There is little danger of a horse forgetting if he is worked with the same mate and driver; therefore if you want a perfect job you will do well to change the driver and the mate while the lesson is fresh.”
Mr. F. H. Osburn, of Benton County, Indiana, is the author of the following method of handling a balky mare:
“I had a good true horse to put beside this mare, one which I knew could pull two such as she. Then instead of putting a stay chain to my true horse I put on what I call a stay rope, looping it around the balky mare’s tail, drawing it up short and tying it to the other horse’s hame ring. Whenever I spoke to my true puller something else had to come although the balky mare was not very hasty to respond for the first few lessons. We now have her convinced and I drive her single, ride her when driving cattle, can use the cattle whip over her, and she pays no attention to it. At times she runs idle for a week or ten days, but she never gives me a minute’s bother when I use her again.”
Secret of Curing a Stall Kicker.
Various methods have been proposed from time to time for stopping a horse from kicking in the stall. Here are several gleaned from various sources:
Strap a piece of chain, about 18 inches to 2 feet in length, to the horse’s pastern so that it will fly back and hit him each time he kicks. A trace or stay chain will do.
Pad the sides of the stall thickly with hay or straw kept in place by sacking. When the horse kicks at this and does not hear the sound of his foot striking the boards, he will be scared and quit kicking.
Buckle a leather surcingle around the horse’s body back of the fore legs and to it fasten a small double pulley placed under the belly. Now place straps with buckles on them on each of his legs below the fetlock joint, having a ring in each strap. Take ½ inch rope, tie to the ring on one front foot, run it up through the pulley, back to the hind foot on the opposite side and tie, then do the same with the opposite feet. Leave the rope long enough for the animal to step. When an attempt is made to kick, the pulley raises the front feet. Use this in the stable until the kicking habit is cured.
To cure a barn kicker pack an ordinary grain bag tight with hay or straw and suspend it from top of the stall by a rope or strap, so that it will swing free from the side of the stall and near the place the horse strikes the boards when he kicks. When kicked the bag will swing back and hit the horse on its return trip, and he will climb into the hay mow, if he can. If the horse kicks with both feet, hang a bag on each side.
Tie the kicking horse between swinging partitions whether in a single or box stall. The partition kicks back each time it is kicked by the horse.