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EUGENE SNOW 
 
Copyrighted 
 
Character Building 
 
 OR 
 
 What I Know About Breaking 
 
 and Training Colts and 
 
 <m Horses <m 
 
 BY 
 
 EUGENE SNOW, 
 
 CLOVERLAND STOCK FARM, 
 
 KNOXBORO, N. Y. 
 
 Copyright, 1905, by Eugene Snow, 
 
LIBRARY of OONGRESS 
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What I Know About Breaking auid 
 Training Colts and Horses 
 
 When I say that I have spent thirty years 
 of my life on a stock farm as a breeder and 
 owner of race, road and carriage horses, it 
 does not mean that the time has been wholly 
 spent in supervising or directing some one else 
 to do the work, but that I have at all times had 
 a practical hold of the business, working out 
 its problems and bringing them to a successful 
 issue, with my own hands breaking, train- 
 ing and otherwise educating and racing the 
 products of the farm. I believe I am the only 
 man living or dead who has raced horses, of 
 his own breeding and development, for 
 twenty-five consecutive years. Having no 
 other means of a livelihood, it may strike the 
 reader that this could not have been done 
 without a certain amount of success. For the 
 
benefit of any who may conclude that I am in 
 any sense of the term a ' ' has-been ' ' and too 
 old to do anything but write memoirs, I will 
 say that I am still on the meridian line of life 
 and am neither going nor dying out of the 
 business that has proven the source of very 
 much pleasure and not a little profit. As evi- 
 dence that I am abreast of the times, I offer 
 "Happy Bill," thought by many to be the 
 greatest two-year-old trotter that has yet ap- 
 peared. He was exhibited at the Oneida 
 County and New York State Fairs last fall, 
 stepping a half in 1:06, a quarter in 31^ and 
 an eighth in 15 seconds, officially timed in the 
 presence of thousands of spectators. 
 
 While the practical ideas I have formulated 
 between the covers of this little book are the 
 results of a long and varied experience with 
 high-bred, and many times very nervous ani- 
 mals, I do not say that they are wholly the 
 product of my own brain. They are none the 
 less valuable, however, and are intended more 
 
particularly for farmers, and others who may 
 breed one or two animals each year and have 
 not made the training of colts a study. They 
 do not throw any light on the treatment of 
 horses which have acquired vicious or ugly 
 habits, but are a sure preventive of such 
 habits, as my record of never having produced 
 a vicious horse will show. 
 
 By way of opening I will make three sug- 
 gestions : 
 
 i st. Break the colt when he is young, the 
 winter he is coming two. 
 
 2nd. Throw away the whip if you cannot 
 use it with discretion. 
 
 3rd. If you have an ungovernable temper 
 yourself don't try. 
 
CHARACTER BUILDING 
 
 The weanling should be in a large box 
 stall or shed when he takes his first lesson. 
 We find him usually in a semi-wild condition 
 in absolute fear of the being who now appears 
 before him as a would-be teacher, and in some 
 instances ready to fight him. Such a colt was 
 ' ' Happy Bill ' ' when I closed the door be- 
 tween him and the only friend he had known 
 up to that time — his mother. He faced me 
 with defiance and fear plainly written on his 
 countenance. I doubt if I had men enough in 
 my employ to, with safety for themselves and 
 the colt, force the halter upon him ; but in 
 less than three minutes I had it securely on 
 his head and he had scarcely moved from his 
 tracks. It was done by simply hanging a 
 common rope halter on the end of a twelve- 
 foot pole. On the side of the pole, very near 
 to the top end, had been driven two twelve 
 penny nails diagonally, one towards the top, 
 
the other towards the bottom of the pole so 
 that the heads of the nails would come very 
 nearly, if not quite together for the purpose 
 of holding and spreading the head-piece of the 
 halter, thus allowing for a large opening at 
 the noose end. Carefully raising the halter so 
 that his nose was well into the noose I turned 
 the pole, allowing the halter to drop into 
 position on his head. I then picked up the 
 lead rope and proceeded with his lesson, the 
 first principal of which consisted in teaching 
 him that instead of being an object to fear, I 
 was his friend, but at the same time his 
 master, I could have taught him to lead in 
 ten minutes, but I stayed with him an hour, 
 petted him and talked the same language that 
 I would to a little child whose confidence and 
 good will I wished to gain. I said the same 
 words and offered my caresses many times be- 
 fore they were accepted and understood, but 
 since that time he has rewarded me a hundred 
 fold for the little time and patience I gave to 
 him in that first lesson. That lesson was 
 
IO 
 
 really the establishment of a character, which 
 to-day is a model of all that is good in a horse. 
 While I could describe many similar instances 
 in my experience with colts at this age which 
 might be interesting and instructive and tend 
 to show the great value of kindness I . will 
 mention but one more. 
 
