86 



TlIK FAMITY nOKSli. 



luirsh, angry woril. or other pnn<H;itii>n, n>fiis(> to draw anytliiiif^, 

 balking even whon going down hill witli an onipty buggy. Beating 

 or hiirsh meiisures of any kind only aggravate the matter. The 

 horse seems to think he luis a grievance, and will not start whih; 

 he bro«.xis over it. Any mild measure which will divert his atten- 

 tion will break the spell. One ingenious driver pulled down the left 

 ear of liis balky horse, and tied it there. It was a new experience to 

 the animal, and he forgot his grievance, and started along without 

 further trouble. But the satisfaction of the driver was somewhat 

 modified when he found that the horse thereafter refused to start until 

 his left ear wiis duly tied down to the headstall. A method which 





Fig. 51. 



-WERE REIN-HOLDEE. 



is used with some success is to unhitch the balking horse at once 

 from the vehicle and lead him round several times in a narrow circle. 

 He is then replaced in the shafts, and goes on without further 

 trouble. Another method is to go to the horse's head, speak kindly 

 to him, then lift one of his feet and tap it lightly a few times w^th a 

 stone. There are many other devices with the same object which 

 will suggest themselves to any one driving balky horses. But if a 

 spirited and intelligent horse is over-loaded and knows it, all these 

 little artifices are in vain. Balking is not the result of " equme 

 epilepsy," as one eminent writer would have it, nor of ''cussedness,' 

 as many jK;ople suppose. It is a dumb protest against over-loading 

 and abuse. If there were no unskillful, thoughth^ss or unkind driv- 

 ers, there would l>e no balky hors(!S. 



Catcliing the lines und<;r the tail is an unpleasant trick, and 

 often th<' first move toward a runaway. If the seat is high enough, 



