I04 



CHAPTER IV. 



METHODS OF HORSE-CONTROL. 



The breaking enclosure — Gentling the horse — Holding and leading a 

 comparatively quiet horse — Making a rope halter — Haltering a 

 loose horse — Teaching a loose horse to come up and to follow — 

 Lifting up a fore leg — Holding up a fore leg — Tying up a fore leg 

 — Blindfolding a horse — The halter-twitch — The rope-twitch — The 

 noose-twitch — The headstall-twitch — The bridle-twitch — The 

 Indian war bridle — The Comanche bridle — The cavesson — The 

 strait-jacket — Lifting up a hind leg — Improvised hobble — The 

 wooden gag — Making a horse lie down and keeping him on the 

 ground — Major Woods's method of throwing horses — Throwing a 

 horse with the strait-jacket — The head and tail method — Rarey- 

 fying a horse — Sample's horse-taming machine — South African 

 method of breaking. 



I PROPOSE in this chapter to describe a number of methods 

 and appliances which the breaker will find useful in making 

 the horse docile. In it I shall say nothing about the 

 subject of mouthing, which I shall reserve for subsequent 

 chapters. 



The breaking enclosure. — For breaking in horses it 

 is a great advantage to have an enclosure of about 20 yards 

 square, with walls around it at least 7 feet high, and if 

 possible roofed in, so that the breaker may be independent 

 of the weather. I find that for convenience and control it 



