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Character Building

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OR

What I Know About Breaking
and Training Colts and

-t Horses ex

BY

EUGENE SNOW,

CLOVERLAND STOCK FARM,
KNOXBORO, N. Y.

Copyright, 1905, by Eugene Snow,

LIBRARY of SCNGRESS
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JUN 9 1909

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What I Know About Breaking and
Training Colts and Horses

When I say that I have spent thirty years
of my life on a stock farm as a breeder and
owner of race, road and carriage horses, it
does not mean that the time has been wholly
spent in supervising or directing some one else
to do the work, but that I have at all times had
a practical hold of the business, working out
its problems and bringing them to a successful
issue, with my own hands breaking, train-
ing and otherwise educating and racing the
products of the farm. I believe I am the only
man living or dead who has raced horses, of
his own breeding and development, for
twenty-five consecutive years. Having no
other means of a livelihood, it may strike the
reader that this could not have been done
without a certain amount of success. For the

6

benefit of any who may conclude that I am in
any sense of the term a ‘‘has-been’’ and too —
old to do anything but write memoirs, I will

say that I am still on the meridian line of life
and am neither going nor dying out of the
business that has proven the source of very.
much pleasure and not a little profit. As evi-

dence that I am abreast of the times, I offer
‘‘Happy Bill,’ thought by many to be the

greatest two-year-old trotter that has yet ap-

peared. He was exhibited at the Oneida

County and New York State Fairs last fall,

stepping a half in 1:06, a quarter in 31% and

an eighth in 15 seconds, officially timed in the

presence of thousands of spectators.

While the practical ideas I have formulated
between the covers of this little book are the
results of a long and varied experience with
high-bred, and many times very nervous ani-
mals, I do not say that they are wholly the
product of my own brain. They are none the
less valuable, however, and are intended more

i)

particularly for farmers, and others who may
breed one or two animals each year and have
not made the training of colts a study. They
do not throw any light on the treatment of
horses which have acquired vicious or ugly
Wabits; - but “ake “a sure* preventive of “such
habits, as my record of never having produced
a vicious horse will show.

By way of opening I will make three sug-
gestions :

Ist. Break the colt when he is young, the
winter he is coming two.

2nd. Throw away the whip if you cannot
use it with discretion.

3rd. If you have an ungovernable temper
yourself don’t try.

_ CHARACTER BUILDING

The weanling should be in a large box
stall or shed when he takes his first lesson.
We find him usually in a semi-wild condition
in absolute fear of the being who now appears
before him as a would-be teacher, and in some -
instances ready to fight him. Such a colt was
“Happy- Bill?’ when I closed the. door be=
tween him and the only friend he had known
up to that time—his mother. He faced me
with defiance and fear plainly written on his
countenance. I doubt if I had men enough in

my employ to, with safety for themselves and
the ‘colt. force the halter upon him >but in
less than three minutes I had it securely on
his head and he had scarcely moved from his
tracks. It was done by simply hanging a
common rope halter on the end of a twelve-
foot pole. On the side of the pole, very near
to the top end, had been driven two twelve
penny nails diagonally, one towards the top,

9

the other towards the bottom of the pole so
that the heads of the nails would come very
nearly, if not quite together for the purpose
of holding and spreading the head-piece of the
halter, thus allowing for a large opening at
the noose end. Carefully raising the halter so
that his nose was well into the noose I turned
the pole, allowing the halter to drop into
position on his head. I then picked up the
lead rope and proceeded with his lesson, the
first principal of which consisted in teaching
him that instead of being an object to fear, I
was his friend, but at the same time his
master. I could have taught him to lead in
ten minutes, but I stayed with him an hour,
petted him and talked the same language that
I would to a little child whose confidence and
good will I wished to gain. I said the same
words and offered my caresses many times be-
fore they were accepted and understood, but
since that time he has rewarded me a hundred
fold for the little time and patience I gave to
him in that first lesson. That lesson was

IO

really the establishment of a character, which
to-day is a inodel of all that is good in a horse.
While I could describe many similar instances
in my experience with colts at this age which
might be interesting and instructive and tend
to show the great value of kindness I . will
mention but one more.

