158 



KICKING. 



this character by general coercive methods, unless the after 

 treatment is carried out with great care and judgment, will 

 only do harm by irritating the nervous system to a degree 

 that W'Ould only intensify the habit. 



A good idea of these differences in disposition and char- 

 acter can be seen by the large variety of illustrations of 

 heads in this and other chapters. 



For inexperienced persons, the Breaking Rig, if avail- 

 able, would make the control of all ordinary cases simple 

 and easy. But presuming it is not available, I will give 



Fig. 131. — Ideal expression of the determined, fighting kicker. 



my regular methods of management. As I have before ex- 

 plained, the principle of breaking a horse of a habit is the 

 reverse of teaching it, and I have also reminded in the chap- 

 ters before referred to (Colt Training and Fear), that mak- 

 ing one part of the bod}^ gentle does not give assurance of 

 making other parts so. The same in breaking a horse to 

 drive in harness, making him gentle out of harness or in a 

 position in which he is not accustomed to w^ork, cannot be 

 regarded as assurance of safety when hitched before a 

 wagon. The subjection must be progressive until this end 

 is attained. 



Now to break a horse of kicking, the first point is to 



