MAKING ANIMALS HAPPY
In training any domestic animal you will find their greatest weakness is fear, just as with wild animals. You do not want to develop this but to win their confidence. With horses taken right from the range or wild, the men who are most successful are those who train by kindness. A horse whose spirit is broken and who does his task because he is afraid not to is not a safe horse. I wouldn't trust him in an emergency. A horse who lives in a state of fear has very little sense.
Photograph by Julian A. Dimock
A Group of Happy Farm Animals
One blow, yell, jerk, or even a threatening motion will often obliterate all the work you have done. So the animal trainer must not lose his temper, especially with dogs and horses. The more intelligent the animal, the more kindness and gentleness are required. On one farm, you will see the calves trembling when coming for their food, trying to keep one eye out for sudden blows while drinking; the horses jerking timidly up as if expecting their tender mouths to be yanked; the cows kicking the milkers; the colts hard to toll in from pastures; the dog with tail between his legs; the cat on her way up a tree. Do you know the owners of such animals? How are the boys of the family liked in the neighbourhood? Are the girls popular and good-natured? Has the mother the sweet and patient look that the best mothers have?
Every domestic animal ought to be kept happy. A happy hen will lay eggs, a happy cat will purr and rub your leg in passing, not because she wants anything out of you, but because she thinks you are a good fellow and that's her way of expressing herself; she will catch mice for you, too. A happy cow will give down her milk; a happy pig will lay on fat faster than a miserable one, a happy horse will almost trot at the plough. So really it pays to keep animals happy. Having creature comforts alone is not enough for most animals. They like attention, caresses, and even seem to enjoy and understand conversation.
Boys that train animals will find that the animals train them. If you have a hot temper and can keep it in enough to train a dog to draw a wagon, you will find it isn't so hard to hold in when you are playing ball. Self-control is one of the biggest things in life.
The training of a calf or colt should begin early, just as with other animals. If the animal has never been frightened the task is easy. Begin gradually. Petting for a day or two will get him used to being handled. A rope may be knotted round his neck and worn for a day or two, or a rope halter put over the head; something that slips on easily so that you don't have to hold the youngster's head. When he is accustomed to the feel of the halter, you can lead him to his food without his realizing it. Unconsciously he gets used to the pull on the rope.
A pair of well-matched oxen, trained by kindness, taught to "gee" and "haw" at the word without reins or goad, with no bad habits like kicking or turning in the yoke, are worth between two and three hundred dollars. They started out worth four or five dollars a head for veal. Training and grass have done most of the rest. If trained in kindness, they are docile, gentle, industrious, and though less spirited than horses, they are also steadier and far better suited to many heavy farm tasks than horses. The harness for oxen is very simple, costs little, and seldom needs mending.
Every county fair ought to offer prizes for animals trained by boys and girls. I believe boys train animals more often than girls do. I wonder how that comes. Practise on the hens, girls, and on the cat. I know of a cat which picks up nuts and puts them in a basket quite as a child might. This cat treads a wheel, too, to turn the churn.
If all the animals were happy and earned their living, helping do the work, as well as reproducing their kind, farm life would be less dreary and hardships would seem less hard and the country would be a better place to live in.