse in training, which 

 can be handled by an assistant. If one has two 

 horses in training that he wishes to work together, 

 they can be hitched together at this time if each has 

 been trained as suggested above. If they do not 



