358 Care of the Colt in Training 



into harness, the object seems to be to wear him out 

 or to break his spirit. He is worked until late in 

 the evening, hastily put in the stable, fed his evening 

 meal, blanketed without being permitted to cool off 

 and left for the night without cleaning the body or 

 feet. The sweat saturates the blanket and the colt 

 remains damp all night, the mud chills the legs and 

 lessens the circulation, and the foreign materials 

 collected in the bottoms of the feet heat and keep 

 the sole in a feverish condition. The next morning 

 the driver comes to the stable, feeds, removes the 

 blanket and with the comb curries the body a very 

 little, the legs practically none and entirely neglects 

 the feet, then harnesses the colt and goes to work. 

 At every step the colt betrays his care; he is stiff, 

 his joints are sore and his courage gone. He is 

 indeed ^'broken, " to use the common term. Soon the 

 colt becomes foot-sore, side-bones, ring-bones, splints 

 and the like make their appearance and the animal 

 is sold or traded as part payment for another and the 

 process is repeated. The owner often wonders why 

 his horses do not stand the work as well as those of 

 his neighbor. 



In grooming, the principal tools needed are a 

 curry-comb, body-brush, flannel cloth, mane and tail 

 comb, a half- worn broom for use on the legs, and a 

 hoof-hook (Fig. 101). The curry-comb is used 

 to loosen the hair which has become matted with 

 sweat and dirt and to remove splashes of mud, thus 



