On horse-breaking

by Robert Moreton

Breaking to harness may be divided into two sections, one for the well-bred horse and the other for the cart-horse.

The well-bred horse first requires to be well broken to the saddle and well mouthed, for most carriage-horses are used for saddle purposes as well as for driving, many gentlemen and ladies also riding their carriage-horses, whilst some hunt them as well; anyhow, the groom rides them at exercise, so they must be able to carry as well as draw. The cart-horse, being of a duller temperament, does not require so much previous breaking-in before being put in harness, and a great many which have never been first broken to the saddle will take no [114] ]notice whatever if a man jumps on their backs and rides them; but it is always best to break them in a little to riding at first, as a good mouth is in that way best obtained.

When breaking-in a well-bred horse to harness, that is to say, one whose pace will be the trot and not the slow drudgery of the farm or cart-horse, he must previously have been well mouthed and broken to the saddle, before a set of harness is placed on him. Allow him to smell and look at every article of harness well before you endeavour to put it on him. Be very quiet, and take plenty of time. After having let him inspect the collar, place it gently over his head. Some men prefer a collar open at the withers, which can be slipped over the neck and fastened with a buckle, but these stretch very much, do not sit firmly, but ‘waddle,’ and thus cause sore shoulders to an animal which is not accustomed to harness work, and whose shoulders consequently are not hardened. For the first day or two it is as well to put on a collar which is too big for him, and when he [115] ]is actually to be put to, it may be exchanged for one of the proper dimensions. By this means a colt will not become alarmed, for the large collar slipping easily over his head, he becomes used to the action by the time he is required to don his own. The pad, crupper, and breeching must now be placed on his back, the tail elevated, and the crupper (with a buckle on its side) slipped under it, care being taken that no hairs are enclosed by it; then the crupper is buckled up, the pad adjusted, and the girth drawn up. It is as well on the first day of harnessing the colt to omit putting on the hames and traces, for they would only knock about and alarm him, but if you decide on putting them on, the traces must be drawn out horizontally and firmly attached to the breeching by means of straps or cording. It is good practice to connect the collar at the withers loosely with the pad by means of a strap, to prevent the collar from slipping forward to the ears when the animal’s head is lowered. A common riding bridle should then be placed on [116] ]the head, and the colt led about for an hour. By using a common riding bridle the colt is enabled to see everything on his back, and thus when any part of the harness strikes him he is able to see it, and soon getting to understand the cause, takes no further notice of it. But when a bridle with blinkers is put on, and at every step he takes the harness strikes him, he then does not know the cause, and thus becoming terrified, it requires some time and patience to calm him. After he has been led out for about an hour, a driving bridle with blinkers may be placed on his head in lieu of the riding bridle, and then he must be led about again for twenty minutes or half-an-hour, when he should be returned to his stables and the harness removed. You may repeat this for a short time in the afternoon. On the following day he must be harnessed again, but with the addition of the hames and traces, and led about with a riding bridle, which, after a time may be exchanged for one with blinkers, the same being repeated in the afternoon. Of course a [117] ]very quiet-tempered colt will get used to the harness in much less time, in fact some take no notice of it at all; but with a high-spirited or nervous animal, every precaution should be taken, and plenty of time spent over the process.

The colt is now ready for putting to.

Some people advocate breaking-in a colt to double harness in a break first, whilst others recommend putting him between the shafts at once. Undoubtedly when a break can be secured, it is both safest and best for this purpose. As to single harness, some people prefer four wheels to two, their theory being that in a four-wheeled trap there is no weight on the animal’s back, whilst in the two-wheel there is. If this were the only evidence for or against four wheels versus two, their theory would be inevitable, but unfortunately for them, the four wheels have great drawbacks which counteract the benefit incurred by placing no weight on the animal’s back, for if the colt is restive and backs, the hind wheels run out at [118] ]right angles to the horse and driver, rendering the vehicle uncontrollable and highly dangerous; and also when rounding sharp corners, or in turning, the colt not being as yet handy, the hind wheels are very likely to be caught against some obstruction, and thus possibly overturn the conveyance. Again, during the act of turning, the hind wheels may become locked against the fore ones. For breaking to single harness, the two-wheeler is most certainly the best and safest, for when rounding a sharp turn, you know exactly where you are, and have not got to watch any hind wheels, thus taking your attention from the colt, which, as a rule, requires all you can give him; he can also back to his heart’s content without much danger, or at least without one fiftieth part of that incurred with a four-wheeled vehicle.

