86 



THE FAMILY HORSE. 



harsh, angry word, or other provocation, refuse to draw anything, 

 balking even when going down hill with an empty buggy. Beating 

 or harsh measui-es of any kind only aggravate the matter. The 

 horse seems to think he has a grievance, and will not start while 

 he broods over it. Any mild measure which will divert his atten- 

 tion will break the spell. One ingenious driver pulled down the left 

 ear of his balky horse, and tied it there. It was a new experience to 

 the animal, and he forgot his grievance, and started along without 

 further trouble. But the satisfaction of the driver was somewhat 

 modified when he found that the horse thereafter refused to start until 

 his left ear was duly tied down to the headstall. A method which 





Fi" 51. — WIRE EEra-HOLDEE. 



IS used with some success is to unhitch the balking horse at once 

 from the vehicle and lead him round several times in a narrow circle. 

 He is then replaced in the shafts, and goes on without further 

 trouble. Another method is to go to the horse's head, speak kindly 

 to him, then lift one of his feet and tap it hghtly a few times with a 

 stone. There are many other devices with the same object which 

 wiU suggest themselves to any one driving balky horses. But if a 

 spirited and intelligent horse is over-loaded and knows it, aU these 

 little artifices are in vain. Balking is not the result of " equine 

 epilepsy," as one eminent writer would have it, nor of " cussedness,' 

 as many people suppose. It is a dumb protest against over-loading 

 and abuse. If there were no unskillful, thoughtless or unkind driv- 

 ers, there would be no balky horses. 



Catching the lines under the tail is an unpleasant trick, and 

 often the first move toward a runaway. If the seat is high enough. 



