In this chapter, we need consider only quick methods of removing a horse’s nervousness, and proving to him that he need have no fear of us, or of his other surroundings; for the ordinary ways of accustoming him to the presence of man, are too self-evident to need any special mention here. The breaker, however, should remember that, by adopting a system of “gentling,” which requires several days, if not weeks, for its completion, he runs the risk of allowing the horse to find out his own power of resistance—a species of knowledge which our rapid style of breaking never permits him to acquire. If the animal sulks, or exhibits deliberate impatience of control, he should be conquered, then and there, as I have mentioned on page 11.

The crupper leading-rein.—Whichever style of breaking be adopted, the first step that I would advise, is to accustom the horse to the “crupper leading-rein,” which can be readily made by taking a long rope, doubling it, making a loop in the middle by knotting it, and passing the loop under the horse’s tail, and the ends of the rope through the halter, or rings of the snaffle (see Fig. 37). By using this leading-rein in preference to one attached to the head-stall or halter, the animal will never attempt to “hang on” the leading-rein, as he will often do with the other, and, when led, instead of “going on his fore-hand,” will move, as he ought to do, “collectedly,” on

account of the pressure of the rope making him “bring his hind-quarters well under him.” I do not know who invented this form of crupper, which was known to Fanchion, Magner, Pratt, Rockwell, and all the other American “horse-tamers.”

Gentling the Horse.—Having put on this crupper leading-rein, the horse may be gentled all over with a long pole. We may, then, lift up his fore and hind legs, successively, and handle him all over. Every display of confidence on his part should be rewarded by encouraging words, patting, and, if procurable, a piece of carrot, or, if he will eat it, a bit of bread, or lump of sugar. If we have got a strait-jacket at hand, we may use it with advantage, in the event of his proving very nervous. If the horse shews fight, we may employ the gag and rope-twitch, invariably using, with the latter, the word “steady,” and discontinuing the application of the rope as soon as the animal obeys the word.

Throwing the Horse with the strait-jacket.—If we want to produce a stronger, or different effect, we may make the horse lie down by means of the strait-jacket. To do this, one assistant should stand at his head, another should hold a rope attached to his tail, so that he may not throw himself forward on to his mouth; while an assistant at each of the traces should pull them tight, and thus bring him down. As soon as he is on the ground, he should be gentled and handled, all over, for a few minutes. The process may be repeated, or lengthened, as may be required. If, say, the off-trace be tightened up and buckled, the aid of the assistant, who would otherwise have held this trace, may be dispensed with. This method of throwing the horse is the gentlest in its action of any I have ever seen. If the appliances and help be at hand, and the breaker be not pressed for time, I would recommend that this method of throwing should be always used, as a preliminary to that of making a horse lie down by pulling his head round, which I shall presently describe; so as to take some of the “fight” out of him, and to prevent him, as much as possible, from “knocking himself about.”

Making the Horse lie down by means of the cord.—If the horse refuses to give in, we may make him lie down in the following manner, which Professor Sample informs me was invented by the American “horse-tamer,” Hamilton. It is a modified and greatly improved form of Rarey’s method. Place on the horse, a surcingle which has three rings on its pad, and attach a crupper to the rearmost ring. Tie a rope to the tail for an assistant to hold; so as to be able to pull the horse over, on the proper side, if he appears likely to fall the wrong way. Put on the horse’s head, a leather head-stall, having a circular D on one side, or attach an iron ring to the D, so that the cord which has to be employed, may run smoothly through it. Fix a strong cord to the middle ring on the pad; pass it through the ring on the side of the head-stall, and back through the front ring on the pad. Put kneecaps on, and suspend to the surcingle the fore-leg of the side, away from which the head will be turned (see Fig. 38). The buckle of the leg-strap should be put on the inside, so that when the horse lies on his off side, there may be no difficulty in undoing the strap, in order to let him up. Then, all being ready, take the end of the cord, draw the head round, say, to the near side, bring the cord across the base of the neck, and pull on it from the off side, until the animal yields, and rolls over on to that side. When the horse goes down, comparatively, easily, the free part of the cord may be drawn over his back, as in Fig. 38, and not under his neck. No attempt should be made to throw him forcibly down; for the effect we should aim at is that produced by his “giving in” to power which he finds irresistible. Hence, the more he fights, and

pits the strength of his muscles against the action of our mechanical appliances, the better will be the result. If the horse appears likely to fall on his near side, the assistant who holds the rope should pull him over on to his off side; for, if he fell on the near side, he would be in the awkward position of having his neck doubled under him. The horse may now be kept, say ten minutes, on the ground, with his head pulled round to his side (see Fig. 38), and “gentled.” When “gentling” the horse on the ground, the breaker should remain at his back, so as to keep out of reach of his heels.

Having carefully attached a rope-noose to the off hind pastern, the breaker may pull that hind limb toward himself, and gentle it.

I need hardly say that it is quite immaterial to which side the horse’s head is drawn, provided that, in either case, the opposite leg be tied up.

Keeping a horse in a constrained position on the ground.—If the animal goes down without a struggle, and sulks on the ground, he should be forced to “shew fight” by keeping him in the constrained position depicted in Fig. 39, until he has got rid of the most of his “temper” by ineffectual struggling. When a horse begins to groan, and to considerably moderate the violence of his struggles, we may feel confident that “the sulk” has been taken out of him, more or less, and that he is fit to be allowed to get on to his feet again. If an error happens to be made with respect to the amount of the effect produced, it should be on the side of leniency, rather than on that of severity; for the operation can be always repeated, and more time given on the next occasion, without running any risk of unduly cowing the animal. Whatever punishment we employ, should never be pushed beyond the point necessary to gain our required object, which, in this case, is the attainment of authority over the horse.

My own practice is, with animals that are

simply impatient of control, to produce the desired effect by making them lie down several times; and, with stubborn ones, by keeping them down, with their heads pulled round. The latter method might alone be employed, if the ground be hard or slippery, or if the horse’s fore-legs be liable to become sprained. In such cases, both the strait-jacket and throwing gear might be put on the horse, who might be made to lie down with the former, and have his head pulled round by the latter; after doing which, the strait-jacket could be taken off, so as to give the animal entire liberty to kick as much as he pleased. We might use a body-piece on the horse to save the point of his hip that is on the ground, from getting rubbed.

I cannot impress my readers too much with the value, for overcoming stubbornness, of the foregoing method, which, I believe, I have been the first to use.

This throwing gear is exactly similar in its action to that described in Pratt’s book, although differing from it in its construction. Pratt used to employ a rope which was looped round the neck and passed through the mouth, for pulling round the head. He also had a single rope to form both surcingle and crupper. The chief objection to Pratt’s method, as far as I can see, was, that the ropes passing through the mouth and under the tail were apt to hurt those parts.

The employment of the tail-rope is an improvement which I have devised, and which I have found most useful. As the surcingle has to be girthed up tight, I like to use a felt saddle-cloth, or numdah, under it, to prevent it slipping forward; in which case, it might squeeze the withers, or the crupper might rub the root of the tail.

In order to make a horse “give in” to the required degree, after he submits to lie down readily with one leg tied up, I like to continue the process with both fore-legs free, until he goes down without any trouble.

The process of obtaining control over the horse, as a rule, had best be completed in one lesson, which can be repeated as may be required.

We may utilise the knowledge that a horse cannot get up off the ground, when his head is pulled round, for keeping him down—for instance, when he has fallen in harness—by holding his head in an upward and backward direction, while keeping his neck bent by aid of the pressure of the knee (see Fig. 40).