its head (see [Fig. 7]). He can take the precautions I have described, for making the horse stand still, as he may think necessary. As soon as the crown-piece of the halter comes behind the ears,
Fig. 7.—Haltering vicious horse with rope-halter on pole.
the operator should swing the pole smartly down in front of the animal’s nose, and then under the lower jaw; a proceeding which will bring the halter into its proper place. Nothing now remains except to withdraw the pole. Care should be taken not to bring the pole under the lower jaw, until the nose-band is in front of the ears; for, if it remains behind them, when the end of the stick is brought down, the horse will be lassoed and not haltered. The precautions necessary to be taken in haltering the horse will depend on the amount of his vice, or timidity. A horse can be thus caught best, when he is standing in the corner of a wall which is too high for him to look over. In a circular enclosure, the animal will be able, by turning round, to defeat the intentions of his would-be captor, much more easily than he could do in a rectangular one. In a roped-in arena, the horse can get his head away from the halter, easier than he could do when close to a wall. There is no fear of a horse, however vicious he may be, of “charging home” on the operator, if the man keeps the pole across the animal’s face, ready, if need be, to give him a tap or two on the muzzle. The larger the enclosure, the less will a horse attempt to “savage” any one approaching him. In extreme cases, a blow on the forehead might be necessary. I may mention that the brain is covered at the forehead, by only a thin plate of bone. Mr. O. S. Pratt, the American “horse-tamer,” gives, in his book, a method for haltering a loose horse, by putting the crown-piece of the halter on the end of the pole (see [Fig. 8]). In applying this, the horse is very apt to shy away from the halter, which has to be put on from the front. The manner of haltering which I have described, and which was shewn to me by Mr. Banham, F.R.C.V.S., appears to be much better than Pratt’s plan.
Making a loose Horse stand still.—If timidity
Fig. 8.