 Being laid up with a badly bruised ankle at 
 a time when the weaning of the sucklings was 
 necessary, I gave instructions to my men to 
 separate the brood mares from their colts and 
 give them their first lesson in the halter. I 
 charged them under no circumstances to resort 
 to severe measures without first consulting me 
 and carefully explained my methods. They 
 got along pretty well with all but one, and he 
 was by far the best colt in the bunch, both in 
 breeding and individuality. They said to me, 
 "That colt is the devil— he will kick, bite 
 and strike. We got the halter on but cannot 
 get it off." Thereupon I sent a girl twenty 
 years of age, whose love for horses is only ex- 
 
ceeded by her desire for their humane treat- 
 ment to interview this terror. I do not 
 exaggerate when I say that in twenty minutes 
 from the time she entered the stable she was 
 leading him in the yard with her arm about 
 his neck. It was simply fear, not malice, as 
 demonstrated by a woman, that prompted him 
 to do wrong. Be kind, but firm, and always 
 the master. 
 
 When for the first time the colt feels the 
 halter and realizes that there is a limit beyond 
 which he cannot go, if he is a real good one 
 he will resent it hard. Keep his head towards 
 you, loosening on the lead rope only to save a 
 fall or collision, and do not ask him to come 
 to you until you have first been to him and 
 convinced him you are his friend. Then 
 teach him to lead by pulling him towards you 
 one way and then the other (not in a straight 
 line at first). Always when he comes, 
 whether forced or otherwise, caress and re- 
 ward him with a lump of sugar or salt, or a 
 
12 
 
 piece of an apple you will have in your pocket. 
 They are the corner stones in character build- 
 ing. 
 
 But there is a line or limit even to kindness 
 beyond which you cannot go. Do not at any 
 time of life allow him to become a " pet " in 
 the sense that he will not respect your word, 
 or command, or take liberties your judgment 
 tells you are wrong. ' ' Familiarity breeds 
 contempt," they say, in the human family, 
 and it is no less true with horses. Punish 
 him if he persists, but in a way that he will 
 understand and that will frighten more than 
 injure him. Continue these lessons every day 
 for a week, and if your time is limited once or 
 twice a week during the following winter 
 months. After the first lesson you will find 
 it a pleasure, as he will love the sound of your 
 voice and your footsteps will be music to his 
 ears. Then, if you have the fear of God, or 
 the love of a little child in your heart you will 
 not abuse the weanling and his future will be 
 safe in your hands. 
 
13 
 
 Having laid the foundation, the work should 
 be discontinued and the colt turned out to 
 grass the following summer. I have, how- 
 ever, kept them in the stable and handled 
 them successfully at this age when I had a 
 special object in view, as in the case of 
 " Queen Bird," 2:25 at two years. Wishing 
 to establish the value of her sire as an early 
 speed progenitor, I selected this filly and 
 trained her for that purpose, and how I suc- 
 ceeded her public exhibition quarter of a mile 
 as a yearling in 33 seconds will show. 
 
 Experience has taught me that at the ex- 
 piration of the yearling's season's run to 
 pasture in his two-year-old form, an age at 
 which although still a colt, he is beginning to 
 show some of the elements of a horse, is the 
 time of all others when by nature he is more 
 susceptible to influence, either for good or 
 evil, than any time during his whole exist- 
 ence. Therefore, I cannot put in too strong 
 language the importance of continuing the 
 
lessons with even more thoughtful, judicious 
 and patient care than when they were begun. 
 
 The following example will serve to illus- 
 trate the effects of injudicious handling at this 
 age : When quite a young man, and young 
 in the business, I bred and owned a little 
 chunky, low- headed, Roman- nosed brown filly. 
 At the time of which I write she was two 
 years old and a cheaper looking colt it would 
 be hard to imagine. When I looked her over 
 and contemplated the prospects for the future 
 of the breeding industry, with a barn full of 
 her kind in a rising feed market, my aspira- 
 tions took a drop that came near upsetting all 
 my plans. Although not ugly or vicious, she 
 was loaded to the muzzle with grit and deter- 
 mination. My patience left me early in the 
 game and the little judgment I started in with 
 was soon scattered all over the farm, and 
 finally landed horse, trainer and sleigh in a 
 general mix-up in a large snowbank. Dis- 
 entangling the outfit as best I could, I led my 
 