Being laid up with a badly bruised ankle at
a time when the weaning of the sucklings was
necessary, I gave instructions to my men to —
separate the brood mares from their colts and
give them their first lesson in the halter. I
charged them under no circumstances to resort
to severe measures without first consulting me
and carefully explained my methods. ‘They
got along pretty well with all but one, and he
was by far the best colt in the bunch, both in
breeding and individuality. They said to me,
‘That colt is the devil—he will kick, bite
and strike. We got the halter on but cannot
get it off.’’ Thereupon I sent a girl twenty
years of age, whose love for horses is only ex-

Tey

ceeded by her desire for their humane treat-
ment to interview this terror. I do not
exaggerate when I say that in twenty minutes
from the time she entered the stable she was
leading him in the yard with her arm about
his neck. It was simply fear, not malice, as
demonstrated by a woman, that prompted him
to do wrong. Be kind, but firm, and always
the master.

When for the first time the colt feels the
halter and realizes that there is a limit beyond
which he cannot go, if he is a real good one
he will-resent it hard. Keep his head towards
you, loosening on the lead rope only to save a
fall or collision, and do not ask him to come
to you until you have first been to him and
convinced him you are his friend. Then
teach him to lead by pulling him towards you
one way and then the other (not in a straight
line at first). Always when he comes,
whether forced or otherwise, caress and re-
ward him with a lump of sugar or salt, or a

” 12

piece of an apple you will have in your pocket.
They are the corner stones in character build-
ing.

But there is a line or limit even to kindness
beyond which you cannot go. Do not at any
time of life allow him to become a ‘‘ pet’”’ in
the sense that he will not respect your word,
or command, or take liberties your judgment
tells you are wrong. ‘‘ Familiarity breeds
contempt,’’ they say, in the human family,
and it is no less true with horses. Punish
him if he persists, but in a way that he will
understand and that will frighten more than
injure him. Continue these lessons every day
for a week, and if your timeis limited once or
twice a week during the following winter
months. After the first lesson you will find
it a pleasure, as he will love the sound of your
voice and your footsteps will be music to his
ears. Then, if you have the fear of God, or
the love of a little child in your heart you will
not abuse the weanling and his future will be
safe in your hands.

13

Having laid the foundation, the work should
be discontinued and the colt turned out to
grass the following summer. I have, how-
ever, kept them in the stable and handled

them successfully at this age when I had a
special object in view, as in the case of
‘Queen Bird,” 2:25 at two years. Wishing
to establish the value of her sire as an early
speed progenitor, I selected this filly and
trained her for that purpose, and how I suc-
ceeded her public exhibition quarter of a mile
as a yearling in 33 seconds will show.

Experience has taught me that at the ex-
piration of the yearling’s season’s run to
pasture in his two-year-old form, an age at
which although still a colt, he is beginning to
show some of the elements of a horse, is the
time of all others when by nature he is more
susceptible to influence, either for good or
evil, than any time during his whole exist-
ence. Therefore, I cannot put in too strong
language the importance of continuing the

14

lessons with even more thoughtful, judicious
and patient care than when they were begun.

The following example will serve to illus-
trate the effects of injudicious handling at this
age: When quite a young man, and young
in the business, I bred and owned a little
chunky, low-headed, Roman-nosed brown filly.
At the time of which I write she was two
years old and a cheaper looking colt it would
be hard to imagine. When I looked her over
and contemplated the prospects for the future
of the breeding industry, with a barn full of
her kind in a rising feed market, my aspira-
tions took a drop that came near upsetting all
my plans. Although not ugly or vicious, she
was loaded to the muzzle with grit and deter-
mination. My patience left me early in the
game and the little judgment I started in with
was soon scattered all over the farm, and
finally landed horse, trainer and sleigh in a
general mix-up in a large snowbank. Dis-
entangling the outfit as best I could, I led my

15

pupil to the stable with the promise that I
would, at some future time, give her the
treatment I felt sure she needed, and that
promise I kept, laboring all day with two as-
sistants in a vain effort to make her draw an
empty cart. She won at the finish, and a
cheaper looking lot of men never left a battle
field than followed the little brown mare to
her stable that nights Believing her to be
worthless I offered her as a Christmas gift to
any one who would lead her off the farm. AsI
could find no takers she remained, and one
year later I tried again on the principles that
are in force at Cloverland to-day, and won.
She proved herself not only extremely fast,
but the greatest road mare I have ever known,
and developed qualities which I believed must
be perpetuated if I were to succeed in the busi-
ness. She has produced Timepiece, 2:10%, the
sum of whose winnings and sale, and sale of
others of her produce amounts to over $9,000.
She has now on the farm two full brothers to

Timepiece, 2:10'%, for one of which I have re-
e

16

fused $2,000. A fair Christmas present she
was. Although I saved her from the ruin I
so nearly wrought, the thought of it has
never given me any pleasure, and I publish it
with no degree of pride, but only as an exam-
ple in the hope that it may serve as a guide to
some man, as inexperienced as the writer was
at that time, by which he can avoid such mis-
takes.

