228 HALTER - PULLING. 



let. us have the old mare ; if he can stop her from pulling we will 

 give it up." This revealed the plot, and she was the reserved case 

 upon which they depended to defeat me. Upon trial, however, the 

 old mare proved no more difficult than the others, — in fact, not 

 making near.so good a contest as the first. Almost daily there were 

 horses of this character brought me, many of them extremely bad ; 

 but in no case was there failure. (Details of hitching a cplt, and ac- 

 customing to stand hitched, are fully given in " Colt-Training," and 

 can be referred to under that head.) 



In breaking up this habit, no possible chances of failure should 

 be taken. First, the cord must be so light and pliable as not to be 

 noticeably felt around the body, yet so strong that it cannot be 



Fig. 273. — As a Horse will Rear and Jump Ahead after Pulling. 



broken by the most desperate lunging. If heavy and clumsy, it 

 would teach to discriminate between being off or on. Second, 

 the manger, post, or ring through which the cord plays,, should be 

 so strong or solid that there will be no danger of giving way. If it 

 is a hitching-ring, and small or rough, it should be wound with 

 leather or something to prevent its cutting the cord. Third,, the 

 horse should be first tied wherein the habit of pulling hardest, or 

 where most accustomed to pull. The degree of freedom should be 

 about the same as when ordinarily hitched by the halter, and the 

 point of tying or playing through the ring should be about on a 

 level with the breast. As before explained, in ordinary cases all 

 that will be necessary will be to hitch in this way, and frighten him 

 back a little at first by whatever excites him, until he refuses to go 

 back, when all inclination to pull will be overcome.' While in seri- 



