Vicious and annoying habits in horses often owe their origin to bad management by their owner or groom. Allow me to instance a few examples: A man walks into the stable and approaches his horse in the stall, and, if he should move about quickly, the person springs back from him, evidently showing his fear, which is at once noticed by the horse, and taken advantage of; so that, after a repetition of this two or three times, the animal fancies he is master, and uses his heels to help the intruder out of the stall. Another custom prevails: that of striking a horse on the rump or hinder parts, with a whip or stick in order to make him stand over, and the effect is to irritate and cause him to kick. Now, in order to insure success, walk up to your animal manfully and determinately, observing never to show fear, and by this means you will never teach your horse to kick at you.
TO EDUCATE A HORSE THAT KICKS OR PAWS IN THE STALL.
TO EDUCATE A HORSE THAT KICKS OR PAWS IN THE STALL.
First make the Bonaparte bridle, as before directed; carry the cord through a surcingle, attached around the body, back to a ring in front of the hind-leg, to which are attached two straps, one above and one below the gambol joint of the leg he has the habit of kicking with; thus, when he kicks, he is punished in the act, and soon gives up the habit. Pawing—Continue the cord forward to a ring attached to two small straps above and below the knee-joint, as seen on engraving, observing, as above directed, to attach the appliance to the leg he paws with, reversing the straps when required, which will give a horse the knowledge that when he paws he punishes himself, and the reader will see, by this treatment, the habit speedily broken up.
The habit of kicking in the stall is one that is not only disagreeable to the owner of the horse addicted to it, but is often destructive and costly, as a horse viciously inclined to that habit will sometimes even splinter the boards of the stall, and with so simple and effective a method of correcting the bad habit it should never be tolerated for a single day, and the possessor of this book would be inexcusable should he suffer it to continue in an animal owned by him.
The habit of pawing in the stall, though not so vicious in its nature as that of kicking, is yet sufficiently troublesome and unpleasant to deserve a speedy correction, and the owner of a horse addicted to even the last-named fault will be more than compensated for the slight trouble caused in its removal.