* 5 
 
 pupil to the stable with the promise that I 
 would, at some future time, give her the 
 treatment I felt sure she needed, and that 
 promise I kept, laboring all day with two as- 
 sistants in a vain effort to make her draw an 
 empty cart. She won at the finish, and a 
 cheaper looking lot of men never left a battle 
 field than followed the little brown mare to 
 her stable that night. Believing her to be 
 worthless I offered her as a Christmas gift to 
 any one who would lead her off the farm. As I 
 could find no takers she remained, and one 
 year later I tried again on the principles that 
 are in force at Clove rland to-day, and won. 
 She proved herself not only extremely fast, 
 but the greatest road mare I have ever known, 
 and developed qualities which I believed must 
 be perpetuated if I were to succeed in the busi- 
 ness. She has produced Timepiece, 2 : 10 ^ , the 
 sum of whose winnings and sale, and sale of 
 others of her produce amounts to over $9,000. 
 She has now on the farm two full brothers to 
 Timepiece, 2:10^, for one of which I have re- 
 
i6 
 
 fused $2,000. A fair Christmas present she 
 was. Although I saved her from the ruin I 
 so nearly wrought, the thought of it has 
 never given me any pleasure, and I publish it 
 with no degree of pride, but only as an exam- 
 ple in the hope that it may serve as a guide to 
 some man, as inexperienced as the writer was 
 at that time, by which he can avoid such mis- 
 takes. 
 
 Never put a bit into a colt's mouth until 
 you have first examined and prepared the 
 teeth to receive it. In front of the molars 
 you are sure to find little supernumerary 
 growths, called wolf teeth. They are said to 
 interfere with the eye by exerting an influ- 
 ence on the opthalmic division of the nerve. 
 Whether that is true or not I cannot say, but 
 it is a dead sure thing they should come out 
 and the rough edges of the outside of the up- 
 per teeth (the molars) smoothed down before 
 attempting the process of ' ' bitting. ' ' What- 
 ever success you may have had may count for 
 
I? 
 
 nothing by injudicious treatment of the colt's 
 mouth at this time. 
 
 While it was my intention in writing this 
 book not to in any way connect it with the 
 veterinary branch of the horse business, the 
 process of preparing the colt's mouth is so 
 simple, and yet so vitally important, that to 
 pass it by without a word in explanation 
 would not only be unfair to the student, but 
 an injustice to the animals themselves. But 
 before doing so I will state a circumstance di- 
 rectly bearing on this branch of the colt's 
 education that has firmly planted itself in my 
 memory. 
 
 A trainer of some note in the country where 
 he lived was endeavoring to break a high- 
 keyed, mettlesome, three-year-old filly. When 
 I first saw them the colt was hitched to a cart 
 with the trainer on the .seat. She had backed 
 the wheels of the cart against a barn, and 
 with her feet firmly planted in the ground, 
 
i8 
 
 she steadfastly refused to budge. Such a 
 pounding as that filly received it beats my pen 
 to describe. With every vestige of reason 
 gone, that man was a revelation to his audience, 
 some of whom were ladies. During a lull in 
 the storm, at the risk of getting into trouble 
 myself, I stepped to the colt's head and said to 
 the trainer, "If you will come here, I believe 
 I can show you why your colt refuses to go." 
 Thereupon, I opened her mouth and displayed 
 two ugly wounds on either side of her cheeks, 
 an inch in length, and cut almost through to 
 the skin. I also showed him the wolf teeth 
 with points as sharp as needles, and the rough, 
 uneven edges of the molars. Is it any wonder 
 she preferred the whipping ? Now, in his nor- 
 mal condition, this trainer was far from being 
 a brute in disposition. On the contrary, he 
 was amiable and kind, and could be depended 
 on always to champion and defend the cause 
 of any honest man or horse in trouble. Without 
 a word he unhitched the filly and led her to 
 the stable, came back to the hitching floor and 
 
19 
 
 sat down on a box, and for awhile rested his 
 head on his hands, and I knew he realized his 
 mistake and was suffering all he deserved to 
 suffer. With his head still on his hands he 
 made this remark : "What would you do if 
 you had made such a show of yourself as I 
 have to-day?" I answered : " That having 
 been there, or nearly there myself, I thought 
 I knew a little how he felt, that such educa- 
 tion came high in loss of self-respect, but I 
 believed in his case it was worth the price; 
 and I will add, that he finished that colt's edu- 
 cation in all the essential qualities of a race 
 horse in a way that made her a model of good 
 behavior. Her affection and confidence in 
 him during the nervous excitement preceding 
 her races was almost pathetic. 
 
 I will say to any man who attempts the bit- 
 ting or breaking of a colt to drive without first 
 attending to his mouth, you are not only tak- 
 ing long chances on the "physical culture" 
 part of your anatomy, but also on destroying 
 
20 
 
 the worth of an animal you aim to make val- 
 uable for your own, or somebody else's use. 
 
