238 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
Why Horses Kick—Rarey’s Method of 
Cure. 
Kicking is the worst vice which horses are 
taught. Few men will deny the first part of 
the assertion, but some will doubt that the vice 
is the result of education, for, say they, does not 
the horse kick by natural instinct, as a protect; on 
against enemies ? Certainly he does, and if he 
is made to think (for horses do think,) that every 
touch upon his flank and hind quarters, and 
every rattle he hears behind him, are from an 
enemy, he will let drive in the most natural 
manner. 
The character of a horse is established during 
the first four or five years of his life. If through 
accident or design, a colt be alarmed from be¬ 
hind a few times, particularly if he receive a 
sudden blow, he will learn to expect danger 
from that quarter, and to ward it off with his 
heels; and the finer and more spirited his or¬ 
ganization, the more likely he will be to acquire 
the vice. For example, a young colt had be¬ 
come quite troublesome by entering neighbor¬ 
ing fields, over the dilapidated fences of his 
owner. After repeated annoyance, and much 
vain expostulation, one of the aggrieved parties 
caught the colt while trespassing, fastened a tin 
pan to his tail, and turned him loose. Away 
went the frightened animal, plunging and kick¬ 
ing to get rid of the fearful enemy banging at 
his heels, and he nearly killed himself before 
breaking it loose. From that day he was a con¬ 
firmed kicker: not a leaf could rustle in his 
rear, but his heels would fly like lightning, and 
he was harnessed and driven only at the peril 
of life. Another colt was taught to kick while 
confined in the stable, by his owner ignorantly 
trying to “ break his spirit.” This he did by be¬ 
laboring him with a cow-hide, and yelling at the 
top of his voice! The horse was frightened into 
the belief that man was an enemy, and he acted 
accordingly, kicking at every one who did not 
first terrify him into temporary submission. 
This was as sensible as the advice of an English 
horse-breaker of the olden time: “ If your horse 
does not stand still, or hesitates, then alrate 
(yell) with a terrible voyce, and beat him your¬ 
self with a good stick upon the head between 
his ears, and then stick him in the spurring 
place, iii or iiii times together, with one legge 
after another as fast as your legges might walk; 
your legges must go like two bouncing beetles!” 
In the training of the colt, too little attention 
is paid to educating the whole animal. He 
should be gently and continually handled, not 
only about the head and mouth, but from 1 end to 
end.’ First invite his affection by little presents 
of com, or a few bread crumbs. Having gained 
his confidence, smooth his neck, then gradually 
extend your attentions along his back, and down 
his flank, and so on day by day advancing a lit¬ 
tle at a time, until you may safely handle every 
part. In time he will learn to bear a smart slap 
upon the haunches without thought of retalia¬ 
tion, and when once he has learned this, he can 
not be made to kick by any fair usage. The 
man who abuses a horse deserves a kick. 
But can a confirmed kicker be cured ? Rarey 
says yes, and if one can exercise Rarey’s firm¬ 
ness, good sense, and patience, we believe he can 
make the worst kicker safe. We witnessed his 
treatment of a most dangerous mare, and the 
effects of the one lesson given seemed marvel- 
1 ous. He first applied the strap to the fore leg 
as described on page 36, (Feb. Ho.), then led 
her around upon three legs until the creature 
found she could not Jack. He next threw her, 
and commenced handling her flank and hind 
quarters, at which she kicked violently. But 
she soon found that nothing resulted from it; 
nobody was hurt, frightened or angered, and in 
about fifteen minutes her intrepid conqueror lay 
down and placed her hind foot upon his head. 
When she was released, he mounted and dis¬ 
mounted repeatedly, until she allowed him to 
sit quietly upon her haunches. Such lessons re¬ 
peated half a dozen times or more, as the case 
might need, he said, would tame her hind quar¬ 
ters. Our advice is, first, don’t teach your horse 
to kick; but if unfortunately you have been 
cheated in trade, and are the owner of a danger¬ 
ous beast, don’t try to cheat any one else; try 
the Rarey method thoroughly, or employ an ex¬ 
perienced horseman to do it, and so make the 
best of a bad bargain. * 
To Hold a Hard-headed Horse. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
I wish, through the medium of your common- 
sense paper, to describe a simple method of hold¬ 
ing a fiery, hard bitted, or run-away horse. Put 
the buckle or snap of the rein through the bit 
ring, and fasten it to some part of the bridle be¬ 
tween the ears and mouth of the horse. The 
advantage of this easily and quickly made ar¬ 
rangement is two-fold; 1st, it draws the bit di¬ 
rectly into the corners of the mouth, whatever 
be the position of the horse’s head; 2nd, the 
force exerted on the bit in this manner by the 
same power at the end of the rein, though not 
quite doubled, is very much greater than when 
the rein is attached simply to the bit. By this 
means, I have seen the most fretful and ungov¬ 
ernable animal immediately converted into a 
serviceable plow-horse, while my eased limbs 
and shoulders gave direct testimony in favor of 
the diminished labor of managing the team. 
