The Oroiving Stock 303 



try it out, so that he will find that he is securely tied, 

 that pulling inflicts pain, and afterwards he is not so 

 likely to try it even when tied only with the regular 

 halter. Another method of tying horses is to put a loop 

 in the rope, tying a bowline knot, and put it in place 

 the same as a crupper on the harness, running the rope 

 forward and passing it through the halter as before. 

 The trouble with this tie is that the horse is likely to 

 rupture the muscles and tendons at the seat of the tail, 

 and it is somewhat risky on that account. Another 

 method that is sometimes used is to tie the colt by one of 

 the front feet. This method is open to several objections, 

 and it is not as widely used as the other. A method that 

 is not widely advertised, but is rather efficient, is to tie 

 the colt with a regular halter, but fasten to a ring above 

 his head instead of the manger, so that when he pulls 

 back, the pulling lifts him off his feet and leaves him 

 helpless. There is very little danger of hurting a horse 

 by this method. Practically all colts will pull back more 

 or less when they are first being broken, but if they are 

 always tied so that they cannot get loose, there is no 

 danger of their becoming pullers. These precautions 

 need not be kept up very long if the colt never gets away. 

 The habit of standing tied soon becomes fixed, and a string 

 will hold them, but if they break loose once or twice, it 

 may be several months before it is safe to tie in the ordi- 

 nary manner. It is often a good plan to keep a colt loose 

 in a box stall until he becomes used to being confined. 



BREAKING TO LEAD 



After the horse is somewhat gentle, it is necessary to 

 teach him to lead. For this purpose the halter rope 

 should have some length, and in addition to the halter it 



