80 The Horse Farrier. 



start with a jump, which will not move the load, but 

 give him such a severe jerk on the shoulders, that he 

 will fly back and stoj) 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 the free horse has made another jump, and again 

 flew 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 crashing 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 now 

 how to start the load. And should he whip him for 

 that ? If so, he should whip him again for not know- 

 ing how to tall£ 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 can- 

 not expect him to act with a steady, determined pur- 

 pose 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 

 them 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 frus- 

 trated. This is because they have been whipped, and 

 are afraid of what is behind them. This is an invari- 

 able rule with balked horses, just as much as it is for 