The arrangement is also convenient in driv¬ 
ing an ill-matched team, one horse being a fast, 
and the other a moderate traveler. Arrange the 
reins as directed, for the fast horse, leaving the 
others in the common way. N. P. Blaeeslee. 
Oakland Co., Mich. 
Black Leg in Calves. 
We have never had a case of this kind in our 
calves, or, indeed, disease of any kind. In this 
as in other matters, an ounce of prevention is 
worth a pound of cure, and we have always 
used the ounce. Hr, Dadd, who is authority 
upon these diseases, says: “the farmer will over¬ 
come a host of obstacles, if he considers joint 
murrain, black-leg, quarter-ill or evil, black quar¬ 
ter, and dry gangrene, as all analagous. By the 
different names are meant their grades. In the 
early or mild forms, it consists of congestion in 
the veins or venous radicles, and effusions into 
the cellular tissue. When chemical action over¬ 
powers the vitality, decomposition sets in, and 
it then assumes a putrid type; mortification or a 
destruction of organic integrity is the result. 
Causes .—Its proximate causes exist in any 
thing that can, for a time, interrupt the free and 
full play of any part of the vital machinery. Its 
direct cause may be found in over-feeding, mias¬ 
ma, exposure, poisonous plants, poor diet, etc. 
The milk of diseased cows is a frequent cause of 
black-leg in young calves. The reason why the 
disease is more likely to manifest itself in the 
legs than elsewhere is, because they are more 
exposed by the feet coming in contact with the 
damp ground, and because the blooc( hds a kind 
of up hill work to perform. 
Treatment for Black-leg. —Efforts must be made 
to depurate the whole animal, and to arouse 
every part to healthy action. Antiseptics may 
be used in the following form : Powdered bay- 
berry bark 2 ounces, powdered charcoal 6 ounces, 
powdered cayenne 1 teaspoonful, powdered 
slippery elm 1 ounce. Add boiling water enough 
to make it of the consistence of thin gruel. 
All foul ulcers may be washed with chloride of 
lime 1 ounce, and 1 pint of water, or with chlo¬ 
ride of soda 1 ounce, and water 6 ounces. The 
affected parts should be often bathed with one 
of these washes. If the disease is not arrested 
by these means, repeat them, and put the ani¬ 
mal on a diet of flour gruel.” 
Calves should not be allowed to run with their 
mothers, if the cows are diseased. They should 
be kept on a dry stable floor or in a dry place. 
-- » — ' 40 * -—— 
How to Feed Calves. 
The following communication, by the veteran 
farmer, John Johnston, of Western New-York, 
published in the Rural New-Yorker, is in proof 
of what every good atithority insists on, that it 
pays better to be liberal in feeding stock,, es¬ 
pecially growing animals: 
“ On the 1st day of last month, my neighbor, 
Mr. Swan, sold ten two-year old cattle at a little 
over sixty dollars each. None of them were 
older than two years last March, and four of 
them were two years old from last June until 
September. Nine of them he raised on his 
farm, and one was bought when four months 
old. They were only ordinarily well kept when 
fed milk. It is very difficult to get hired people 
to attend properly to feeding' calves. Either too 
little or too much feed is injurious. The first 
Winter they had each daily one quart of oil 
cake meal and good hay; then good pasture in 
Summer. The next Winter they each, had only 
two quarts of corn meal ground fine, cob and all. 
(If not ground fine I think the cob injurious.) 
On the 6th of last May, these and thirteen others 
were turned to pasture on a thirty-five acre 
field, and on the first of June, or a few days af¬ 
ter, sixty-nine sheep were put on the same field. 
Some cattle were taken out and others put in in 
their place; and_ the thirty-five acres pastured 
that stock, and made the whole fat until the lasft 
day of November. When yarded, the ten cat¬ 
tle were fed six quarts each daily, of fine ground 
com and cob meal, until sold on first of Janu¬ 
ary. I have known Mr. S. to have his two-year- 
olds more than 100 pounds each heavier, but 
never any so fat—four of them coming so late 
as from the end of June to the 15th of Septem¬ 
ber, brought down the average weight. 
“ Now farmers can make their own calcula¬ 
tions whether it is better to feed cattle as Mr. S. 
fed his, and sell them for $60 each and upward, 
or feed them in the common starvation way, 
and have them worth from $15 to $20. I know 
that if these cattle had been properly attended 
to the firs„ four months, they would have been 
worth more money. I have known him to sell 
his cattle at the same age for considerable more 
money, but when beef was higher, and I pre¬ 
sume there were four of them younger this year. 
I believe it to be a duty every farmer owes his 
country, to make his land produce all he possi¬ 
bly can, either in grain or stock, and I have 
never yet seen a farmer who thought he had 
raised too much after he had marketed his 
products.” 
Special Premium for Three-Year Old 
Steers.- Twenty dollars have been contributed 
