TRAINING VICIOUS HORSES. 245 



quiet as possible ; he will soon start off at the word and stop 

 when told to. 



As soon as he performs all right, hitch him to an empty 

 wagon and have it in a suitable place from which to make an 

 immediate start. Shorten the check-strap or stay-chain behind 

 the steady horse, so that if necessary he can take the weight of 

 the wagon ; the first time you start them do not drive more 

 than two or three rods ; watch your balky horse closely, and if 

 you see he is getting a little excited, stop him before he stops 

 of his own accord ; caress him a little and start again. Drive 

 them, if practicable, over a small hill a few times and then over 

 a larger one, all the while adding a light load. This process 

 should make any horse pull true, and the above lessons had 

 better, by far, have been given the colt while he was in 

 training and thereby avoided the necessity of being applied to 

 a balky horse. 



Causes of Balking. Yelling and whipping on the part of 

 the drivers, over-loading, sore shoulders, or ill-fitting collars, 

 are some of the causes that make horses balk. In such cases 

 kindness is much better than whipping. A horse is very 

 susceptible to kindness. I have known quite vicious horses 

 gentled into good behavior. Sometimes the loosening of a 

 strap or unchecking and re-checking will answer the purpose, as 

 it takes his attention in another direction. Sometimes in ob- 

 stinate cases it may be well to unhitch from the vehicle and, 

 after tying up the traces and loose straps, take one line and a 

 whip and give the animal a short lesson m going around in a 

 circle ; after which hitch up and perhaps you will have no 

 more trouble, but if so give another lesson in going around as 

 before. It may, in some cases, take two or three lessons of 

 this kind. 



My experience with balky horses teaches me that there are 

 different kinds of balkiness in them or else a difference of dis- 

 position makes some yield to a remedy that will have no effect 

 whatever upon another. An universal treatment, suitable to 