 The above is not an isolated case by any 
 means, but one of many, by which to-day in- 
 competent, unstudied and careless handlers 
 are ruining the character and disposition of 
 otherwise meritorious animals. You may not 
 be in the business of breaking and handling 
 colts, hence the illustration is not applicable; 
 but whatever your occupation in life, if you 
 have been blessed in receiving and entrusted 
 with the care of one of these noblest of all an- 
 imals, of any age or condition, either for profit 
 or pleasure, be merciful in a measure that 
 you may sometime need it meted out to you, 
 and in no better way can you show the attri- 
 bute of mercy, than by thoughtful, judicious 
 care of the horse's mouth. 
 
 Your outfit as an amateur veterinary dentist 
 will cost you not to exceed three dollars, pos- 
 sibly less, and should consist of an ordinary 
 
21 
 
 pair of forceps, (such as dentists use in ex- 
 tracting human teeth will do ) , and a common 
 float or file, made for the purpose of correcting 
 faulty growths on the teeth of horses. The 
 float will cost a dollar. A pair of forceps can 
 generally be procured from your dentist at 
 a nominal price, which, while they may be 
 a back number with him and have been dis- 
 carded for more modern instruments, will an- 
 swer every requirement in your case. The 
 extracting of wolf teeth requires no par- 
 ticular amount of skill. Only secure a 
 good hold and keep it with a rigid hand, 
 but with a flexible wrist to allow your 
 hand to adjust itself to every movement of the 
 colt's mouth. Do not hurry, but wait until 
 he has become quiet, before you attempt to 
 take out the tooth. While it is more skillful 
 and workmanlike to extract the entire tooth, 
 I have never known any harm to come from a 
 broken one, the root of which was left in the 
 horse's mouth. The wolf teeth having been 
 attended to, run your fingers along the outer 
 
22 
 
 edges of the molars. If you find them rough, 
 sharp and uneven, then you certainly have 
 business with the float. Stand in front of 
 your subject, and with your left hand on his 
 nose carefully insert the file into his mouth 
 along the line of the trouble on the right side. 
 Take plenty of time and do not hurt him, and 
 he will soon learn that he has nothing to fear 
 and will allow you even in the clumsy way of 
 a beginner to finish your work without a pro- 
 test. Holding your float on a line level with 
 the teeth, with your right hand pass it a few 
 times along the rough places. Then remove 
 the instrument, examine your work, and stop 
 when you find them comparatively smooth 
 and free from any projections which you think 
 would injure the colt's cheek in being forced 
 against it by the working of the bit. To suc- 
 cessfully and easily accomplish the same good 
 results on the opposite or left side of the 
 mouth, standing as you are supposed to be in 
 front of and facing your patient, with your 
 left hand on his nose, move your body to the 
 
23 
 
 left side of his head, allowing your left hand 
 to go under his lower jaw and around until 
 you can get hold of his nose on the opposite 
 side, then you will have free play for your 
 right hand to work the float over the left arm 
 and into the horse's mouth, while your left 
 hand holds his head steady and in position. 
 The matured horse very often suffers from 
 sharp projecting teeth, and it is very common 
 in old horses from the wearing down of the 
 teeth in an uneven manner. They will be 
 sharp on the inner edges of the lower jaw, and 
 the outer edges of the upper jaw, which may 
 be from faulty formation. In such cases the 
 animal has difficult)' in eating, often grinding 
 and ejecting the food. Often horses carry 
 their heads to one side when driving from this 
 cause. If their teeth are sharp on the inside 
 they lacerate the tongue, if on the outside as 
 I have already described, they lacerate the 
 cheek. As the process is similar, I shall not 
 give in detail the treatment of the lower 
 molars, believing that when you get to them 
 
2 4 
 
 your judgment will direct you how to continue 
 the work. 
 
 If you have followed the directions, you 
 should now have a model pupil with which to 
 continue the important work that is to follow, 
 which consists in teaching him to drive. 
 
