208 THE HORSE 



passive. A hair rope should be used for the tail, as such a 

 one will not injure the skin as a hempen one does, the 

 latter producing a sore, like the after-effect of a burn, when 

 it fra5'^s the skin. After forming a loop round the tail the 

 hair rope is twisted a few times along the top of the 

 back to make it secure, and then one end, which has a small 

 loop, is adjusted to reach as far as the girth-place on the 

 near side. The long end is next passed round the chest, and 

 brought back to and passed through the loop of the short 

 end, when it is secured with a simple knot ; it is then taken 

 under the chest, forming a belly-band, and tied securely to 

 the rope on the other side of the horse. If the rope is 

 adjusted with a little care it forms a sort of harness, which 

 cannot be moved by any exertions of the horse from its 

 place however much it struggles. A second rope, having 

 also a small loop, must now be secured to something solid — a 

 strong post, or the trunk of a stout tree, being very suitable. 

 The last process is to pass the halter rope through the loop of 

 rope No. 2, and then to make it fast to the hair rope in front 

 of the chest. The moment the horse runs back the strain of 

 tugging at the stump falls both upon the halter and the hair 

 rope under the tail, but chiefly upon the latter, and as the skin 

 is very tender it is soon borne upon the horse that it is wise 

 to stand still. One lesson is generally sufficient to impress 

 upon any animal, not a confirmed halter-breaker, that when 

 it is tied up it is powerless to resist. As soon as the horse 

 ceases to pull at the stump the rope may be untied from the 

 latter, and then the horse may be led about anywhere, even 

 if it has only just been caught up for the first time, for a 

 sharp tug at the hair rope, and consequently upon the tail, 

 brings home at once to the animal that it is prudent to 

 obey. 



To Stand Still in a Field. 



All young horses should be taught to stand still, when 

 loose in a field, when approached for the purpose of being 

 caught by a person thej^ know, and the following simple 

 rules will be found quite practical. For the purpose it is 

 necessary that the horse should wear a bridle. 



