CHAPTER XXVIII. 



BREAKING AND TRAINING COLTS. 



Educate m. breaking — First lesson — Bitting — Teach ' ' whoa " — Short lessons 

 — Reward good behavior — Hitching double — Patience required — 

 Kicking — Shying — Confidence — Training for draft — Train in line. 



I HAVE, some time since, come to the conclusion that you 

 do not want to " break " your colts ; you simply want to 

 educate and train them. The best age to commence this is as 

 soon as the foal gets up and sucks the dam, or as soon after as 

 you can get time to attend to it. 



The first lesson to teach a young colt is that you do not 

 wish to hurt him. The next that you are a stronger party and 

 can master him. He will soon learn these two lessons and 

 then you can go up to him anywhere, and when once you have 

 your hand on him you can easily hold him and he will not 

 struggle to get away from you. 



The next two lessons are to halter and lead him and teach 

 him to stand tied by the halter. You may then, by kindness, 

 teach him to follow you around and come at your call, by 

 always awarding him for so doing with a sweet apple, a hand- 

 ful of oats, or anything else as such youngsters are known to 

 like. Then teach him at an early age to be handled all over, 

 including the taking up of his feet, and to be curried and 

 brushed. "When he finds that you do not hurt him he will like 

 these lessons and will always remember them. 



Next, accustom him to stand with a bag or blanket thrown 

 over him. When you have taught him all of these, he is 

 ready, as soon as old enough and large enough, to be bridled 

 and bitted. In bitting, put a bitting rig or single harness on 

 him with an open bridle ; check him up rather loosely at first 

 and turn into a small paddock or yard. Do not compel your 



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