54 ON BALKING. 



severe jerk on the shoulders that he will fly back 

 and stop the other horse ; the teamster will continue 

 his driving without any cessation, and by the time 

 he has the slow horse started again he will find that 

 the free horse has made another jump, and again 

 flown back; and now he has them both badly balked, 

 and so confused that neither of them knows what is 

 the matter, or how to start the load. Next will 

 come the slashing and cracking of the whip, and 

 hallooing of the driver, till something is broken or 

 he is through with his course of treatment. But 

 what a mistake the driver commits by whipping his 

 horse for this act ! Reason and common sense should 

 teach him that the horse was willing and anxious to go, 

 but did not know how to start the load. And should 

 he whip him for that ? If so, he should whip him 

 again for not knowing how to talk. A man that 

 wants to act with any rationality or reason should not 

 fly into a passion, but should always think before he 

 strikes. It takes a steady pressure against the collar 

 to move a load, and you cannot expect him to act 

 with a steady, determined purpose while you are 

 whipping him. There is hardly one balking horse 

 in five hundred that will pull true from whipping ; 

 it is only adding fuel to fire, and will make him 

 more liable to balk another time. You always see 

 horses that have been balked a few times, turn their 

 heads and look back, as soon as they are a little 

 frustrated. This is because they have been whipped 



