A PECULIAR CASE. 23 



which happened to be near. The first the horse knew, I had 

 him back between the wheels, and his hindquarters against 

 the reach, which came well above the gambrels. The fel- 

 low tried to kick at least fifty times ; but with the soreness 

 of the mouth and the power of the bit, I was able to keep 

 him so tight against the reach, that he could not kick over. 

 Finding himself mastered, he gave a sort of shiver, and 

 my success was complete, for he could not be made to 

 kick afterwards. He was completely docile. A week 

 after I drove him on the square at Carlton, thirty miles 

 from there. He proved absolutely gentle and safe, and I 

 was voted " all right." I did not know then, what I have 

 learned since, that the point of success in subjection of 

 these cold-blooded fellows is by one or two sharp lessons, 

 to make them sore and sensitive, when they will work 

 easily : no matter how reckless and sulky they act at 

 first, when they get cool, after a sharp lesson or two, they 

 will work in nicely. 



When in Buffalo, N.Y., a horse was brought in that 

 would run away. He had been gentle : but, getting ex- 

 cited, learned to resist all control of the mouth. Power- 

 reins and bits of the most savage character were alike 

 unavailing. When warmed up, he would run against the 

 bit and get away, regardless of the pulling of several men 

 on the reins. Under canvas the horse submitted to the 

 breaking-bit readily ; but when I took him out of doors, as 

 I suspected, he was regardless of all restraint, lunging 

 against the bit desperately. But having taken every ne- 

 cessary precaution for safety, I commenced back again, 

 getting good control on a walk. I gained little by little, 

 until I could let him out on a sharp trot, and bring him 

 back easily, requiring an hour's work. Next day I knew 

 would be the test of deciding the contest. Never before 

 did I find such savage, cool resistance ; and my only re- 

 source was to take time and intensify my impression upon 

 the mouth, which was my only reliable resource to make the 

 horse safe. Next morning I found the horse, after warm- 

 ing up, to be fearfully wilful and reckless. I forced him 

 again carefully, repeating the same routine of working up 

 from a walk to a fast trot and run until there was no in- 

 clination to continue the contest, finally exciting him all 