 First hitch him with a strong halter to 
 something he will not break, or pull out if he 
 should try; then with the saddle part of 
 your harness, with breeching attachment, rub 
 him all over and under his body, occasionally 
 allowing him to smell of it until he is familiar 
 with and not afraid of any part of it, then 
 place it in position. Do the same with head- 
 stall and collar. You should do this work 
 alone, unaided by any assistant, as you will 
 need his undivided attention. The lines should 
 not be less than thirty feet in length — a small 
 rope will do. Run them through the thill 
 holders in the harness to the bit, (thill holder 
 girt should be buckled to hold them down 
 
25 
 
 and in position). Do not at first attempt to 
 raise his head above its natural position by 
 checking. Now take hold of your lines, 
 which you are supposed to be able to skilfully 
 pay out or take in as necessity may require. 
 Give him his head and allow him to go out of 
 the stable or barn. If he goes out on a run, 
 which he is very apt to do, give him rope, and 
 as soon as you can, turn him from a straight 
 line into a circle. Handle his mouth with 
 care, always with a light hold of the reins, so 
 that if he starts up suddenly, instead of snub- 
 bing him you can allow them to slip through 
 your hands so that you can rate your speed 
 and the colt's, carefully restraining him. 
 
 Perhaps I can in no better way explain or 
 illustrate the value of proper handling, or the 
 bad effects of improper handling of the colt, 
 in these first lessons in the harness than by the 
 following example: 
 
 While driving along at a smart trot, one 
 fine Spring day, late in the afternoon, through 
 
26 
 
 a not over-populated section of the country, 
 from the midst of a pleasant train of thoughts, 
 I was startled by these words: ' ' Hello, there, 
 Captain ! Look me up and tell me where I 
 am." The voice seemed at first to issue from 
 the bushes that lined the road, but a second 
 and more careful inspection showed me not 
 far away in a lot a man about thirty years of 
 age, and what should have been a handsome 
 chestnut filly. (The colt I learned was three 
 years old.) The man was stripped to his 
 pants and shirt, and hatless, stood holding a 
 pair of lines in one hand and the remnant of a 
 rawhide whip in the other. The lines were 
 an ordinary pair, of regulation length, reach- 
 ing about eight feet back of the colt and 
 buckled together at the end. Stopping my 
 horse and taking in the situation, I said to the 
 trainer: " Would you like to send any word 
 home?" He sat down on the ground and 
 laughed. The drollery of the thing struck 
 me and I joined in. " Yes, " he said, 
 ' ' tell them to send out a team of oxen and 
 
27 
 
 astoneboat." With some questioning I found 
 the colt had started out very well. It 
 was her first lesson in the harness, but 
 being quick, active and resolute, as I 
 had guessed, she was away, and to the 
 limit of the short lines before her trainer could 
 get under headway. When he did get in mo- 
 tion the colt was stepping so fast that he had 
 to pull her up with a sudden jerk to stop her. 
 After repeating this performance several times 
 she finally refused to go without the whip, and 
 when I found them she would not go with it, 
 and he had given it to her without stint. 
 He said to me, ' ' This mare is the worst I ever 
 saw. I will have to pull off her harness and 
 let her go, as she will neither lead nor drive. 
 Do you know anything about handling this 
 kind?" I replied that I believed I did, and 
 that if he would put the halter on my horse 
 that he would find in the carriage and lead 
 him along, although I might fail, I told him I 
 would make an effort to drive his filly home, 
 which was about a mile distant in the direction 
 
28 
 
 I was going. " Well, go ahead, Mister," he 
 said, ' ' You are the party I was looking for. ' ' 
 Thereupon I removed the lines from my har- 
 ness and "connected them with those already 
 on the colt, adjusted the bit, took off the crup- 
 per, which from continual jerking of her head 
 against the check-rein had chafed her to a 
 bleeding condition. I then threw off the check, 
 and spent a little time in talking to, and get- 
 ting acquainted with her. Finally I asked 
 her to go, at the same time I pushed her two 
 or three feet to one side. This was a new 
 deal and she appeared to be surprised. I re- 
 peated this treatment several times. At last 
 she plunged forward on a run, but I was ready 
 and ran with her. Gradually allowing the 
 lines to slip through my hands, at the same 
 time I pulled gently on one of them. Before 
 she got to the limit of my lines and speed I 
 had her going in a circle, and from a run she 
 slowed to a trot, and soon to a walk, and she 
 went on at that gait until I said Whoa ! and 
 stopped her. I then went to her head and re- 
 
2 9 
 
 peated the old words of kindness, and while it 
 may have been my imagination, I shall always 
 think the look she gave me was one of grati- 
 tude. I then drove her to the stable without 
 further trouble, and after receiving a profusion 
 of thanks from her owner, continued on my 
 way. 
 
 The preliminary lessons with the long lines 
 offer great opportunities for the advancement 
 of your pupil and of placing some of the main 
 stays in his character. Be thorough and per- 
 sistent, and teach him to respond readily to 
 every touch of the line, at the same time be 
 careful about working him too much in one 
 lesson. When you want him to stop, say 
 Whoa ! and stop him. Do not repeat the com- 
 mand. Once is better than twice, and in re- 
 peating the word a dozen times, as you will 
 generally hear, it fails entirely in significance 
 to the colt. Whenever he obeys the word, 
 whether forced or otherwise, reward him in 
 the old way with kind words. Go to him and 
 
3° 
 
 adjust some part of the harness, giving the im- 
 pression that you had a purpose in stopping 
 him. Do not allow him to start until you tell 
 him he can go. Teach him that at all times it 
 is your will, not his, which must be obeyed. 
 
