MANAGBMBNT AND CARS. 29 



the horse; grasp the bit in your left hand, pull steadily on your strap 

 with the right; bear against his shoulder till you cause him to move. 

 As soon as he lifts his weight, your pulling will raise the other foot, and 

 he will have to come to his knees. Keep the strap tight in your hand, 

 so that he cannot straighten his leg if he rises up. Hold him in his po- 

 sition, and turn his head toward you; bear against his side with your 

 shoulder, not hard, but with a steady, equal pressure and in about ten 

 minutes he will lie down. As soon as he lies down, he will be complete- 

 ly conquered and you can handle him as you please. Take off the 

 straps and straighten out his legs; rub him lightly about the face and 

 legs with your hand the way the hair lies; handle all his legs; and after 

 he has lain ten or twenty minutes let him get up again. After resting 

 him a short time, make him lie down as before. Repeat the operation 

 three or four times, which will be sufficient for one lesson. Give him 

 two lessons a day; and after you have given him four lessons, he will lie 

 down by taking hold of one foot. As soon as he is broken to lie down 

 in this way, tap him on the opposite leg with a stick when you take 

 hold of his foot, and in a few days he will lie down from the mere mo- 

 tion of the stick. 



In practicing the foregoing method upon a colt, he should be first ac- 

 customed to be handled, and taught to be led easily. In approaching 

 a spiteful or vicious horse, you had better make your advances with a 

 half open door between you and him ; gradually make his acquaintance 

 and teach him that you do not care for his open mouth ; but a regular 

 biter must be gagged with a wooden bit made for the purpose, so large 

 that he cannot close his mouth. 



Of course there is no difficulty in handling the leg of a quiet horse or 

 colt, and by constantly working from the neck down to the fetlock, you 

 may do as you please. But many horses, and even colts, have a most 

 dangerous trick of striking out with their fore-legs. There is no better 

 protection against this than a cart wheel. The wheel may either be used 

 loose, or the animal may be led to a cart loaded with hay, when the 

 horse-tamer can work under the cart through one of the wheels, while 

 the colt is nibbling the load. 



Having, then, so far soothed a colt that he will permit you to take up 

 his leg without resistance, take a strap, pass the tongue through the 

 loop under the buckle so as to form a noose, slip it over the near fore- 

 leg and draw it close up to the pastern -joint, and then with leg doubled 

 upon itself, put strap around the leg and fasten the leg up. But 



