“All this operation is no magnetism, no galvanism; it is merely taking away the fear a horse generally has of a man, and familiarizing the animal with his master; as the horse doubtless experiences a certain pleasure from this handling, he will soon become gentle under it, and show a very marked attachment to his keeper.”

REMARKS ON POWEL’S TREATMENT HOW TO GOVERN HORSES OF ANY KIND.

These instructions are very good, but not quite sufficient for horses of all kinds, and for haltering and leading the colt; but I have inserted it here, because it gives some of the true philosophy of approaching the horse, and of establishing confidence between man and horse.  He speaks only of the kind that fear man.

To those who understand the philosophy of horsemanship, these are the easiest trained; for when we have a horse that is wild and lively, we can train him to our will in a very short time; for they are generally quick to learn, and always ready to obey.  But there is another kind that are of a stubborn or vicious disposition, and, although they are not wild, and do not require taming, in the sense it is generally understood, they are just as ignorant as a wild horse, if not more so, and need to be learned just as much; and in order to have them obey quickly, it is very necessary that they should be made to fear their masters; for, in order to obtain perfect obedience from any horse, we must first have him fear us, for our motto is fear, love, and obey; and we must have the fulfilment of the first two before we can expect the latter, and it is by our philosophy of creating fear, love and confidence, that we govern to our will every kind of a horse whatever.

Then, in order to take horses as we find them, or all kinds, and to train them to our likings, we will always take with us, when we go into a stable to train a colt, a long switch whip, (whale-bone buggy whips is the best,) with a good silk cracker, so as to cut keen and make a sharp report, which, if handled with dexterity, and rightly applied, accompanied with a sharp, fierce word, will be sufficient to enliven the spirits of any horse.  With this whip in your right hand, with the lash pointing backward, enter the stable alone.  It is a great disadvantage in training a horse, to have any one in the stable with you; you should be entirely alone, so as not to have nothing but yourself to attract his attention.  If he is wild you will soon see him in the opposite side of the stable from you; and now is the time to use a little judgement.  I would not want for myself, more than half or three-quarters of an hour to handle any kind of a colt, and have him running about in the stable after me; though I would advise a new beginner to take more time, and not to be in too much of a hurry.  If you have but one colt to gentle, and are not particular about the length of time you spend, and have not had any experience in handling colts, I would advise you