For breaking to double harness, an old horse is required which is free from vice, and well trained to start immediately the word is given, and to stand perfectly still when required. The break having been placed with the pole [119] ]pointing in the direction in which you intend going, the break-horse is put to on the near side, and the colt (which should have a halter on as well as his bridle, the shank end being tied to the tracebearers) led out. The colt is then loosely buckled to the pole-piece, after which the trace nearest the pole is passed over the roller bolt, the animal’s quarters are then gently forced towards the pole, the outside trace attached, and the pole-piece adjusted to the requisite length, then the reins are crossed and buckled, and the driver, taking their ends, mounts the box, the old horse receives the word of command, and the pair start without any effort on the part of the young animal. If all this is done quietly, quickly, but without any fuss, the colt will be put to before he knows where he is. At starting, and for a little way along the road, a man (commonly called the breaksman) should keep beside the colt about opposite his shoulder, so that at any moment he can place his hand upon the halter shank, and be ready to assist the driver, if required; [120] ]but as soon as it is evident that the colt is inclined to go quietly, the breaksman may mount the stand behind the box, and stand there, but must be ready at a second’s notice to jump down when his services are thought to be needed. The break should not be out above an hour, or the colt will be liable to get sore shoulders, but must be driven about slowly, and when required to turn round, the breaksman must help him by pulling the halter towards himself, whilst the driver turns the old horse in a wide circle. During the drive the horses should be stopped and started again several times, that the colt may get a few lessons. For the first few days driving either up or down steep hills must be avoided, but the work should consist in driving quietly about roads, teaching the colt to turn round, and also turn sharp angles into another road &c. A few days of this kind of work will enable him to be driven anywhere, such as in crowded streets &c., but it will not do to take him into any crush, for as yet he cannot be depended [121] ]upon, and might show fight, which, owing to the crowd, might not be successfully baffled. It is a good plan from the commencement of putting to the colt, on his return to the stable to bathe his shoulders, whether they appear tender or not, with a cooling astringent, such as the lead lotion, for it often happens that, although you cannot see or feel anything amiss, they in reality are slightly tender, and on the following day he objects to the collar. Many a horse has been made a ‘jibber’ for life through the want of this precaution. When the colt has become tolerably handy in the break, he may be put between the shafts, which in all its material points will be the same as that described below.

In breaking a colt to single harness, he must first have a couple of days’ tuition to get him used to his harness, as before mentioned under the head of breaking-in to double harness. The harness is best when so constructed that the tugs open from above, allowing the shafts to drop into them, and every man who is [122] ]in the habit of breaking young horses to single harness should have a set so made. It is not difficult to place the shafts quietly through the ordinary tugs, but when the horse is being loosed they are very apt to strike the animal and frighten him; thus in many instances teaching him, to his dying day, to rush out of the shafts. The two-wheeled break should be strong and high on the wheels, that the splinter-bar may be high, and so prevent the animal kicking over it, should he be so inclined. The colt, wearing a halter besides his bridle, is brought out, the shafts placed gently in the tugs, and the harness fastened in the ordinary manner, as well as a kicking-strap over his quarters buckled to the shafts. The driver now mounts to his seat with the reins, whilst a man at the colt’s head pats and coaxes him forwards, when, on feeling himself confined between the shafts, he will probably plunge, rear, or possibly kick. But whatever he does, he must be reassured and calmed by kindness, the man at his head giving him such little [123] ]assistance as he is enabled to, such as pushing against the shaft or pulling it towards himself, according to circumstances; he must also run alongside of him for some time, but when the animal settles down and gets warmed to his work, he may either jump into the break or stand on the step; in either case he must be in readiness to leap down and help when required. The colt should not be driven more than an hour, and when required to turn the man must seize the halter and draw the colt round towards himself, at the same time pulling the shaft on that side towards himself; this must be continued for some days, until the colt has learnt to push against the shaft himself. Of course, when the animal is turned on the opposite side, the assistance must be on that side also.

If the colt jibs, it is best to sit still and coax him a little, and when he is tired of standing he will move on; but there are some animals which will not do so, and then it must rest with the judgment of the driver, with his knowledge of the colt’s temper, whether he use [124] ]the whip and risk a kick or two, and perhaps a rear, or not. A colt being broken to single harness should not be driven down anything like a steep hill until he is handy at other things, for this is the most difficult lesson of all for him to learn, as he then has the full weight of the vehicle pushing against him, and it takes a long time before he will learn to keep himself straight in the breeching, but will push sideways and run into the opposite bank, if the man at his head does not take care and help him.

The bit I prefer to all others when breaking a colt to single harness is the smooth ring snaffle, with the reins passed through both rings on either side, thus converting it into an ordinary snaffle; but if you buckle them to the separate ring on either side, the bit becomes too severe, pinches the jaw, and causes so much pain that the animal fights with it, and becoming restive, pays no attention to what you wish to teach him.

Breaking the cart colt to harness requires a very different method of operation to that used [125] ]for the purpose with the lighter breeds. Some farmers put them in a team at the plough as soon as they have been taught to lead; but I do not consider this happy-go-lucky style at all a good one. They are not likely to have good mouths, and the heavy strain of this continual dead pulling work makes them slow, is inclined to make them downhearted, and whether they work in the furrow or on the surface, it causes them to move unequally with their fellow, and so is very apt to make them jerky in their style of going; and moreover, being young, with their bones and tendons undeveloped, they are very liable to ‘shoulder slip,’ as it is commonly called.