84 BALKING IN DOUBLE HARNESS. 



If you have no gloves on, get a broomstick or any ordinary 

 piece of round pole, about six or eight feet from the head, 

 wind the cord around your stick so that it will not slip, stand 

 quartering, and give a quick, energetic jerk, gradually re- 

 peating until the horse will come forward promptly without 

 any pulling. This point must be made, and some horses will 

 fight it quite hard for some little time. Usually it is submit- 

 ted to in five to ten minutes. Be careful that the cord is 

 under the bridle, not over it, on top of the head. Now 

 splice a piece of good stiff sapling on the end of your 

 wagon-tongue, so that the pole will be extended in length 

 about three feet beyond its ordinary length, and bore 

 a hole in the end. You are now ready to make the next 

 step : hitch up the horse to the wagon as usual ; tie your 

 war-bridle cord to the end of the pole, by passing through 

 the hole and tying firmly, giving length to allow of entire 

 freedom, so long as the horse will do his part. Tie back the 

 whifHetree of the gentle horse. If he will not go when com- 

 manded, start up the gentle horse quickly : this brings the 

 wagon and pole ahead, and the first the horse knows he is 

 jerked off his feet, and obliged to start and keep going. 

 After going a short distance, stop ; then say " get up," start- 

 ing the gentle horse quickly, which will bring the other off 

 his feet again. About the third time he will be glad to go 

 when the other does, and you have him all right. Test him 

 hard, so that there is no inclination to fight back. A little 

 more complicated way is the following, which is better, and is 

 more especially adapted for balking before the plough : Put 

 on the war-bridle as before, and shown in the class instruc- 

 tion, and pull ahead, following up carefully and thoroughly, 

 until the horse will come ahead freely. Next get a good 

 stiff pole, about twelve feet in length, bore a three-quarter- 

 inch hole, three or four inches from each end. The length 

 of the pole, you see, must be adapted to the length of the 

 horse and tongue. Lay this pole over that of the wagon, 

 the end over that of the true horse's whiffletree, ad tie 

 firmly on top with a piece of cord. Now step forward, and 

 tie a piece of small rope from one hame-ring to the other, of 

 the horses, under the pole, so as to be just taut when in 

 position. Pass another piece of the same sized cord around 

 the pole, and tie it into the true horse's hame-ring short 



