TO EDUCATE A HORSE THAT IS BAD TO CATCH.
TO EDUCATE A HORSE THAT IS BAD TO CATCH.
Horses acquire this habit mainly from improperly turning them out; and, to illustrate, I will give the reader an example. First, the man or boy takes his horse to the bars or fence of the field, and lets only a portion of either down; he now takes off the bridle or halter, and, in order to make the horse jump over, hits him on the rump and shouts at him; thus the animal is made to fear the approach of man when loose; so that, with this kind of training, it soon becomes difficult to catch, and requires education in order to counteract this bad habit.
Directions: Put on the Bonaparte bridle, and tie a knot at the mouth, so as to prevent it from slipping down to his teeth, when he might sever the cord; then carry it up to his mane over the shoulder; tie the mane together with a string; then pass the cord through the loop thus made with the mane, and carry the cord through a loop made in the tail by same means, and let your cord lay out behind from ten to fifty feet, as required. Now, when you want your horse, go carefully up behind him and take a firm hold of the cord, and say “Come here,” at the same time pulling with all your might. By giving him three or four lessons of this kind, you may safely take off the cord and go into the field, standing about the same distance as when you last pulled or the cord, and repeat the words “come here;” he will quickly obey your voice, and give you no more trouble in catching him.
When it is remembered how much time is often lost in catching a horse in the field, it will be seen that, in money value, this simple point of horse education will more than repay the cost of this book to the owner of a horse that has heretofore been bad to catch; and the saving of temper as well as time will make the improvement in his habits doubly valuable. Both the man and the horse are made better by it.