124 
PURE BRED DRAFT HORSES 
Let nothing be done to him except that he may have an occasional pat or 
kind word. The other horses will keep him moving and in his place, and 
no great time will pass, sometimes not even the first day, before he will 
begin to pull with the rest; then the load may be gradually increased. 
“The agricultural horse is wanted to ride as well as to draw. Let this 
first lesson be given when he is in the team. Let his feeder, if possible, be 
first put upon him: he will be too much hampered by his harness, and by 
the other horses, to make much resistance; and, in the majority of cases, 
will quietly and at once submit. We need not repeat that no whip or spur 
should be used in giving the first lessons in riding. When he begins a 
little to understand his business, backing, the most difficult part of his 
work, may be taught him: first, to back well without anything behind him; 
then with a light cart, and afterwards with some serious load, and taking 
the greatest care not to hurt his mouth. If the first lesson causes much 
soreness of the gums, the colt will not readily submit to a second. If he 
has been rendered tractable before by kind usage, time and patience will 
do all that can be wished here . . . The colt having been thus par¬ 
tially broken-in, the necessity of implicit obedience may be taught him, 
and that not by severity, but, by firmness and steadiness, the voice will 
go a great way, but the whip or the spur is sometimes indispensable—not 
so cruelly applied as to excite the animal to resistance, but to convince 
him that we have the power to enforce submission . . . Correction 
may or must be used to enforce implicit obedience after the education has 
proceeded to a certain extent, but the early lessons should be inculcated 
with kindness alone.” 
Youatt 37 describes a system of gentling the colt as set forth by Rarey, as 
follows: “Mr. Rarey commences his acquaintance w T ith the colt when at 
pasture; and by the gentlest means, and almost without gesticulation, he 
will entice or urge the colt to enter into the precincts of a barn, stable 
or outhouse in the immediate neighborhood. The celt is very quietly sur¬ 
rounded, or an old horse is first led in. When the colt has entered he is left 
alone with the operator, every one and everything having life being ex¬ 
cluded, so that the attention of the colt may be entirely absorbed in the 
person of the man who has to train and subdue him. After a short pause, 
the man advances very slowly, holding out either hand and speaking to 
the colt with the gentlest tone of voice. Eventually the colt will also ap¬ 
proach, smell the hand, when occasion must be taken to stroke the nose, 
then the front of the face, cheeks, and neck. So soon as the colt remains 
perfectly passive and content with this treatment, then a leathern halter 
is very gently passed up and onto his head. Rope halters, from their 
coarseness, are highly objectionable . . . When the halter is secured, 
a plain, smooth snaffle bridle, with a moderate-sized snaffle bit, is passed 
into the mouth and fitted to the head. Should the colt resist the introduc¬ 
tion of the snaffle, then the left hand, having the iron bit in it, is placed 
immediately behind the lower lip, and the finger and thumb feeling the 
bars of the mouth within the lips, instantly induces the colt to move the 
tongue and open the mouth. At that moment the snaffle is inserted within 
the front teeth, and is drawn well into the mouth by the headstall in the 
right hand. This must be effected without hurry or in any manner to 
disturb the feelings of the animal. When the bridle is secured with the 
reins in the left hand, the person proceeds with his training by handling, 
with the utmost gentleness, the neck, shoulder, and near fore-leg. This 
operation may require some time to effect by continued and oft-repeated 
pattings and coaxings, since the nervousness and the perverseness of some 
leads them to strike with the near hind-foot, and follow with rapidity the 
hand of the operator. When the colt permits the handling of the leg and 
fetlock, the front of the shank is taken in the palm of the hand, and the 
foot raised from the ground. Sometimes a pressure of the back sinews 
with the finger and thumb will conduce to lift the leg; at others, turning 
