286 



HALTER-PULLING. 



peating as rapidly and with as much force as I could. The 

 struggle was a desperate one, and the excitement and anx- 

 iety to see which would beat was intense. At the four- 

 teenth or fifteenth blow, the whip broke ; dropping it and 

 catching the other, without losing a blow, I followed up the 

 struggle. Had this whip broken, failure would have been 

 inevitable ; but fortunately it held out, and at about the 

 thirtieth blow she jumped ahead. But true to the in- 

 stincts of her desperate pluck, she immediately went back 

 again. The punishment, however, was too hot for her, and 



FIG. 205. As a horse will rear and jump ahead after pulling. 



after the third stroke she bounded into the air, completely 

 conquered ; for, in defiance of the utmost effort, she could 

 not be made to pull back. I was consequently voted "all 

 right." So great was the exertion on my part, that after 

 she submitted I was out of breath and completely ex- 

 hausted. 



I told the owner afterward that if he wished to break the 

 mare successfully, he must not permit any fooling with her 5 

 he must lead her quietly to the stable, back her into the 

 stall, tie her head to the post, and let her stand until cool 

 arid over the excitement, when the impression would be so 



