LIB RARY OF CON GRESS. ©lap-.S'.^^^ngi^t f 0. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. \ X •X THE HORSEMAN'S POCKET BOOK: CONTAINIX(; A COtLETE GUIDE TO HORSEMANSHIP BY SAMUEL T. GARDNER, No. 213 East Eighth Street, WihTih-igton, Dc '^ '" '• Wisdom is better tha (I JAN 1*7 13^4 :/ WII.M.NGT0'4D^L.¥0"*-^-<*-'^-^.'^f HUBERT A. ROOP, pfelNTfiRi'iASl^ ' No. 2 West Third Street. Copyrighted December 20th, 1883, Bv Samuel T. Gakdner. A// rights rcSi'Tved. INTR0DUCTI(3N. The object of this httle book is, to show just how to break any horse by the most humane treatment, and make him a most docile and obedient creature. It is the best apphcation of wisdom to the subju- gation of brute force, and is worth its weight in gold . It gives you a superior method for the manage- ment of Colts, from their first handling, to perfectly safe driving. It also gives an infallible method for the curing of all wrong habits into which the horse, through improper care and management, may have fallen. Further — It measurably provides against certain constitutional diseases and tendencies. Many, if not most of these methods, are entirely new, and have originated with the author, who for the first time has committed them to the press. 4 A horse is by for, the most vaUiable of all ani- mals — Man's best servant and Ood's best domes- tic gift. Man was made to rule, the cattle to be in sub- jection. "Behold we put bits in the horse's mouths, that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body ^ ^ ^ For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed and hath been tamed of mankind." Jas. 3- 3-7- We do this without any pow-wowing or drugging ; it is simply skill in finding out the wants of the horse, and in the mechanical appliances by which those wants are fullv met. f GENERAL RULES TO BE OBSERVED. FIRST. Vou must master yourself, if you would become the master of your horse. Do not get into a passion. This will frighten the animal, and make your task more difiPicult. SECOND. Speak in a low tone of voice. Disregarding this rule, will have the same retarding effect as disre- garding the former. You will find, all things else being equal, that those teamsters and drivers who speak barely loud enough to be heard, have the best command of their teams. THIRD. Have courage to undertake the breaking of your own horse, for it is not likely you will find in another, all the virtues necessary to the task To gain knowledge, is to gain confidence ; so when you shall have made the directions of this little book yours, you will hardly be doubtful of success. FOURTH. Persevere in your efforts until you succeed. Possibly the horse may hold out longer than you at first supposed, though it is likely he will submit, sooner than you anticipated ; but go in to conquer, and make no calculation as to the time he ma\ hold out, and you are sure of success. There mav be no apparent improvement up to the moment of complete submission. FIFTH. Remember always, not to trust your horse too far. One submission is not a cure. You must not trust him until you know that his evil habit is broken and destroyed. It may show your skill to trust your horse very soon, and very far, but it does not exhibit your pru- dence. SIXTH. Be kind to the animal in all your efforts. No where is kindness more appreciated and beneficial than by the instinctive horse. He delights to obey a kind master. We seldom use a whip, and it may be our own fault that a single recommendation is given in these pages for its sharp application, but even then it is recommended for but a short time. SEVENTH. Do not presume that you can break up a bad habit in a horse, or even think you can proper!) break a colt, until you have read carefully this en- tire book, and are prepared to apply its instructions. Make it therefore a book of study, and carry it in your pocket when there is a possibility for its need. SPECIAL RULES P\')R THE UNBROKEN COLT. Section L — The Colt s/tould not be Frightened. It is well, if you raise your own colt, to exercise ;i vigilance over him, so as to prevent vices which are sometimes imparted under unfortunate circum- stances to the unbroken colt, and developed more fully in his subsequent life. Let no one strike, strike at, or throw at your colt, P2 very thing of the kind has a tendency to produce wildness, and this is a very dangerous characteristic, as it makes him more easily frightened, and in case of an accident the more likely to do serious damage. Sec. \\.— To Bridle the Colt. A colt ought to be taught to lead by the halter in his first months, so that he may never be com- pelled to test his more mature strength. Should this be deferred until his powers are fully developed, he may use them to your disadvantage, and he may know from experience what he should never learn. Keep him ignorant of his great strength, except when that strength is fully under your con- trol. If you have accustomed him to the halter, you will probably have no trouble in bridling him. The stable is the best place to do this. You can approach him from either side ; if from the left, which seems a little more convenient, take your bridle in your left hand, catch him with your right hand at the fore-top or mane, as near the fore-top as possible, pass the head-stall of the bridle to the right hand at the fore-top, and let the sides of the head stall be let down on the sides of his face until the bit comes over his nose, put your left hand under his chin with the tip of your fingers in his mouth on the right side, being careful that they are back of his nipper teeth, or he may bite you, put your thumb of the left hand on the bit and gently press it into his mouth, and thus pull the head-stall back of his ears and the brow-band in front of his ears, and lastly, fasten the throat latch, and you have him bridled. The foregoing Section is only necessary to those who are unaccustomed to bridling a horse. Section \\\.