 The importance of the above lesson well im- 
 planted in the colt's memory will be better un- 
 derstood and appreciated when I say that not 
 once, but very many times, has the writer dur- 
 ing his varied career with horses escaped seri- 
 ous injury, and he believes that he owes his 
 life to-day to the thorough instruction his 
 colts have received in this branch of their edu- 
 cation. The following examples, happening 
 as they did in public, will no doubt be recog- 
 nized in this connection, although times and 
 places are not given. They will serve to show 
 the inestimable value in times of peril and dan- 
 ger of the firm establishment of this early and 
 simple lesson on the bed-rock of the colt's 
 memory. 
 
 It happened on a half-mile track in a neigh- 
 boring town at the finish of a workout mile. 
 
3i 
 
 Although the mile was slow, the accident 
 came at the finish, when one of the most reso- 
 lute, determined and high-strung horses I have 
 ever driven was at the very limit of his speed, 
 which was not slower than a 2:10 gait. A 
 sound like the rattling of a bolt caught my ear, 
 and before I could speak I was down with a 
 smashed sulky wheel, and braces. The pro- 
 fessional will tell you that any accident by 
 which the wheels of the sulky should come off 
 or go down, would find the frame resting for 
 support on the hind legs of the animal he was 
 driving, the driver on the seat with his legs 
 and feet elevated to an angle of 45 degrees or 
 more. He will also tell you that there is not 
 one horse in ten thousand, that under the 
 same conditions would not either attempt to 
 run away or kick himself free. The fate of a 
 driver in such a " mix-up," with a horse dis- 
 posed to be mean, can be better imagined than 
 described. Although but one of my wheels 
 was down it left me in a position even more 
 precarious than that I have described. Had 
 
32 
 
 he kicked I was a mark he could not miss. He 
 was terribly frightened, and when I saw the 
 blood gushing from a long deep wound in his 
 ankle, with one of the steel braces still boring 
 it, I do not hesitate to say I trembled with 
 fear lest he should not heed my voice, and the 
 old lessons taught him in his earlier days 
 would not avail me at this critical time. But 
 like the noble animal he was then and is to- 
 day, he heard and obeyed, and almost sup- 
 porting the sulky frame with the weight of 
 the driver on his bruised and bleeding ankle, 
 he came to a stop within thirty paces and 
 waited until I could get off. Do not think 
 that in unhitching and freeing him from the 
 wreck I failed in telling him what he was, and 
 I have never doubted that he understood and 
 appreciated every word I said. 
 
 Another time in a race, from the force of a 
 collision and fall of the horse, I was thrown 
 violently to the ground. Getting up in a some- 
 what dazed condition, I found my horse stand- 
 
33 
 
 ing with one of his fore feet caught in the 
 wheel of a smashed sulky in front of him, the 
 driver and horse to which it belonged being 
 spread out on the ground, he tried, but could 
 not loosen his foot, and with no hand to re- 
 strain him, he was ready to plunge forward 
 into the wreck ahead.. With his own sulky 
 broken and gouging him, his foot in a sling, is 
 it any wonder he was frightened ; but I spoke 
 to him in time, in a language and tones he un- 
 derstood, and that he had been taught to obey, 
 and he responded, and waited with scarcely a 
 struggle until I could come to his assistance. 
 
 We will suppose your pupil to have been 
 driven every day for two weeks with the lines, 
 and if you have done your work well, and he 
 is a fairly intelligent scholar, he should now 
 be ready to take the last lesson in the course, 
 which consists in teaching him to draw some 
 kind of a vehicle. For a long time, during my 
 early days in the business, I allowed my men 
 and did myself give this lesson, by hitching 
 
 ''•»; > 
 
34 
 
 directly to a cart or sleigh, but never with suc- 
 cess. It is true we " broke" them, but many 
 times at the expense not only of property, but 
 of some of the best qualities in both horse and 
 man. To obviate trouble and simplify this 
 part of the work, I designed " The Dummie" 
 and put it together in about 20 minutes. This 
 is the most valuable accessory to a trainer's 
 outfit for breaking and educating colts I have 
 ever known. To manufacture this simple de- 
 vice requires two twelve foot poles ( hickory is 
 the best), three inches in diameter at the butt 
 end, tapering to one inch at the top end. The 
 poles should be stayed and braced three feet 
 apart at the butt, running like a pair of ordi- 
 nary shafts to within 18 inches of each other 
 at the front end. The braces at the butt can 
 extend over about three feet of the poles. To 
 some part of the bracing, attach a strap or 
 small rope with snap in the end with which to 
 connect the tugs extending from the breast 
 collar on the colt. Bevel the under side of the 
 poles at the butt end to allow of their easier 
 
