Book Description

Excerpt from A Practical Guide to the Breaking and Training of the Young Horse My object is to instruct my readers as briefly, and as plainly as the subject will admit of, in the best method of training and riding young horses. The horse, by nature, is a gentle and complying creature, and resists rather from fear than obstinacy bearing this in mind, we must always endeavour to assure him, and give him confidence; and therefore, the colt cannot be treated with too much kindness, accompanied by caution and firm ness. The groom can do something to assist the rider in this respect, for much of the horse's training depends upon his treatment in the stable; the person also to whom his train ing is entrusted, should be accustomed to horses, and not one that would be frightened at every start they may make, for many who are not aware of the natural timidity of colts, alarm them by their own fears, in the way they approach them; and as they soon perceive these fears, they will take the earliest advantage of them, by endeavouring to prevent any one from coming near them for, the horse is very sagacious, even when young, and watches every movement about him, and will soon distinguish fear from firmness in his attendant, or rider; therefore he cannot be deceived by assumed boldness, or by angry words but, on the contrary, if you treat him with kindness, and when you touch him, lay the hand on him with firmness, and speak gently to him, he will soon become attached and friendly, which is the first thing you should attempt to secure, since those he is most familiar with and accustomed to, he will be the least alarmed at, and will have the most confidence in. The fewer persons about him the better. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.