. Country life reader . NG IN THE COLT Down the field comes the colt, tail erect, neck arched,prancing as if he could not restrain his glee and ! There he is at the fence, standing stock-still, star-ing at a passing wagon. Little he thinks that soon he,too, will be put to drawingloads ! Yet even now it is timeto begin breaking in the colt. When should the colts train-ing begin? In the very firstyear of his fife. What, yousay, put a tiny little colt, nota year old, in harness! No,but begin to train him while heis still a very small colt nursingby his mothers side. If we per-mit him
. Country life reader . NG IN THE COLT Down the field comes the colt, tail erect, neck arched,prancing as if he could not restrain his glee and ! There he is at the fence, standing stock-still, star-ing at a passing wagon. Little he thinks that soon he,too, will be put to drawingloads ! Yet even now it is timeto begin breaking in the colt. When should the colts train-ing begin? In the very firstyear of his fife. What, yousay, put a tiny little colt, nota year old, in harness! No,but begin to train him while heis still a very small colt nursingby his mothers side. If we per-mit him to run wild until hehas reached his full strength,and then try to saddle and bridlehim by force, we shall not havea gentle, well-trained horse. Let the colt be handled fromthe first by different persons, so as to make him fearless. Teach him to feed from yourhand; to allow his feet to be handled; to be led toand fro by the forelock; to endure a hand placed on hisback; to permit you to pat and caress him. Never pun- i6s. Staring at a passing wagon. 166 COUNTRY LIFE READER ish him at this stage, but keep sugar or apples in yourpocket and reward him whenever he does as you wish. As he grows a little older, strap a pad on his back fora few hours every day—then stirrup leathers with thestirrups attached. If you accustom him to danglingstraps he will be less likely to become frightened if theharness happens to break. When he is about a year old, the colts bit should beoccasionally put into his mouth, and shortly after this,he should be walked in a circle, with a long rein attachedto the bit. By this means, teach him to moderate hispace—to come toward you, or to stop dead short at a wordfrom you. This will require time—and patience. When it is time to teach the colt to go in harness—and he should not be put to work until he is three and ahalf or four years old—put the harness on very carefully,making sure that it is strong and that it fits well. Lethim stand in his stall or
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