490 PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. 



tice some sort of witchery in his management of horses. No one 

 can form an idea of his wonderful power over them, until he wit- 

 nesses proof of it. To see a horse furious, stubborn, defiant, with 

 a very devil in his eye, in a few moments, by some mysterious 

 power, calmed down, rendered docile, patiently submissive, and 

 allowing every liberty to be taken with him in a word, the evil 

 spirit which had possessed the animal, completely exorcised you 

 can hardly credit, although the marvelous transformation takes 

 place under your naked eye. A knowledge of Mr. Magner's the- 

 ory of subduing the horse must be invaluable to all owners of the 

 animal." Portland (Me.) Advertiser, 1864. 



This was in the winter of 1863-4. I next went to 

 Augusta, the State capital. A very trifling incident here 

 enabled me to attract considerable attention. A prominent 

 member of the Legislature purchased, the day before, a 

 fine horse, and desired me to look at him. Perceiving the 

 horse to be unusually intelligent, it occurred to me that 

 here was my chance to create a little surprise, and I deter- 

 mined to improve it. 



Seeing a small switch lying upon the ground before me, 

 I picked it up, took the horse by the halter, moved him 

 around, and, while talking to the owner, quickly brought 

 the switch over the horse's back to the opposite side of the 

 head, and with a few slight but rapid strokes taught him 

 to come around and follow without the halter. (Full 

 details of this method are given in the chapter on Colt 

 Training.) 



Throwing the hitching strap across his back and drop, 

 ping the switch behind me, I walked around carelessly, the 

 horse following. The owner wished to know if he would 

 follow him. I answered, " Yes ; go to his head and walk 

 around." Upon trial, he did so. Not noticing that I did 

 anything with the horse, the man thought it wonderful. 

 He told his friends that I merely looked at the horse, when 

 he would follow me anywhere ! 



The story doubtless became magnified as it went. At 



