The management and treatment of the horse in the stable, field, and ...

In the Stable, Field, and on the Road. 27
used to it you can unloop the scabbard and let it have
full play. In a day or two it will make no objection to
carry it, when you can put the sword in, and use it to
be quietly drawn and replaced, and in a short time
with kind words and gentle usage you can draw the
sword with a sharp ring and it will take no notice.
Next you can proceed to wave the sword above its
head, and to cut, parry, and point, without your horse
moving a leg or ear. If you are rough and harsh with
the colt, you cannot teach it as much in a month as a
kind man can m three days. Our horse now knows
that the sword is not meant to hurt it, so we will now
use the pistol. We first accustom it to seeing us hold
out the pistol at arm's length, then we snap a cap. He
will start and prick his ears, and kind reassuring words
are now wanted. When you have quieted him, snap
another cap, and he will start again, but will not take
so much notice as at first, and in a short time you can
snap as many caps as you like without it taking any
notice. You must now place a very small quantity
of gunpowder in the pistol, to make a report a little
louder than the cap and cause a little smoke, and as your
colt gets used to the report you can increase it until you
get a full charge. When it will stand the use of the
pistol, you can then use the carbine, and the colt will
be now made a broken charger. We will next put it
into harness. It may not be required for harness, but
like man it cannot learn too much. Many horses are put
into harness before they are half broken to the saddle,
their owners being impatient, and often so parsimonious
that they will not allow the breaker time to teach the