Never put a bit into a colt’s mouth until
you have first examined and prepared the
teeth to receive it. In front of the molars
you are sure to find little supernumerary
growths, called wolf teeth. They are said to
interfere with the eye by exerting an influ-
ence on the opthalmic division of the nerve.
Whether that is true or not I cannot say, but
it is a dead sure thing they should come out
and the rough edges of the outside of the up-
per teeth (the molars) smoothed down before
attempting the process of ‘‘bitting.’? What-
ever success you may have had may count for

17

nothing by injudicious treatment of the colt’s
mouth at this time.

While it was my intention in writing this
book not to in any way connect it with the
veterinary branch of the horse business, the
process of preparing the colt’s mouth is so
simple, and yet so vitally important, that to
pass it by without a word in explanation
would not only be unfair to the student, but
an injustice to the animals themselves. But
before doing so I will state a circumstance di-
rectly bearing on this branch of the colt’s
education that has firmly planted itself in my
memory.

A trainer of some notein the country where
he lived was endeavoring to break a high-
keyed, mettlesome, three-year-old filly. When
I first saw them the colt was hitched to a cart
with the trainer on the seat. She had backed
the wheels of the cart against a barn, and
with her feet firmly planted in the ground,

18

she steadfastly refused to budge. Such a
pounding as that filly received it beats my pen
to describe. With every vestige of reason
gone, that man was a revelation to his audience,
some of whom were ladies. During a lull in
the storm, at the risk of getting into trouble
myself, I stepped to the colt’s head and said to
the trainer, ‘‘If you will come here, I believe
I can show you why your colt refuses to go.”’
Thereupon, I opened her mouth and displayed
two ugly wounds on either side of her cheeks,
an inch in length, and cut almost through to
the skin. I also showed him the wolf teeth
with points as sharp as needles, and the rough,
uneven edges of the molars. Is it any wonder
she preferred the whipping ? Now, in his nor-
mal condition, this trainer was far from being
a brute in disposition. On the contrary, he
was amiable and kind, and could be depended
on always to champion and defend the cause
of any honest man or horse in trouble. Without
a word he unhitched the filly and led her to
the stable, came back to the hitching floor and

19

sat down on a box, and for awhile rested his
head on his hands, and I knew he realized his
mistake and was suffering all he deserved to
suffer. With his head still on his hands he
made this remark: ‘‘What would you doif
you had made sucha show of yourself as I
have to-day?’ Ianswered: ‘‘ That having
been there, or nearly there myself, I thought
I knew a little how he felt, that such educa-
tion came high in loss of self-respect, but I
believed in his case it was worth the price;
and I will add, that he finished that colt’s edu-
cation in all the essential qualities of a race
horse in a way that made her a model of good
behavior. Her affection and confidence in
him during the nervous excitement preceding
her races was almost pathetic.

I will say to any man who attempts the bit-
ting or breaking of a colt to drive without first
attending to his mouth,-you are not only tak-
ing long chances on the ‘‘physical culture’’
part of your anatomy, but alsoon destroying

20

the worth of an animal you aim to make _ val-
uable for your own, or somebody else’s use.

The above is not an isolated case by any
means, but one of many, by which to-day in-
competent, unstudied and careless handlers
are ruining the character and disposition of
otherwise meritorious animals. You may not
be in the business of breaking and handling
colts, hence the illustration is not applicable;
but whatever your occupation in life, if you
have been blessed in receiving and entrusted
with the care of one of these noblest of all an-
imals, of any age or condition, either for profit
or pleasure, be merciful in a measure that
you may sometime need it meted out to you,
and in no better way can you show the attri-
bute of mercy, than by thoughtful, judicious
care of the horse’s mouth.

Your outfit as an amateur veterinary dentist
will cost you not to exceed three dollars, pos-
sibly less, and should consist of an ordinary

ea 8

pair of forceps, (such as dentists use in ex-
tracting human teeth will do), and a common
float or file, made for the purpose of correcting
faulty growths on the teeth of horses. The
float will cost a dollar. A pair of forceps can
generally be procured from your dentist at
a nominal price, which, while they may be
a back number with him and have been dis-
carded for more modern instruments, will an-
swer every requirement in yourcase. The
extracting of wolf teeth requires no par-
ticular amount of skill. Only secure a
good hold and keep it with a rigid hand,
but with a flexible wrist to allow your
hand to adjust itself to every movement of the
colt’s mouth. Do not hurry, but wait until
he has become quiet, before you attempt to
take out the tooth. While it is more skillful
and workmanlike to extract the entire tooth,
I have never known any harm to come from a
broken one, the root of which was left in the
horse’s mouth. The wolf teeth having been
attended to, run your fingers along the outer

22

edges of the molars. If you find them rough,
sharp and uneven, then you certainly have
business with the float. Stand in front of
your subject, and with your left hand on his
nose carefully insert the file into his mouth
along the line of the trouble on the right side.
Take plenty of time and do not hurt him, and
he will soon learn that he has nothing to fear
and will allow you even in the clumsy way of
a beginner to finish your work without a pro-
test. Holding your float on a line level with
the teeth, with your right hand pass it a few
times along the rough places. Then remove
the instrument, examine your work, and stop
When you find them comparatively smooth
and free from any projections which you think
would injure the colt’s cheek in being forced
against it by the working of the bit. To suc-
cessfully and easily accomplish the same good
results on the opposite or left side of the
mouth, standing as you are supposed to be in
front of and facing your patient, with your
left hand on his nose, move your body to the

23

left side of his head, allowing your left hand
to go under his lower jaw and around until
you can get hold of his nose on the opposite
side, then you will have free play for your
right hand to work the float over the left arm
and into the horse’s mouth, while your left
hand holds his head steady and in position.
The matured horse very often suffers from
sharp projecting teeth, and it is very common
in old horses from the wearing down of the
teeth in an uneven manner. They will be
sharp on the inner edges of the lower jaw, and
the outer edges of the upper jaw, which may
be from faulty formation. In such cases the
animal has difficulty in eating, often grinding
and ejecting the food. Often horses carry
their heads to one side when driving from this
cause. If their teeth are sharp on the inside
they lacerate the tongue, if on the outside as
I have already described, they lacerate the
cheek. As the processis similar, I shall not
give in detail the treatment of the lower
molars, believing that when you get to them

24

your judgment will direct you how to continue
the work.

If you have followed the directions, you
should now have a model pupil with which to
continue the important work that is to follow,
which consists in teaching him to drive.

First hitch him with a strong halter to
something he will not break, or pull out if he
should try; then with the saddle part of
your harness, with breeching attachment, rub
him all over and under his body, occasionally
allowing him to smell of it until he is familiar
with and not afraid of any part of it, then
place it in position. Do the same with head-
stall and collar. You should do this work
alone, unaided by any assistant, as you will
need his undivided attention. The lines should
not be less than thirty feet in length—a small
rope willdo. Run them through the thill
holders in the harness to the bit, (thill holder
girt should be buckled to hold them down

25

and in position). Do not at first attempt to
raise his head above its natural position by
checking. Now take hold of your lines,
which you are supposed to be able to skilfully
pay out or take in as necessity may require.
Give him his head and allow hin to go out of
the stable or barn. If he goes out on a run,
which he is very apt to do, give him rope, and
as soon as you can, turn him from a straight
line into a circle. Handle his mouth with
care, always with a light hold of the reins, so
that if he starts up suddenly, instead of snub-
bing him you can allow them to slip through
your hands so that you can rate your speed
and the colt’s, carefully restraining him.

Perhaps I can in no better way explain or
illustrate the value of proper handling, or the
bad effects of improper handling of the colt,
in these first lessons in the harness than by the
following example:

While driving along at a smart trot, one
fine Spring day, late in the afternoon, through

26

a not over-populated section of the country,
from the midst of a pleasant train of thoughts,
I was startled by these words: ‘‘ Hello, there,
Captain! Look me up and tell me where I
am.’’ ‘The voice seemed at first to issue from
the bushes that lined the road, but a second
and more careful inspection showed me not
far away in a lot a man about thirty years of
age, and what should have been a handsome
chestnut filly. (The colt I learned was three
years old.) The man was stripped to his
pants and shirt, and hatless, stood holding a
pair of lines in one hand and the remnant of a
rawhide whipin the other. The lines were
an ordinary pair, of regulation length, reach-
ing about eight feet back of the colt, and
buckled together at the end. Stopping my
horse and taking in the situation, I said to the
trainer: ‘‘ Would you like to send any word
home?’ Hesat down on the ground and
laughed. The drollery of the thing struck
Miesand 1° 4jomed ing “ Yes}? Sherssaide
‘tell them to send out a team of oxen and

