184 Training the Saddle Horse 



him. Repeat and caress, giving the command 

 ^^bow" or ''yes" just as you prick him. Soon he 

 will go through the motion at the command alone, 

 in anticipation of the caress. To teach the horse to 

 shake his head or say ''no, " stand on the left side and 

 with a pin prick him lightly on the crest above the 

 shoulder. As before he will think this a fly, and shake 

 his head to remove it. The moment he shakes his 

 head caress him. Repeat and caress, giving the 

 command "no" just as you prick him. Soon he 

 will shake his head at the command as before, in 

 anticipation of the caress. 



To iltustrate another method, let us consider the case 

 of teaching the horse to stand erect on his hind legs. 

 To teach this trick, the surcingle and back band, 

 a common bridle, and the pulley bridle (p. 193) 

 should be used. Place the pulley bridle under the 

 common bridle, and rein the horse up as high as con- 

 venient. Take a position in front of the animal, 

 hold the pulley bridle lead rope in the left hand and 

 the whip in the right. Gently jerk with the lead 

 rope and flick the whip in front of the horse. Repeat 

 until he makes an effort to raise his front feet from 

 the ground and then caress him. If he refuses to 

 rise, rein his head a little higher and continue as 

 before. As this trick is very hard on the muscles of 

 the animal's back, it should not be continued for too 

 long a time. With a little patient effort the animal 

 can be taught to stand erect at the command "up." 



