Illustrated Horse Breaking

by M. Horace Hayes

Advisability of possessing various methods of breaking.—As the removal of the cause is the only proper plan for the treatment of either disease, or vice, and as these causes differ, the breaker, to be successful, should be provided with various methods for enforcing his commands. Hence, we may rest assured that the horse-tamer who advertises his one particular method, as a certain cure for all forms of vice, is as arrant a quack as the man who foists on the public a pill for the removal of every kind of disease. In the following pages I shall describe various breaking methods, which the reader can apply according as he recognises the cause of resistance to his wishes, or of inability to understand them.

Giving a Horse a good mouth, the chief requirement in breaking.—The horse’s mouth ought to be the foundation of all good breaking; for an animal with a good mouth can hardly “do wrong”; unless, indeed, under very exceptional circumstances. As it is impracticable to be constantly repeating any “taming” method, such as Rareyfying, or tying a horse by his head and tail, we must disregard such practices as means for the maintenance of a permanent state of discipline—however useful they may be for enforcing authority in the first instance—and must trust to the influence of the rein, which is ever constant on the mouth, when riding or driving, to keep the horse mindful of his duty when in action. The use of the leg should, of course, not be neglected in riding. The taming methods will, naturally, be required with animals that are difficult to handle when dismounted, or when out of the shafts.

Permanency in the effects of breaking.—The primary step to establish the habit of obedience, is, naturally, to make the horse obey in the first instance, and then to repeat the process as may be needed. Such a procedure is thoroughly rational; for it is founded on the fact that force of habit is the strongest influence which rules the equine mind. I have often, what I think unjustly, incurred blame because, after I had practically demonstrated to my pupils the feasibility of making a confirmed jibber, obstinate refuser, or almost unrideable buckjumper, willing and quiet in one lesson, that such animals have, in the course of time, become just as bad as ever; on account of their respective owners not taking the trouble, as advised by me, of repeating the easy methods I shewed. The reason men usually fail to subdue “difficult” horses, is because they do not know how to take the first step towards making the animal obedient. If, however, they be supplied with this all-important information, their task should be one of increasing facility after each repetition; and, if persevered in, would be rapidly completed; but it must be repeated until the desired habit is established.

However well a horse may have been broken of a bad habit, he will be far more likely to acquire it again under bad management, than he would have been, had he been originally free from it; for no course of discipline, although it may keep the animal under thorough control, can efface out of his mind the memory of the practice of a former habit. I need scarcely say that injudicious treatment will always be capable of spoiling any horse, whether invariably quiet, or reformed. Hence, a teacher of breaking will be wise to confine himself to showing “how it is done,” and not to risk his reputation in making the impossible attempt of permanently “curing” a vicious horse. Besides, it is only “human nature” for the owner of an animal that has reverted to his evil courses, to blame the breaker, and not himself.

Expedition in breaking.—In order to give some idea of the possibilities of the system of breaking which I advocate and practise, I may state that, by it, any unhandled horse, no matter how wild or how old he may be, can be made quiet to ride and obedient to the ordinary indications of the rein, in from, say, two to four hours. Such a horse, to become a reliable “conveyance,” would, probably, require about six more lessons—two a day—of an hour and a half’s duration each. He ought, by that time, to have acquired a good mouth, steady paces, and “cleverness” to jump any ordinary fence. Army remounts that have never had even a halter on them, should, on an emergency, speaking generally, be fit for the riding-school in a couple of days. I need not dwell on the value of such expedition in military exigencies, and in all cases where time is an object. “Spoiled” horses, such as jibbers, rearers, kickers, and buckjumpers, that have learned to know their own power, would, naturally, take longer to break, than entirely unhandled animals; although the limit of five days need not, usually, be exceeded even with them. The possibility of horses going back to their old tricks may always be provided against by judicious repetition of the necessary discipline, which will be very rarely needed after the first three or four days, if the animal be “mouthed” in the manner I shall hereafter describe. Without using any forcible methods, which, as a rule, would not be required with a valuable horse, the breaker ought not to need more than a week to make any ordinary horse thoroughly fit for all the usual requirements of saddle or harness.

To those who might advance the argument that because the ordinary method of breaking takes about ten times as long as the system I advocate, it must, therefore, be more permanent in its influence, I would beg to submit that such a contention would hold good, only, on the untenable supposition that the effects of the respective processes were equal in force. I see no possible benefit, except the very questionable one of giving the animal an exaggerated opinion of his own powers of resistance, in taking a month to accomplish what may be quite as efficiently done in an hour; as, for instance, making a fractious horse steady to mount, or quiet to shoe behind, or a sulky refuser to jump kindly. We must surely admit that the repetition of an effect, and not the time occupied in its production, is the cause of the permanency of its influence.

The ordinary method of breaking.—The usual method of rendering horses docile by early and continued handling, followed by patient and skilful riding, answers fairly well with men who regard breaking as a pleasure, and have plenty of spare time to indulge their taste in this respect. It is, however, inapplicable to circumstances under which the number of animals to be broken is out of proportion to the supply of labour; especially in the case of inexpensive stock. It is, also, besides being tedious, often ineffective in the reduction to obedience of “spoiled horses,” and of those that have been allowed to run wild for a considerable time before being “taken up”; the reason being, that it does not supply us with means for enforcing our commands, then and there, on exceptionally unruly animals, which, in order to be rendered docile, must be confirmed in the habit of obedience.

Breaking by kindness alone.—While fully admiring the kindness of heart of those enthusiasts who regard a horse as a friend to be won by affection, I must say that the better plan for making him a useful member of society, is to treat him as a servant who has to be taught his work, and from whom implicit obedience has to be demanded. Until he does his work honestly and well, the less petting he gets the better; for he is an animal that is very apt to become headstrong and fractious, by a small amount of indulgence in his own way. I entirely deprecate any fighting with the horse, or punishment with whip and spur, which he can resist; but I insist on the necessity—after proving to the horse that he has nothing to fear, and after teaching him to understand one’s wishes—of shewing that he must obey. I shall endeavour, in due course, to explain to the reader how such obedience can be peremptorily enforced.

The rough and ready style of breaking.—The method of reducing a horse to discipline, by forcibly securing him, getting on his back, and sticking on until he bucks himself to a standstill, is applicable only to unbroken animals of a more or less mature age, whose owners demand nothing further, than to have them made “quiet to ride.” The objections to this method, as far as I can see, are: that it is not always possible to obtain the services of a rider of sufficient pluck and adhesiveness; that some horses, by “throwing themselves over,” can get rid of any man off their back; that if the horse wins the fight, the victory will have the effect of making him much worse than he was before; that the mastery, even if the process be repeated, is, often, not permanent, especially with a new rider; that it is apt to spoil the horse’s mouth; and that, in the case of nervous or sulky animals, it is liable to increase their particular faults. The buckjumping style of breaking is, of course, only good as far as it goes, and has no just claim to teach the manners that make the horse, as assuredly as they do the man.

Summary of the principles of the art of rendering Horses docile may be summed up as follows: