Now give your horse a plenty to eat and drink. I suppose it to be about ten o’clock. Let him rest, if he will. Repeat your lessons at four o’clock in the afternoon, more or less rapidly, according as he is inclined to obey them. Feed him at night; let him remain in the pen all night. Next day, go over the same exercise; at the end of which, if you think him sufficiently docile, take him out of the pen, and go through the same exercise that you did whilst he was in the pen. If he shows no signs of fear at the explosion of the gun, when fired off from his back or neck, you are sure of him. But you must exercise him a little, for two or three days more; at the end of which, you may always rely on him afterwards. Should he be somewhat refractory, when you take him out of the pen, which would be a rare case, though some horses may be, put him again into it, and repeat, and you will never fail to succeed. In the same progressive manner, you can correct the defects of a skittish horse, in a great measure; but some are of so fearful a nature that, if they have been gentled in the common way, it requires a great deal of patience to manage them.
A SKITTISH HORSE.
The best method of correcting a horse of this description, when one is on the road, is, to stop him suddenly, whenever he appears to be frightened at any thing he sees before him or at his side. Let him stand perfectly still: get down, if he does not become quiet in three or four minutes, and handle him in the forehead. Lead him by the bridle to the object that frightened him: then lead him back to where he was, and get on him. Ride him up to it, &c. You can likewise give him the same exercise as you do to a wild horse of the third kind, and you will not fail to succeed in correcting him by repeating it several times. I never knew a horse to become skittish that I had gentled by my secret, though I am not certain that such a thing might not happen; for, as I said before, there is no rule without an exception.
A HORSE THAT WILL NOT SUFFER HIS EARS TO BE TOUCHED.
Begin at his forehead, just above the nose, and handle it in the same manner as you would do with a wild horse, according to the rules laid down in that part of the secret. Gentleness, Patience, Perseverance, Faith; all these are necessary, in order to succeed with some horses. It has taken me from five to six hours, to be able to handle the ears of some horses; but, at the end of that time, they let me handle them with as much ease as I could those of a house-dog. They will always let you handle them afterwards.
Shortly after my arrival in Mexico, a gentleman who had read an article which the President had caused to be published in the government paper, concerning what I had done with a wild horse that
I had gentled in his presence, a few days before, sent for me, telling me he had a horse of great value, that he had given only five hundred dollars for, on account of a defect, or vice, that the horse had contracted two years before, and which had augmented to such a degree, that he would have killed any one that would have attempted to put a bridle on him, or touch him about the ears. He asked me if I thought I could cure him of this evil habit. I told him I would try; and, accordingly, I sent every person away, and went in to the horse. I had taken the precaution of having a halter (jaguima) put upon him before-hand, and a long rope, dragging upon the ground, tied to it. In order to put this halter upon him, they had to throw a rope upon his legs, and tie them, and another around his nose; and this was a ceremony they had to perform every time they put the bridle on him. When I had got in where the horse was, I took up the rope and advanced, holding out my left hand, as when I break a wild horse, and came up to him. I used a great deal of precaution, when I touched him in the forehead for the first time, as I do with a horse belonging to the first class, that is, those that seem to fear nothing; and, continuing on in this manner, gradually ascending, making my fingers play upon his forehead with great rapidity—gaining ground so slow, that I remained two hours before I came to the roots of his ears, which I began to touch very lightly at the end of another half hour; and, by continuing the operation an hour longer, I was able to handle them with ease and safety. A few minutes after, I bridled him, led him about, and made him follow me, without pulling him by the bridle. I took it off, and put it on again. I repeated this exercise several times. Then I called in my servant, and made him bridle and unbridle him. Then sent him to tell the owner of the horse to come and see him.