In a word, the average horse may be subdued by the average horseman, and colts usually come within the average; but a fierce, determined, vicious horse requires a man above the average in temper, courage, and activity; activity and skill in steering being of more importance than strength. It is seldom necessary to lay a colt down more than twice.
Perhaps the best way is to begin practising the strap movements with a donkey, or a quiet horse full of grass or water, and so go on from day to day with as much perseverance as if you were practising skating or walking on a tight rope; until you can approach, halter, lead, strap up, and lay down a colt with as much calmness as a huntsman takes his fences with his eye on his hounds, you are not perfect.
Remember you must not hurry, and you must not chatter. When you feel impatient you had better leave off, and begin again another day. And the same with your horse: you must not tire him with one lesson, but you must give him at least one lesson every day, and two or three to a nervous customer; we have a striking example of patience and perseverance in Mr. Rarey’s first evening with Cruiser. He had gone through the labour of securing him, and bringing him up forty miles behind a dog-cart, yet he did not lose a moment, but set to work the same night to tame him limb by limb, and inch by inch, and from that day until he produced him in public, he never missed a day without spending twice a day from two to three hours with him, first rendering him helpless by gag-bit, straps and hobbles, then caressing him, then forcing him to lie down, then caressing him again, stroking every limb, talking to him in soothing tones, and now and then, if he turned vicious, taking up his helpless head, giving it a good shake, while scolding him as you would a naughty boy. And then again taking off the gag and rewarding submission with a lock of sweet hay and a drink of water, most grateful after a tempest of passion, then making him rise, and riding him—making him stop at a word.
I mention these facts, because an idea has gone abroad that any man with Mr. Rarey’s straps can manage any horse. It would be just as sensible to assert that any boy could learn to steer a yacht by taking the tiller for an hour under the care of an “old salt.”
The most curious and important fact of all in connection with this strapping up and laying down process, is, that the moment the horse rises he seems to have contracted a personal friendship for the operator, and with a very little encouragement will generally follow him round the box or circus; this feeling may as well be encouraged by a little bit of carrot or bread and sugar.
PLACE AND PREPARATIONS FOR TRAINING A COLT.
It is almost impossible to train or tame a horse quickly in an open space. As his falls are violent, the floor must be very soft. The best place is a space boarded off with partitions six or seven feet high, and on the floor a deep layer of tan or sand or saw-dust, on which, a thick layer of straw has been spread; but the floor must not be too soft; if it is, the horse will sink on his knees without fighting, and without the lesson of exhaustion, which is so important. To throw a horse for a surgical operation, the floor cannot be too soft: the enclosure should be about thirty feet from side to side, of a square or octagonal shape; but not round if possible, because it is of great advantage to have a corner into which a colt may turn when you are teaching him the first haltering lesson. A barn may be converted into a training-school, if the floor be made soft enough with straw. But in every case, it is extremely dangerous to have pillars, posts, or any projections against which the horse in rearing might strike; as when the legs are tied, a horse is apt to miscalculate his distance. And if the space is too narrow, the trainer, in dealing with a violent horse, may get crushed or kicked. It is of great advantage that the training-school should be roofed, and if possible, every living thing, that might distract the horse’s attention by sight or sound, should be removed. Other horses, cattle, pigs, and even dogs or fowls moving about or making a noise, will spoil the effect of a good lesson.
In an emergency, the first lesson may be given in an open straw-yard. Lord Burghersh trained his first pupil on a small space in the middle of a thick wood; Cruiser was laid down the first time in a bullock-yard. But if you have many colts to train, it is well worth while to dig out a pit two feet deep, fill it with tan and straw, and build round it a shed of rough poles, filled in with gorse plastered with clay, on the same plan as a bullock feeding-box. The floor should not be too deep or soft, because if it is, the colt will sink at once without fighting, and a good lesson in obedience is lost.
This may be done for from 30s. to 2l. on a farm. In a riding-school it is very easy to have lofty temporary partitions. It is probable that in future every riding-school will have a Rarey box for training hacks, as well as to enable pupils to practise the art.
It is quite out of the question to attempt to do anything with a difficult horse while other horses can be seen or heard, or while a party of lookers-on are chattering and laughing.