Education of Colts 51 



nessed (buckles eased, etc.), and taught to stand still, 

 an act which he soon accepts as part of the task. 

 Short lessons and plenty of them are the thing, and 

 two or three days at this are well spent. During 

 the last day or two have cords attached to the traces, 

 and let a man walk behind, holding and quietly pull- 

 ing back upon them, especially at starting off. The 

 pupil thus gets the idea that he can pull anything; 

 is accustomed to seeing a man behind him; and 

 when put in a gig will probably go off at once. Keep 

 him at this until he exercises quite a bit oi strength 

 in the traces, and will also allow them to swing and 

 slap loosely against quarters and hocks. Caress 

 him always for good performance, and caress the 

 part he has iised hi performing the act, aki^ays in- 

 cluding the brain, and don't imagine he doesn't 

 understand, or that this association of " will and 

 deed " is not intelligible to him. Let the signal to 

 advance and the act of pulling on the traces be asso- 

 ciated in his mind now, and it is there for good 

 and all; you will never find him balking thereafter. 

 Here he should be taught to back, and the best 