27

a stoneboat.’’ With some questioning I found
tue colt, had -started out_ very. well. — It
was her first lesson in the harness, but
beige Guicks. active “aud, xesolute,. as. «1
had guessed, she was away, and to the
limit of the short lines before her trainer could
get under headway. When he did get in mo-
tion the colt was stepping so fast that he had
to pull her up with a sudden jerk to stop her.
After repeating this performance several times
she finally refused to go without the whip, and
when I found them she would not go with it,
and he had given it to her without stint.
He said to me, ‘‘ This mare is the worst I ever
saw. I will have to pull off her harness and
let her go, as she willneither lead nor drive.
Do you know anything about handling this
kind? “laepled that 1 beheveds i did, and
that if he would put the halter on my horse
that he would find in the carriage and lead
him along, although I might fail, I told him I
would make an effort to drive his filly home,
which was about a mile distant in the direction

28

I was going. ‘‘ Well, go ahead, Mister,’’ he
said, ‘‘ Youare the party I was looking for.’’
Thereupon I removed the lines from my har-
ness and connected them with those already
on the colt, adjusted the bit, took off the crup-
per, which from continual jerking of her head
against the check-rein had chafed her to a
bleeding condition. I then threw off the check,
and spent a little time in talking to, and get-
ting acquainted with her. Finally I asked
her to go, at the same time I pushed her two
or three feet to one side. This was a new
deal and she appeared to be surprised. I re-
peated this treatment several times. At last
she plunged forward ona run, but I was ready
and ran with her. Gradually allowing the
lines to slip through my hands, at the same
time I pulled gently on one of them. Before
she got to the limit of my lines and speed I
had her going in a circle, and from a run she
slowed toa trot, and soon to a walk, and she
went on at that gait until I said Whoa! and
stopped her. I then went to her head and re-

29

peated the old words of kindness, and while it
may have been my imagination, I shall always
think the look she gave me was one of grati-
tude. I then drove her to the stable without
further trouble, and after receiving a profusion
of thanks from her owner, continued on my
way.

The preliminary lessons with the long lines
offer great opportunities for the advancement
of your pupil and of placing some of the main
stays in his character. Be thorough and per-
sistent, and teach him to respond readily to
every touch of the line, at the same time be
careful about working him too much in one
lesson. When you want him to stop, say
Whoa! and stop him. Do not repeat the com-
mand. Once is better than twice, and in re-
peating the word a dozen times, as you will
generally hear, it fails entirely in significance
to the colt. Whenever he obeys the word,
whether forced or otherwise, reward him in
the old way with kind words. Goto him and

20

adjust some part of the harness, giving the im-
pression that you had a purpose in stopping
him. Do not allow him to start until you tell
him he can go. Teach him that at all times it
is your will, not his, which must be obeyed.

The importance of the above lesson well im-
planted in the colt’s memory will be better un-
derstood and appreciated when I say that not
once, but very many times, has the writer dur-
ing his varied career with horses escaped seri-
ous injury, and he believes that he owes his
life to-day to the thorough instruction his
colts have received in this branch of their edu-
cation. The following examples, happening
as they did in public, will no doubt be recog-
nized in this connection, although times and
places are not given. They will serve to show
the inestimable value in times of peril and dan-
ger of the firm establishment of this early and
simple lesson on the bed-rock of the colt’s
memory.

It happened on a half-mile track in a neigh-
boring town at the finish of a workout mile.

ot

Although the mile was slow, the accident
came at the finish, when one of the most reso-
lute, determined and high-strung horses I have
ever driven was at the very limit of his speed,
which was not slower than a 2:10 gait. A
sound like the rattling of a bolt caught my ear,
and before I could speak I was down with a
smashed sulky wheel, and braces. The pro-
fessional will tell you that any accident by
which the wheels of the sulky should come off
or go down, would find the frame resting for
support on the hind legs of the animal he was
driving, the driver on the seat with his legs
and feet elevated to an angle of 45 degrees or
more. He will also tell you that there is not
one horse in ten thousand, that under the
same conditions would not either attempt to
run away or kick himself free. The fate of a
driver in such a ‘‘ mix-up,’’ with a horse dis-
posed to be mean, can be better imagined than
described. Although but one of my wheels
was down it left me in a position even more
precarious than that I have described, Had

c¢

«

32

he kicked I was a mark he could not miss. He
was terribly frightened, and when I saw the
blood gushing from a long deep wound in his
ankle, with one of the steel braces still boring
it, I do not hesitate to say I trembled with
fear lest he should not heed my voice, and the
old lessons taught him in his earlier days
would not avail me at this critical time. But
like the noble animal he was then and is to-
day, he heard and obeyed, and almost sup-
porting the sulky frame with the weight of
the driver on his bruised and bleeding ankle,
he came to a stop within thirty paces and
waited until I could get off. Do not think
that in unhitching and freeing him from the
wreck I failed in telling him what he was, and
I have never doubted that he understood and
appreciated every word I said.