— To lead the Colt. Your first work is to teach him to lead. Here again, you will have no trouble if he has lead well by the halter. Should he prove a litde refractory and fly back, do not pull him steadily forward, but incline him to first one side and then the other, and after a little while you will most likely lead him as you please. If you wish him to lead along- side, or after another horse, or behind a carriage, you must either put on him the rope war bridle, (described in Section ii), and give him some les- sons with it before taking him out, or you must take a long line and bring the ends together, take the loop end, make a crupper, give it two or three twists and put it under his tail, being careful to stand on one side, so as to prevent him from kick- ing you, then take each of the single ends, and run them through his bridle rings, one on each side, tie the ends together, and if you are on horse back, put this over your horse's neck, and go graduallv forward, and the colt must follow you. This line we shall often refer to as the crupper line. Section IV. — To Subdiie the Colt. Perhaps there is no more rapid way of subduing a colt than to lay him down. This you can do by taking from your carriage harness a backing strap. Take up the left foot, place the buckle of your strap between the fet-lock and the foot on the out- side of the foot, now take one or two wraps, and then pass the end of your strap over the leg and buckle together so tightly that he cannot get his foot down. Now lead him on, and make him hop on three feet. It is much better to tire a colt a little lO in this way than to adopt the old plan of riding or driving him down, besides it wonderfully subdues. But after exercising him a spell in this way, put a rope around the right foot, with the left still strapped up, and throw your line over the horse's neck, now go on the left side, and take hold of the rope and give it a tight draw, at the same time urging him forward. In this way you take up the other foot. Hold him firmly and he will come on his knees, and after making a few more efforts to rise, he will rest on his knees and let you put your shoulder against his hip and push him over. While down, pat him gently and speak kindly to him, handle his feet and legs and convince him that you do not want to hurt him, but that you are only compelling him to obey you. By unloosing the strap you can let him get up, and after a little while lay him down again. You may continue to throw him at intervals, until at your command, he will get down for you without strap or rope. Section V. — -To take the Fright out of a Colt. While down, you can bring anything at which lie is easily frightened, let him see it, smell at it, and if it be a soft substance, you can touch him with it. If a buffalo robe, you can put it on him, rub it over him, wrap him in it as far as possible, and even throw it in the air and let it fall on him. II You can bring a wheelbarrow or a push cart right up to him, but be careful never to hurt him as you are trying to gain his confidence, and you will soon succeed by this method. Often repeat these les- sons, and they will greatly enhance the value of your colt. With one foot strapped up, you can handle the feet and legs of your colt, though he may have ac- quired the vicious habit of kicking at you at every opportunity. Section VI. — To teach the Colt to stand Hitched, Put on him the crupper line as in Section 3, or the war bridle, as in Section 11, take a wrap or two around a substantial post or tree, and shake an umbrella at him, and make him fly back ; after trying this once or twice, you will probably be un- able to get him to try it again. But if you are using the crupper line, be sure to keep from near his heels, as he may be so frightened by the crup- per as to kick, but not striking anything, it will do him no harm. You can, however, prevent the kicking by strappijig up one fore foot, and hitching him as above. Section VII. — To drive the Colt before hooking him to the Buggy. No colt should be hooked to the buggy imme- 12 diately after first putting on the harness. Vou must be careful not to expect your colt to get ac- customed to too many new things at once, this is too much for him to learn in such brief time. To wear the harness is enough for one lesson, drive him around with it on him, and if he is afraid of it strap up the foot and drive him with the lines, until he is quiet and willing to go quietls' on his three feet ; rattle the harness around him and let it fall against his legs, while his foot is up, and also if you think he will bear it, with his limbs all in use. Do not be in a hurry to