6g 



foal will naturally incline to pull forward in rear of 

 its dam, and so the assistance of the mare in this 

 way is invaluable. Foals should be tied up in the 

 ordinary way in stalls for an hour each day, until 

 they feel their ow^n strength, which, at such an im- 

 mature age, is comparatively little, consequently they 

 are more easily overcome, and yield to their altered 

 circumstances with greater susceptibility than colts 

 of three or four years of age. Thus the system 

 commends itself to all who are intimately acquainted 

 with the nature and habits of horses. 



But, to illustrate our method of haltering : — The 

 breaker should take the halter in the left hand, open 

 wide that part which goes underneath the jaw, and 

 throw the loose end over his shoulder. He should 

 approach the colt gently, and, almost in all cases, 

 the colt will start and rush to the extreme end of 

 the enclosure. He can, however, only beat the 

 breaker in one particular, and that is his natural 

 brute strength. It is all that instinct has given him 

 to rely on — all he has ever practised. He has no 

 power to reason with himself how he can best elude 

 the halter, and ninety per cent, of colts will have 

 recourse to precisely the same behaviour in a given 

 set of circumstances, although it may differ some- 

 what in degree, that is to say, that nearly every colt, 

 in haltering, will behave pretty much alike. The 

 first thing to do is to win his confidence. The 

 breaker should convey to him, so to speak, the idea 

 that he is not going to be hurt. He should approach 



