EXPERIENCE WITH BALKY HORSES. 
How To Make Them “Go.” 
We have had only two cases of “balk” in our experi¬ 
ence so far. One was a trotting-bred mare that had 
been trained and raced, but went lame when four years 
old. She had been lame and idle for some months be¬ 
fore we bought her. We allowed her to run in pasture 
for about three months longer, when we took her up 
and tried to drive her. She is a sorrel, a Wilkes, and 
very high-strung; when hitched to a break-cart she 
went every way except forward, and would throw her¬ 
self as often as one got her up. It was 18 months 
before we could depend on her to drive away from 
the barn without a “mix-up,” but she has proved worth 
it. The only thing we found to do any good was 
always to “go one better.” If she backed we backed 
her until tired; if she threw herself we threw her 
until she was sick of tumbling, and we 
found that it had a more wholesome ef¬ 
fect when one front foot was strapped to 
the belly-band of harness, the driver us¬ 
ing two lines through terret rings as 
when hitched. If he plunges let him plunge 
but keep behind and keep control. If the 
horse backs or tries to throw himself a 
few quick, alternate jerks on the lines 
will pitch him over backward; then make 
him get up, right away, with his foot 
still strapped. He will soon see the fu¬ 
tility of it all and yield. This remedy, 
applied often enough, was effective with 
the sorrel; she is now the finest driver we 
have ever owned. The other case was a 
young draft mare; she worked honestly 
for several years, but one day she and her 
sire, with 6,000 pounds behind them, got 
into an old ditch. Both hubs on one side 
were touching clay; it was slightly down 
grade with the rest of the road, frozen 
hard, so we put them at it, hoping to get 
back on to the hard road. They took it, 
a foot or two at a time, for perhaps two 
wagon lengths; then the mare refused. 
After that she would balk with very little 
provocation—often without any—for 
about a year. In this instance we effected 
a permanent cure by loading carefully so 
as not to tax her strength too severely, 
by stopping frequently on a hill, while 
the horses were still fiesh; by keeping 
the lines held tight, and by keeping quiet. 
When she did balk we took a piece of 
tough board two feet six inches long and 
2 l / 2 inches wide, tapering to about V/ 2 
inches; the narrow end in the right hand, 
the wide end to be applied over the fatty part of 
balker’s hips; while the paddle was being applied we 
held the lines so tight that neither horse could pull, 
then they were given the word and responded gladly. 
This mare has done the heaviest kind of work for years, 
and has never balked since that one season. I have 
given these two instances and their “remedies” in detail, 
because they illustrate the principle necessary to suc¬ 
cess in this line; and while there is no remedy given 
that will start every balker while the fit is on, it may 
help some one to make a balky horse true. To sum 
up, see that his collar fits snugly; not away back on 
horse’s shoulder blades; the rest of the harness should 
not hang on him, but fit neatly, so he may retain his 
self-respect; then give him confidence by driving with 
lines tight, and by stopping frequently so that he may 
know that he can start anywhere you ask him to, re¬ 
membering always that those lines are as two telephone 
lines and his mouth as a sensitive receiver, and if the 
driver becomes “panicky” or nervous he imparts it to 
his horse, Don’t expect your horse to pull until 
strength and breath are entirely exhausted, and then 
start the load again. Don’t shake the lines and shout. 
Don’t go to his head and try to lead him, or fuss over 
him, but treat him in an entirely natural manner. Then 
if he does balk, use a whip sparingly, a club never, 
and don’t let him try to pull until you are through with 
the paddle. charles j. wolfe. 
I have had some experience with balky horses. When 
I was a boy I worked a 1,600 pound mare that was 
very bad. She had been spoiled in breaking, overloaded 
the first time in a bad place, and whipped till she re¬ 
fused to stir. When we bought this mare, the man we 
purchased her from forgot to say she had been hitched 
and when our men tried to work her she refused to work 
for any of them. I spent a half day driving this mare 
about double hitched to nothing, and then hitched to a 
plow over the field without plowing, and when I com¬ 
menced to plow it was very light, but soon we were 
doing a full day’s work, and for that year the mare 
never stopped with me but once, but I always managed 
to start a load with her on a turn or down grade. Los¬ 
ing one’s temper and whipping a balky horse is useless. 
