HEAD AND TAIL METHOD. 169 



of the traces should pull them tight, and then bring him 

 down. As soon as he is on the ground, he should be 

 gentled and handled all over for a few minutes. The 

 process may be repeated or prolonged as may be required. 

 If, say, the off trace be tightened up and buckled, the aid 

 of the assistant, who would otherwise have held this trace, 

 may be dispensed with. This method of throwing the 

 horse is the gentlest in its action of any I have seen. If 

 the appliances and help be at hand, and time be no object, 

 I would recommend that it should be always used as a 

 preliminary to that of making a horse lie down by pulling 

 his head round (see page 161), so as to take some of the 

 " fight " out of him, and to prevent him, as much as possible, 

 from " knocking himself about." 



The head and tail method. — The earliest mention of 

 this method which I can find, is in Mr. R. Jennings's ' Horse 

 Training Made Easy,' published in 1866. In this book it is 

 referred to as if at that time it was a well-known plan for 

 subduing horses. Whoever was its inventor, Sample merits 

 the credit of having introduced it into Australasia and 

 England. I am inclined to think that he utilised it in a 

 more competent manner than did any of his predecessors. 

 The principle of its application, as expounded by Sample, is 

 to place the horse in such a position that the only move- 

 ment of which he will be capable, while in it, will be a more 

 or less circular one ; and then to induce the animal by every 

 possible means, short of striking or otherwise hurting him, 

 to go round and round, so that he will at last find that this 

 involuntary form of waltzing is more irksome to him than 