Another time in a race, from the force of a
collision and fall of the horse, I was thrown
violently to the ground. Getting up in asome-
what dazed condition, I found my horse stand-

33

ing with one of his fore feet caught in the
wheel of a smashed sulky in front of him, the
driver and horse to which it belonged being
spread out on the ground, he tried, but could
not loosen his foot, and with no hand to re-
strain him, he was ready to plunge forward
into the wreck ahead. With his own sulky
broken and gouging him, his foot in a sling, is
it any wonder he was frightened ; but I spoke
to him in time, in a language and tones he un-
derstood, and that he had been taught to obey,
and he responded, and waited with scarcely a
struggle until I could come to his assistance.

We will suppose your pupil to have been
driven every day for two weeks with the lines,
and if you have done your work well, and he
is a fairly intelligent scholar, he should now
be ready to take the last lesson in the course,
which consists in teaching him to draw some
kind of a vehicle. Fora long time, during my
early days in the business, I allowed my men
and did myself give this lesson, by hitching

rf

34

directly to a cart or sleigh, but never with suc-
cess. It is true we ‘‘ broke’’ them, but many
times at the expense not only of property, but
of some of the best qualities in both horse and
man. ‘To obviate trouble and simplify this
part of the work, I designed ‘‘ The Dummie’’ -
and put it together in about 20 minutes. This
is the most valuable accessory to a trainer’s
outfit for breaking and educating colts I have
ever known. ‘To manufacture this simple de-
vice requires two twelve foot poles (hickory is
the best), three inches in diameter at the butt
end, tapering to one inch at the topend. The
poles should be stayed and braced three feet
apart at the butt, running like a pair of ordi-
nary shafts to within 18 inches of each other
at the front end. The braces at the butt can
extend over about three feet of the poles. To
some part of the bracing, attach a strap or
small rope with snap in the end with which to
connect the tugs extending from the breast
collar on the colt. Bevel the under side of the
poles at the butt end to allow of their easier

35
manipulation in all the different turns it is suré
to take. If you have been thorough in your
instruction up to this time, your pupil should
be well mannered and disposed to obey; not
afraid of you, but confident and trustful, ready
to stop and start only at your command.
With the ‘‘ Dummie,’’ as with the harness,
hold it up for him to look at and smell of. Drop
it on the barn floor, not too close to him at
first, but where he can see and hear, all the
time coming nearer as you see he is getting
accustomed to the sounds. His past expe-
rience and acquaintance has been such that
he thinks he has nothing to fear from you, no
matter what you show, and he will very soon
allow you to drop it very near him and make
all the noise you wish, and will stand quietly
while you hitch him to the ‘‘Dummie.’’ I
wish to emphasize in this connection the im-
portance in hitching a colt (even after you
have him well broken), of always having hold
of the lines. Never allow the lines out of your
hand or off your arm from the time you take

36

them down, after putting on the harness, until
you have him unhitched and clear from what-
ever vehicle you may have been driving to.

A wealthy man, a breeder in a small way,
from the northern part of the State, drove into
‘my barn one day, and among other things, he
said, ‘‘ Have you a system for the breaking
and handling of colts and horses? If you
have, and can show that it has any practical
value, I will pay you well for your trouble,
and any ideas I may get in the demonstration.’’
And then for an hour he entertained and
amused me witha graphic discription of his
experience with different trainers, and one in
particular, whose work he described, I will
give here as nearly as I can, in the words in
which it was related. As it represents the
other side of the picture or theory of handling
horses, I will leave it to the reader to deter-
mine their comparative value :

‘He was a typical cowboy in appearance,
but as he came well recommended from his for-

a7
mer employer, I felt sure that I had the real
article. I endeavored to draw him out several
times in explanation of his methods, etc., of
breaking colts and handling them for speed,
but as he did not appear disposed to talk on
the subject, I placed him as one who could put
his ideas into practice better than words. My
confidence was such that it was six months
from the time he began work before I had an
opportunity of witnessing his unexplainable
methods of colt breaking. With the help of
two assistants, he was hitching to a cart a
large, powerful and high bred three year old
filly, one that, he told me, had bothered some
at first, but was improving very fast, and
would soon do to take into town for the own-
er’s pleasure driving, and he also stated that
he believed her to be a race horse. They
hitched her, facing the doors opening to a
sharp descent, over a bridge, through a drive-
way, thence with a sharp turn to a gate into
the highway. When all was ready, the order
was given and the mare released. At first I

