196 BALKING. 



head with a club, etc., while often liable to kill or seriously injure 

 the horse, can really have no beneficial effect. 



Starting the Balker. 



Sometimes very simple treatment will start a balky horse, as 

 kicking the leg lightly below the knee until he lifts his foot ; pass- 

 ing a string over one of his ears, and tying it down ; letting the 

 horse inhale a little ammonia or red pepper. These are very common 

 tricks, and will sometimes disconcert a horse sufficiently to cause 

 him to start. The following has been considered a great secret in 

 the treatment of balkers, and will in some cases work with con- 

 siderable success. 



Medicine. 



Take the oslets or warts growing inside a horse's leg, dry, and 

 grate them fine, and keep in a tightly-corked bottle, as they lose 

 their strength quickly and evaporate on being exposed to the air. 

 About three-quarters of an hdur before the horse is to be driven, 

 blow a thimbleful from a quill into his nostrils. This has a soothing 

 effect, and will cause the horse to go off all right. 



An old man who had been a successful horse-breaker, told me 

 that he had used it forty years, and never failed to make a horse go 

 as he desired with it ; that he seldom repeated it more than two or 

 three times: When a horse takes a dislike to other horses and kicks 

 at them, the oslets from a vigorous horse, or from the one ob- 

 jected to, used as above, will in most cases overcome such aversion. 



Sometimes stepping before a horse and moving him to the 

 right or left a little, and stroking his nose, or pulling his ears gently, 

 etc., will cause him to start. Grasping both nostrils with the hand 

 to prevent his breathing until he struggles for freedom, and turning 

 him a little sideways at the instant of letting go, will frequently 

 start quite a bad horse. Tying the tail to the cross-piece will fre- 

 quently start him, as a horse will always pull by the tail. Blind- 

 folding is one of the simplest and best methods of starting a stub- 

 born balker. After being blindfolded, he should be allowed to 

 stand a few minutes, then move him right and left a few times, say 

 encouragingly, "Get up," and the horse will usually pull steadily 

 against the collar and, move off all right. Tying up the fore leg, 

 and compelling him to stand on three legs till tired, will usually be 

 a very effectual means of starting a balker, and frequently after a 

 few repetitions it will break up the habit. This method works best 

 on nervous, impulsive horses. 