hook the colt to the buggy until he gets thoroughly familiar with the harness. Then you had better use a sulkey. be- cause it turns easier and cannot get its wheels locked if the colt backs. Spxtiox Vni. — To make tJie Colt go or stop. If you use a whip be sure to simply touch your colt as an intimation of what you wish him to do, and he will generally go ahead ; but if he would not move for this, I would put on him the war l^ridle, described in Section ii.and the foot strap, and tug him heavily first on one side and then on the other, until he moves at my will to follow me, But be sure not to go ahead and pull steadily ; this will be almost sure to fail, but drawing him sud- denly to one side, he must either come, if his foot 13 is up, or fall, rather than fall he will come. Then drive him with a chirp and teach him to stop at the sound of the word Ho. To teach a horse to stop is one of the most important lessons you can give him. Should he get frightened in harness, you want him to stop at your command, and he must do so or do you damage. The War Bridle is the best thing to make him stop whenever you say ho to him, give him a strong jerk and he will soon learn that he must stop at the word ho. Give him many lessons of this kind, and you have a colt that will stop when you tell him. no matter what accident may happen. You have perhaps seen otherwise sensible persons whip their horse to make him stand ; this is most foolish. Section IX. — To harness and hook the Colt to the Sulkey. See that your harness is so strong that the colt cannot break it. Put it on in the usual way, but be sure to hook your traces before fastening your holdbacks, and further, be sure to put your hold- backs beneath your traces. This is very impor- tant for two reasons : first, if the traces go through the holdbacks, they will be constantly sawing the loops ; second, if the horse should rear with the trace, either beneath or through the holdbacks, the trace would carrv up the breeching and get it 3 H under the horse's tail, and when he comes down, he must either break your harness or your shafts. Strap up one fore foot to prevent kicking, this will be sufficient, unless the colt has contracted the habit of kicking, then you must resort to other means mentioned under Section 21. Drive slowly, and for some time in a walk, and if you venture to trot him a little, stop as soon as he gets frightened. You break your colt faster with slow driving than with fast driving. If the colt tries to run, do not try to hold him by steady pulling, but with snatching with one hand at a time, and alternately with right and left as rapidly as possibly. If you know how to do this, hardly any horse can run with you, no matter how hard may be his mouth. The foregoing are about all the direcdons necessary for the unbroken colt. He has not yet formed evil habits, and is much easier sub- dued than the spoiled horse, which must be con- trolled until the wrong habit is destroyed, and he must not be considered safe until this is the case. It is true, we can ride after him in safety, but he must be so hampered that he cannot do mis- chief if he would, and it is uncertain when he will make the attempt until he is fully cured. 15 SPECIAL RULES. IL Instructions How to Cure Bad Habits in Spoiled Horses. Section X. — To cure a Horse of Rearing. Should your horse have acquired this ugly habit of rearing or standing on his hind feet, there is danger of breaking your harness or shafts, and frightening your horse by these breaks, and in- ducing him to kick or to run off with you. You should therefore be very careful to harness and hook your horse to the sulky according to the 9th Section, for breaking colts. As a preventive, take a line, find the middle and place it across the horse's back, let the ends drop down his sides ; then take each of these ends and run them between his fore legs, putting the end on the right side through the right bridle-ring, and the one on the left side through the left bridle-ring ; now take- back the ends of the lines, and you have a Rear- ing Shding Martingale ; with this you can draw his head as far down toward his breast as you mav wish. Do this when he is inclined to rear, and ease up when he ceases. i6 S?:cTiox XI. — To cure the Horse of the habit of Boltmg or Runiimg off. No horse is so dangerous as a runaway. If he kicks and breaks your carriage, it is not likely that he will hurt you, provided you remain in your seat, and it is probable he will soon free himself by kicking. But a runaway horse is so frightened generally that he will run against a fence, tree, house, or anything that stands in his way. You can hardly guide him so as to keep him out of the ditches, and you are likely at any moment to be killed. Take a line and tie it either to the right or left fore foot, as may be most convenient to use ; run the other end through the hame ring alongside of your driving rein, and take it back with you in the carriage. This is the Safety Foot Rein, with it you can at any time put your horse while moving on three feet by pulling tightly on this line. In addition to this, you may put on the Double War Bridle. This is made by making a half knot about three feet from the end of a line, put that part between the knot and the end around the neck of