38

thought she would not go at all; she reared
and swerved first to one side of the barn and
then the other. Believing that ‘ self-preserva-
tion is the first law of nature,’ I ‘ ducked’ for
the yard, not any too soon, and I then beheld
such an exhibition of wild driving as would
put to shame the most daring performer
in Buffalo Bill’s aggregation. Going out
of the barn on a run, with a succession of
jumps, plunges and dives, he cleared all the
openings, and on one wheel of the cart made
the turn for the highway and disappeared
from sight on a run, exhibiting all the race
horse qualities he had claimed. As the smoke
and dust cleared away, I said to the assistant,
‘That mare isn’t what you would calla real
good behaved one, is she?’ He replied, ‘She
is acting good, now; you should have seen her
the first time she was hitched.’ I said to him,
‘William, this farm covers a territory of about
three hundred acres of ground ; it has been in
my family for more than a hundred years; it
is apart of me, and having traveled every foot

39

of it by daylight, by moonlight, and by no
light at all, I know it as I know myself. Let
me say to you, my boy, if that first lesson
beats the one now in the works, I am not sorry
that I did not see it. I feel that I have had a
narrow escape, and knowing the place as I do,
I cannot think of a tree within its boundaries
in which I would feel safe from the Professor
and his pupils.” I grow chilly when I think
of meeting him on my return, although I
think he will not be back to-night ; but in this
I was mistaken, as I met my trainer, or a man
I took to be him, with a mask of dust and
blood on his face, leading a lame horse, and
further along I found the cart a total wreck,
by the side of the road, near to where he had
collided with a loaded team. ‘Thankful it was
no worse, I went to my home that night firmly
resolved to either abandon the business of
breeding entirely, or give it some personal at-
tention.’’ .

The above is possibly an extreme case, but
it was interesting in the narrative, as it para-

40

lelled scenes that the writer has many times
witnessed during his experience in the busi-
ness.

An object appearing suddenly to a colt is
generally what frightens him the most. Be
careful about using the whip at such times, it
will only add to the trouble. Whenever he
sees anything of which he is afraid, drive him
slowly and carefully, but firmly toward the
object and show him he has nothing to fear.

If you aim to raise a trotter and race horse,
breed the best mare you own or can afford to
buy, a mare great as an individual and by in-
heritance, to some stallion that is a race horse
himself, and has demonstrated his value as a
sire of race horses. Break the offspring ac-
cording to the foregoing rules. When you
have him well broken, put on him a pair of
quarter boots and scalpers; the latter by all
means. ‘They are more essential in gaiting a
colt than any horse boot known to the busi-
ness, Thousands of ‘‘hitchers’’ have been

4I

started by incompetent handlers, too lazy or
ignorant to suitably protect the colt at the very
spot where the gaiting process should begin.
Adjust the harness as you do your clothes, so
that it will fit and be comfortable. It is im-
portant to see that it does not chafe or irritate
him. ‘This quality to feel for your pupil is not
made, but born in a horseman. Adjust the bit
in the same way. Never use any devise what-
ever that is calculated to punish the colt
through his mouth without you are looking
for and inviting trouble. In developing and
educating for speed, ask the colt to go just
as fast as he can a few times for short dis-
tances every time you hitch him and can find
a smooth place. Do not confine this work to
the track or to a perfectly level spot. Avoid
everything that may become inonotonous or
tiresome to your pupil. Study him and his
characteristics, he may need a little more or a
little less work than you are giving. Be his
true and loyal friend, and always the teacher
whose willis law. If you find the colt in a

42

dull or sour condition, give him his regular
work without any attempt at speed. Encour-
age him always to a better effort. If he tries
and fails, or makes a mistake, talk to him
about it in a calm and confident tone, and
don’t get it into your head that he cannot un-
derstand you. ‘This is one of the greatest er-
rors young men make in not treating their pu-
pils as being able to understand the English
language. If he tries and succeeds, the colt
knows it himself and does not need your coun-
sel. If he is the kind that wont try, then
make him. Do not lose your patience and
twitch and yank him, no matter what the
provocation, and be careful of the whip; it is
a dangerous implement in the hands of a quick
tempered man. ‘The writer makes no claim
to angelic qualities or disposition. He recalls
a time when he drove a four year old filly
straight to the barn, and without unhitching
threw down the lines, went away and stayed
until he felt he could control himself, then
went back, sat down and studied for half an