35 
 
 manipulation in all the different turns it is sure 
 to take. If you have been thorough in your 
 instruction up to this time, your pupil should 
 be well mannered and disposed to obey; not 
 afraid of you, but confident and trustful, ready 
 to stop and start only at your command. 
 With the "Dummie," as with the harness, 
 hold it up for him to look at and smell of. Drop 
 it on the barn floor, not too close to him at 
 first, but where he can see and hear, all the 
 time coming nearer as you see he is getting 
 accustomed to the sounds. His past expe- 
 rience and acquaintance has been such that 
 he thinks he has nothing to fear from you, no 
 matter what you show, and he will very soon 
 allow you to drop it very near him and make 
 all the noise you wish, and will stand quietly 
 while you hitch him to the "Dummie." I 
 wish to emphasize in this connection the im- 
 portance in hitching a colt (even after you 
 have him well broken), of always having hold 
 of the lines. Never allow the lines out of your 
 hand or off your arm from the time you take 
 
36 
 
 them down, after putting on the harness, until 
 you have him unhitched and clear from what- 
 ever vehicle you may have been driving to. 
 
 A wealthy man, a breeder in a small way, 
 from the northern part of the State, drove into 
 my barn one day, and among other things, he 
 said, "Have you a system for the breaking 
 and handling of colts and horses ? If you 
 have, and can show that it has any practical 
 value, I will pay you well for your trouble, 
 and any ideas I may get in the demonstration." 
 And then for an hour he entertained and 
 amused me with a graphic discription of his 
 experience with different trainers, and one in 
 particular, whose work he described, I will 
 give here as nearly as I can, in the words in 
 which it was related. As it represents the 
 other side of the picture or theory of handling 
 horses, I will leave it to the reader to deter- 
 mine their comparative value : 
 
 1 ' He was a typical cowboy in appearance, 
 but as he came well recommended from his for- 
 
37 
 
 iner employer, I felt sure that I had the real 
 article. I endeavored to draw him out several 
 times in explanation of his methods, etc. , of 
 breaking colts and handling them for speed, 
 but as he did not appear disposed to talk on 
 the subject, I placed him as one who could put 
 his ideas into practice better than words. My 
 confidence was such that it was six months 
 from the time he began work before I had an 
 opportunity of witnessing his unexplainable 
 methods of colt breaking. With the help of 
 two assistants, he was hitching to a cart a 
 large, powerful and high bred three year old 
 filly, one that, he told me, had bothered some 
 at first, but was improving very fast, and 
 would soon do to take into town for the own- 
 er's pleasure driving, and he also stated that 
 he believed her to be a race horse. They 
 hitched her, facing the doors opening to a 
 sharp descent, over a bridge, through a drive- 
 way, thence with a sharp turn to a gate into 
 the highway. When all was ready, the order 
 was given and the mare released. At first I 
 
38 
 
 thought she would not go at all ; she reared 
 and swerved first to one side of the barn and 
 then the other. Believing that ' self-preserva- 
 tion is the first law of nature,' I ' ducked' for 
 the yard, not any too soon, and I then beheld 
 such an exhibition of wild driving as would 
 put to shame the most daring performer 
 in Buffalo Bill's aggregation. Going out 
 of the barn on a run, with a succession of 
 jumps, plunges and dives, he cleared all the 
 openings, and on one wheel of the cart made 
 the turn for the highway and disappeared 
 from sight on a run, exhibiting all the race 
 horse qualities he had claimed. As the smoke 
 and dust cleared away, I said to the assistant, 
 ' That mare isn't what you would call a real 
 good behaved one, is she ?' He replied, ' She 
 is acting good, now ; you should have seen her 
 the first time she was hitched.' I said to him, 
 ' William, this farm covers a territory of about 
 three hundred acres of ground ; it has been in 
 my family for more than a hundred years ; it 
 is apart of me, and having traveled every foot 
 
39 
 
 of it by daylight, by moonlight, and by no 
 light at all, I know it as I know myself. Let 
 me say to you, my boy, if that first lesson 
 beats the one now in the works, I am not sorry 
 that I did not see it. I feel that I have had a 
 narrow escape, and knowing the place as I do, 
 I cannot think of a tree within its boundaries 
 in which I would feel safe from the Professor 
 and his pupils.' I grow chilly when I think 
 of meeting him on my return, although I 
 think he will not be back to-night ; but in this 
 I was mistaken, as I met my trainer, or a man 
 I took to be him, with a mask of dust and 
 blood on his face, leading a lame horse, and 
 further along I found the cart a total wreck, 
 by the side of the road, near to where he had 
 collided with a loaded team. Thankful it was 
 no worse, I went to my home that night firmly 
 resolved to either abandon the business of 
 breeding entirely, or give it some personal at- 
 tention." 
 