your horse, making another half knot in the end of the part going around the neck, open the loop of the first half knot and put the second knot through it and draw the loop tight, just as you would tie vour horse around the neck ; then put the long 17 part of the line back toward the horse's shoulders, and run your hand through the rope around the neck, and catch the double of the long part, and pull it through to the horse's mouth, and let that loop go in the mouth as a bridle bit ; lastly, tighten the long end of the line which runs back through that around the neck and you have the Single War Bridle, To make the Double War Bridle, you have only to add to the single another loop simi- lar to the first. To do this, tie the long end of your line at the knot around the neck and pass another loop to the mouth, being careful that the reins of your double bridle shall come on different sides of the mouth and neck of your horse. You must keep these so tight that the horse cannot spit them out. This Double War Bridle is useful also in curing the kicking horse. Section XII. — To cure the habit of Jiunpmg Fences. This habit is not so common now as it once was, when bad fences made a temptation to the horse to try his leaping powers, but still there are a few horses that cannot be kept in the pasture. Get a small chain from the blacksmith, about 12 inches long, shorter for very bad horses, longer for those not so mischievous ; have him make you two triangular links for the ends, go to a harness maker and ask him to make you two straps long enough to buckle varound the horse's legs just above the tet-lock, have a piece of soft leather put on the inside of the strap, and after running the straps through the triangular rings, sew this soft leather over the rings to prevent chafing the legs ; buckle around each fore leg just above the fetlock, one of these straps, and you have the legs buckled together. This is a Chain Hobble ; you can now turn out your horse, as he comes down, after get ting over the fence, he must balance himself on his fore feet to get over his hind feet, to do this, the fore feet must be a good distance apart, and one in advance of the other. To make your work doubly sure you may put on a haltar and tie the rein as short as you see fit to the middle of the chain, and you may defy any horse thus hampered to jump. Section XIII. — To cure the habit of being hard to catch. . Put on your Chain Hobble as in Section 12, and you can go up to your horse when you please. Now if you will take a little oats or corn, two or three times a day, and go into the pasture, feed and pet him, he will soon appreciate your kind- ness, and will return it in love for you. Then you can take off the hobble and catch him without dif- ficulty, being careful to conceal your bridle. Section XIV. — To aire a horse of breaking his bridle. A horse that breaks his bridle is apt to do other mischief; when he gets loose, he may run off with the carriage, and possibly wreck those he meets, or overtakes on the road. No horse should be tied in the usual way i. e., with a rein running direct from the bridle ring to the hitching post. The reason why this should not be done, if the horse flies back, and your rein is stronger than the head- stall of your bridle, he will break the head-stall, then off comes the bridle and your horse, if not under excellent command, will become frightened and rim off, but put it under the chin and through the other ring to the post, in this way there is very little strain on the head-stall, while the sliding rein clamps the chin and makes it more painful for the horse to set back, yet this is not cure. If your horse is spoiled in this way, you must loose him from the carriage, and put on him the crupper line, in Section 3, and when he behaves well, you can put it on him while to the buggy. Do this until he is fully cured. Section XV. — To cure the horse of Slow Walking. We believe that most horses get into the habit of slow walking, because they are permitted to walk so little. To improve his walking, you must there- fore walk him as much as possible, and urge him 20 to his best walking speed. If you persevere, you may expect good results, surprising even to your- self. Section XVI. — To cure a horse of Fast Walking. Horses walk too fast only for certain kinds of work, as ploughing, for instance. When first ap- plied to cure a horse of this habit, we thought there was no remedy, but now we think there is. Put on him the Chain Hobble, as in Section 12, though long enough to enable him to make a moderate step, and we think you can make him as slow as you wish, but be very quiet with him after you take off the hobble, and if he goes too fast again, put it on as before. Continue until a cure is effected. Section XVII. — To cio'e a horse of Unwillingness to Back. Put on him the Double War Bridle, as in Section II. If you cannot, with heavy tugs, make him back, let two try, and if both fail, let the War Bri- dle rein be long enough to pass along the sides of the obstinate horse, and become traces for another horse true to pull, turn their tails toward each other, and put your double rein over the true horse's breast, and start him forward, while you command the other to back, and he will be sure to back this time. Practice