43

hour, found the trouble and successfully con-
tinued her training. Remember, that the race
horse does not live of any age that is every day
alike, so rate your treatment of the COLT ac-
cordingly. When your pupil begins to show
that he understands what you want of him,
and has the ability to comply, carefully
watch him, for as he increases his speed he
may strike himself in some spot which must
be cared for at once. From this stage the im-
provement should be rapid, and just how
much speed and race horse qualities the colt
will develop depends not wholly, but very
much on the patience, perseverance and judg-
ment of his trainer. In all cases time will be
saved and ultimate success more assured, by
removing the shoes from the two or three year
old and allowing him a run to grass ina pad-
dock during the month of June, where the soil
is of a soft, loamy nature. In continuance of
the training from this.stage, supposing your
pupil to have the required amount of speed,
if he wins any money it will be necessary for

44

him to carry that speed “a mile. With this in
view, I have trained my colts to go away, or
score just as fast as they are capable for the
first sixteenth, then slowing them to an easy
jog, and finishing the last sixteenth to the
very limit of their speed ; gradually and syste-
matically increasing the distance of speed at
both ends, thus lessening the intervening
space according to the colt’s condition as he
may attain strength to perform. This is a del-
icate task for even the most experienced men
in the business, and calls for all the qualities
you possess.

REMEMBER, the colt’s mouth, as a rule, is
what you make it. Teach him to drive with
alight hand. No puller, in this age of ex-
treme speed, will do.

I will give in this connection one more ex-
ample, or illustration, which may serve to
illumine the lettering on the guide-board I
would erect, pointing out the road to success,
through a closer bond of sympathy and under-

45

standing between horse and man. Without
fear of contradiction, where the horse is
known, I will say that no greater, better be-
haved, gamer, or more consistent race horse
ever lived than Timepiece, 2:104%. Beginning
his racing career as a two year old, he was out
for the money each following year for seven
continuous years, winning the most, and fight-
ing all his races from early Spring to the last
days of October.

The writer makes no claims to any credit
for what honors Timepiece may have achieved
as a race horse. At the time of which I write
I had in my employ a young man who, had he
seen fit to continue in the business, and give it
his thoughtful care and attention, had quali-
ties which would have placed him in the very
front rank of his profession. ‘Timepiece owes
it to this young man’s patience, perseverence
and good judgment, that he was not discarded
as worthless for any purpose whatever. Over-
flowing with grit, determination and speed, at

46

the age of three years this colt passed through
a stage in his career which was critical in the
extreme ; although it was only of a few days
duration, it marked the junction of the roads
that lead to failure or success, and proved an
epoch in the career of both horse and the cool-
headed boy who, with unerring hand guided
him straight, and brought out the very best
qualities in his nature. For some unaccount-
able reason this colt one day deliberately re-
fused to score, or speed towards the starting
point, where his miles should begin. He
would shake his head, swerve first to one side of
the track and then the other, finally going for-
ward at a gait that would puzzle a man more
capable than the author of this book to de-
scribe. Perhaps the nearest to a description
of this newly acquired gait would be to repeat
what the man said to a local judge, before
whom he had been arraigned in court on a
charge of intoxication and unlawfully running
his horse through the streets. When asked
what he had to say in his defense, he replied,

47

‘“Judge, did you think that horse of mine was
running, if so you are mistaken; I live near
to Cloverland Stock Farm, and can tell you
that is a new gait we are teaching our colts,
and we call it ‘Hoppy-to-pace.’’’ In telling
me the story, the judge said he never knew
how he preserved the dignity of his office.
Well, ‘‘ Hoppy-to-pace’’ it was for Timepiece
until I turned away in disgust, after a two
weeks’ trial of patience, which I believed should
be the limit, and so expressed myself at the
time, recommending severe measures: I was
met with the plea to allow the work to continue,
with the responsibility for good or evil to rest
with the trainer; and how he _ succeeded,
Timepiece’s record of good behavior during
his seven years of racing will show.

I would say in conclusion, that animals, like
men, differ very much in disposition as well as
in intelligence, and in their early education
and discipline, as with human beings, that
system should prevail by which you can in

48

the simplest manner reach the understanding,
not of one, but any of the various tempera-
ments of the breed. While there may be oth-
er methods equally as good for the handling
and training of colts, there are none more sim-
ple and sure of success for the amateur than
those outlined between the covers of this little
book. In such a degree as colts are unlike in
disposition and intelligence, so will they differ
in their manner of receiving their instructions,
and no rule but that of common sense can be
laid down for the man who attempts their edu-
cation.

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