72 The Practical Stud Groom. 



better plan is to lead the mare out of tlie box into the open. 

 The moment she finds he is not following her, she will 

 excitedly whinny and call for him ; then he will most likely 

 evince as keen a desire to follow and join her as before he 

 showed a strong determination not to do so. If he does not 

 follow, bring the mare back into the box ; let the foal smell 

 her for a minute, and then repeat the manoeuvre, and keep 

 repeating it till the foal voluntarily starts after its mother ; 

 then let it go, still encircled by its teacher's arms. If it 

 stops, as it most likely will do, after proceeding a few yards, 

 stop the mare for a minute while the foal gets a grip of the 

 situation ; then lead her off to the far end of the yard or 

 enclosure. As the distance increases between mother and off- 

 spring, the latter will suddenly become anxious to join its 

 parent, and there will be another general advance, the pupil 

 still lightly enclosed in the restraining arms. Continue this 

 lesson with unfailing patience and good humour till the foal 

 seems to have grasped the idea of following its dam while 

 still a prisoner. 



This accomplished, the next stage may be proceeded 

 with, viz., teaching to lead by the rein alone. Here, again, 

 the teacher's guiding principle should be patience and good 

 humour. Do not attempt to drag the pupil after its dam 

 against its free will; that would be courting resistance and 

 entail a quite unnecessary strain on the strength and temper 

 of both teacher and pupil. The mare is led forward once 

 more; the foal, missing the encircling arms, lunges wildly 

 after her, swerving sideways to get away from the officious 

 biped who presumes to control its progress. Here brute 

 strength comes in on both sides ; the tug-of-war will be short, 

 sharp, and decisive. The essentials to success are a short 

 hold of the rein, a quick eye, nimble foot work, and making 

 every ounce of one's weight tell. The result of the tussle 



