32 HUMANE HORSE-TRAINING 



I have heard men say they have never seen a horse 

 they were afraid of, but I feel sure they would hustle 

 away from some I have had to deal with. 



Great judgment and care must be used in handling 

 these vicious types. Dealers generally give these horses 

 a strong drug, because they are not horse-trainers and 

 they do not know how to handle a troublesome horse, 

 although their friends often say, " If old Joe or old George 

 can't drive him, well, nobody else can, that's a certainty." 



I once bought a beautiful pure-bred hackney mare 

 from a horse-dealer ; he had purchased her a day previous 

 from a wealthy gentleman. The mare was " nappy " — 

 at least, I bought her with that character. She was all 

 that could be desired, especially to a hackney lover. 

 When she arrived home I put her in a comfortable loose 

 box; her mouth looked tender, so I placed three thin 

 chains in her mouth (the same as you would a bit). 

 I covered the chains with soft soap and vaseline; by 

 the morning the mare's mouth was soft and comfort- 

 able — in fact, she had a new mouth. I put a nice false 

 collar on under the ordinary collar, a light set of Gamett's 

 harness, and I drove her with an easy-fitting india- 

 rubber bit. She looked a beautiful sort in my Robinson- 

 hooded buggy. 



Now, presuming she was nappy, and judging by her 



