242 Training Wild and Subduing Vicious Horses 



still further to increase the rebellious state of his 

 mind. He was known as the ^'man-eater," and suc- 

 cessfully resisted all attempts to bring him under 

 subjection until Rarey succeeded in taming him by 

 means of his throwing and safety harness. In re- 

 ality this horse was never trained, but had to be 

 tamed by the Rarey appliance whenever he was 

 required for use. Hence the statement often made 

 by horsemen that they can train any horse, no mat- 

 ter how vicious, is absurd. There are, however, 

 only a few horses of this class. The great, majority 

 of them can be rendered subservient to man's will if 

 the proper means are employed. 



In the subduing of the vicious horse it is difficult 

 to give general advice that will be of value, as each 

 individual must be dealt with according to his pe- 

 culiarities. The requirements on the part of the 

 trainer are patience, perseverance and tact, but of 

 greater importance than any of these is an innate 

 love for the work. It is essential to be cool-headed, 

 and never fly into a rage and punish the animal, as 

 such treatment only serves to increase his determina- 

 tion not to submit to man's will. There are more 

 horses made vicious by ill treatment than from all 

 other causes combined. 



In the training of the vicious horse, the first thing 

 is to get hold of him. This can usually be done by 

 snaring (p. 225). For the next step one may choose 

 between two appliances, the throwing harness (p. 212) 