until you cure him. 21 Section* XVIII. — To cute a horse of fear of a Buffalo Robe. If the horse is not too fearful, you may throw him, and use the robe as directed for the colt, in Section 5, but occasionally you will find one so very much frightened, that it seems a pity to pro- ceed in this way. In such a case proceed as fol- lows: Hang the robe on the fence, and put on the common bridle, and lead the timid horse toward it as near as you can, which may not be nearer than a hundred feet, turn him toward the right and then toward the left, endeavoring each time to get a lit- tle nearer, but often he will fly back, and you will be further off; but continue your work calmly and patiently, and you will make progress, and at length you will get near enough to reach out your hand and touch the robe, do this and let the horse smell the hand ; if you can lift the robe to his nose do so. When you get up in this way, lead him off and up again, off and up again ; then take your robe under your arm and lead your horse, now go to the oat bin or the corn crib, and get a little grain. Wrap that grain in the robe, carry it to him and spread it out for him to eat off the robe. When he finishes that, go and get a little more in the same way and give him, and if you do this a few times, your horse will whicker when he sees the robe 4 and follow you around the lot seeing nothing but the robe under your arm. You can now gently lay him down and wrap him in the robe. Fre- quent practice thus will soon entirely cure him. The author once owned a horse so much afraid of a robe, that on coming near it she would groan like a human being, and yet it took less than the half of an afternoon to get that animal to follow me round the lot with the robe under my arm and whickering after it. Section XIX. — To cure the horse of Lolling out his Tongue. Get a twig from a cedar and tie it to the ring of the bridle-bit on the side on which the tongue is protruded so as to come in contact with the tongue every time it passes beyond the mouth. Section XX. — To cure a horse of Balking. Nothing that a horse does is so aggravating as this, but it would be less so if the driver understood the reason why the horse balked. Mr Rarey gave the author the first light on this subject. He said in substance: The horse balks because he docs not think he can pull the load. If it be said the load is light, he (Rarey) replied, but the horse can- not reason and only knows by actual test. This lead us to conclude that if we convince him he can 23 pull the load, he will pull it every time. Now how shall he be taught this ? Not by whirling him as some of the best educators in other respects have taught, but put on him the harness, also the single War Bridle, as in Section 1 1, strap up one fore foot, take the end of your line and go on one side and tell him to come, applying the line with a heavy jerk as you speak, then on the other side in the same way, speaking and jerking heavily until he comes every time you tell him ; then take off your breech strap and run them through the eyes of your traces, and tie the straps together and let a man take hold of these straps behind the horse, and hold back gently at first, while you make him come with your line, and as he pulls more willingly, increase the holding back, and soon he will carry the man. You can, after a little hook on to a log, but be sure not to whip him, if he refuses, you must help him pull, and apply your line. If you touch him at all, it must be on the back part of the fore leg with a stiff switch. Keep up these lessons until he is true every time, then hook him to a light buggy, but do not attempt to ride at first, but go ahead with your line, then you may walk by his side as he improves, and when he seems all right, you can venture to get in as he walks along, but should he stop, get out and use your line again. Do this every time he balks, and you will per- 24 haps see him start as you get out. Continue this and you will break the worst balker that can be found. Increase very gradually your load, and if at any time the horse thinks it too heavy, oblige him by taking off. If you want to know how to get along by an easier process, we will give you that also ; we can do it best by giving you a hard case : A mule team having a horse in lead, frequently came to town with a load of lumber. We had often noticed one of the mules balk, and the whip was applied un- mercifully ; the other two could scarcely drag the balking mule and the empty wagon out of town. The last time we ever saw that mule balk, we said to the driver, "don't strike him, but let us manage him." He readily consented, and the eager crowd gathered around to see our failure. We called for trace ropes, tied them together making traces for the horse in the lead, and long enough to go back to the tail of the balking mule, these traces forming one continuous line around the mule : we then gave a couple of twists at the doubled end and put it under the tail of the mule, with the twists of the ropes on his back, the traces then parted from the back of the mule right and left, and ran through his bridle rings and fastened to the traces of the leader. Then came the fun. We gave the driver the signal to start the team ; the trace ropes through 25 the bridle rin