Of course it would be the greatest satisfaction to make 
them do just what they refuse to do. For a quick rem¬ 
edy that works with inost balky horses, unhitch, strap 
up one front foot and exercise on three legs. Lay 
them down with a side line. When they want to get 
up don’t let them; hold the head down. When they 
don’t want to get up make them. After a short lesson 
they are mostly ready to move when hitched. I tried 
an electric bit and lines with battery in wagon, turned 
the crank when we stopped. This worked all right, 
but was not a permanent cure, and is not convenient 
to operate in all cases. Some veterinarians claim that 
balky and vicious mares are made so by some ovarian 
trouble, and can be operated on and cured. If this is 
so some worthless ones can be made valuable. If peo¬ 
ple would use more judgment in breaking their horses, 
more patience and time in handling notional ones, 
there would be less trouble with balky animals. But 
as a rule it will pay better to own nothing but good 
honest, sound animals and let all other kinds alone. 
New York. e. s. akin. 
We have never had a great deal of experience with 
balky horses. There are a great many ways that a 
balky horse may be started and some of them seem very 
unpractical, but are successful. For instance, we have 
known people who started a balky horse by putting 
gravel in the ear, but we think that a little too cruel. 
One of the best remedies that the writer has ever seen 
used, which was successful, was to take a strong piece 
of lath or piece of board and get slightly to the front 
and still close enough to the horse that he could hit the 
horse smartly but not too hard on the kneecap. This 
would cause the horse to commence to rear slightly, 
and at the same time to go forward and if kept up for 
a short time usually breaks a hoise of the habit. In a 
young horse, it may be whipped out of 
them, but if the horse is seven or eight 
years old or over, it is a hard matter to 
break it, and sometimes impossible. 
Indiana. j. crouch & son. 
My experience and observation of 
balky horses leads me to believe they are 
afflicted with a disease similar to that of 
epilepsy in human beings. Beating, start¬ 
ing a fire under them, hitching a team to 
their jaws and many other inhuman tor¬ 
tures inflicted upon the poor creatures 
only increase the trouble. Petting, rear¬ 
ranging the harness, wetting the head and 
face with cold water, will hasten the pass¬ 
ing away of the fit. A young horse can 
frequently be cured by kind treatment 
and attention and change in diet. But it 
may retijrn. I bought a mare for my 
.family to drive, and used her for a long 
time. She became frightened at a steam 
road roller and from that time on became 
balky. I found by inquiry that when 
young she balked, but was cured; the 
fright caused a return of the disease. 
Balky horses are very unsafe to drive; 
they frequently commence backing when 
in this fit, and it is impossible to stop 
them, and as the attack is liable to take 
place at any time it may cause a serious 
accident. b. 
Clay Co., Indiana. 
Balky horses are always high-tempered, 
and those that I have come in contact 
with have without exception wanted to 
do all they could and do it quickly. An 
absolute control of one’s temper, perfect 
kindness and great patience, coupled with 
natural ability to get along with high-strung, nervous 
horses, are the essentials. No amount of talk can im¬ 
part the secret. c. a. chapman. 
Vermont. 
SAVING SEED CORN IN IOWA. 
I have tried most of the known ways of saving seed 
corn, but find that the most satisfactory way is to save 
it at husking time. More than 95 per cent of our corn 
is husked from the hill, and thrown into a wagon. I 
fasten a box on the side of the wagon that will hold 
about a basketful; then when husking ears that are suit¬ 
able for seed are put in the box, with but little loss of 
time, and during the half day one can get the box full 
of the best ears husked. At the unloading place have a 
barrel to put the seed corn in. then when going to the 
house at noon or night I take a basket of the corn 
with me, and put in an upper room in the house beneath 
which there is a fire when there is any fire in the house, 
and spread it on the floor. We have no mice in our 
BLACK PERCHERON STALLION “GOV. TEDDY,” NO. 30190. Fig. 329. 
See Page 787. 