 The above is possibly an extreme case, but 
 it was interesting in the narrative, as it para- 
 
4 o 
 
 lelled scenes that the writer has many times 
 witnessed during his experience in the busi- 
 ness. 
 
 An object appearing suddenly to a colt is 
 generally what frightens him the most. Be 
 careful about using the whip at such times, it 
 will only add to the trouble. Whenever he 
 sees anything of which he is afraid, drive him 
 slowly and carefully, but firmly toward the 
 object and show him he has nothing to fear. 
 
 If you aim to raise a trotter and race horse, 
 breed the best mare you own or can afford to 
 buy, a mare great as an individual and by in- 
 heritance, to some stallion that is a race horse 
 himself, and has demonstrated his value as a 
 sire of race horses. Break the offspring ac- 
 cording to the foregoing rules. When you 
 have him well broken, put on him a pair of 
 quarter boots and scalpers ; the latter by all 
 means. They are more essential in gaiting a 
 colt than any horse boot known to the busi- 
 ness. Thousands of " hitchers" have been 
 
4i 
 
 started by incompetent handlers, too lazy or 
 ignorant to suitably protect the colt at the very 
 spot where the gaiting process should begin. 
 Adjust the harness as you do your clothes, so 
 that it will fit and be comfortable. It is im- 
 portant to see that it does not chafe or irritate 
 him. This quality to feel for your pupil is not 
 made, but born in a horseman. Adjust the bit 
 in the same way. Never use any devise what- 
 ever that is calculated to punish the colt 
 through his mouth without you are looking 
 for and inviting trouble. In developing and 
 educating for speed, ask the colt to go just 
 as fast as he can a few times for short dis- 
 tances every time you hitch him and can find 
 a smooth place. Do not confine this work to 
 the track or to a perfectly level spot. Avoid 
 everything that may become monotonous or 
 tiresome to your pupil. Study him and his 
 characteristics, he may need a little more or a 
 little less work than you are giving. Be his 
 true and loyal friend, and always the teacher 
 whose will is law. If you find the colt in a 
 
42 
 
 dull or sour condition, give him his regular 
 work without any attempt at speed. Encour- 
 age him always to a better effort. If he tries 
 and fails, or makes a mistake, talk to him 
 about it in a calm and confident tone, and 
 don't get it into your head that he cannot un- 
 derstand you. This is one of the greatest er- 
 rors young men make in not treating their pu- 
 pils as being able to understand the English 
 language. If he tries and succeeds, the colt 
 knows it himself and does not need your coun- 
 sel. If he is the kind that wont try, then 
 make him. Do not lose your patience and 
 twitch and yank him, no matter what the 
 provocation, and be careful of the whip ; it is 
 a dangerous implement in the hands of a quick 
 tempered man. The writer makes no claim 
 to angelic qualities or disposition. He recalls 
 a time when he drove a four year old filly 
 straight to the barn, and without unhitching 
 threw down the lines, went away and stayed 
 until he felt he could control himself, then 
 went back, sat down and studied for half an 
 
43 
 
 hour, found the trouble and successfully con- 
 tinued her training. Remember, that the race 
 horse does not live of any age that is every day 
 alike, so rate your treatment of the colt ac- 
 cordingly. When your pupil begins to show 
 that he understands what you want of him, 
 and has the ability to comply, carefully 
 watch him, for as he increases his speed he 
 may strike himself in some spot which must 
 be cared for at once. From this stage the im- 
 provement should be rapid, and just how 
 much speed and race horse qualities the colt 
 will develop depends not wholly, but very 
 much on the patience, perseverance and judg- 
 ment of his trainer. In all cases time will be 
 saved and ultimate success more assured, by 
 removing the shoes from the two or three year 
 old and allowing him a run to grass in a pad- 
 dock during the month of June, where the soil 
 is of a soft, loamy nature. In continuance of 
 the training from this. stage, supposing your 
 pupil to have the required amount of speed, 
 if he wins any money it will be necessary for 
 
44 
 
 him to carry that "speed "a mile. With this in 
 view, I have trained my colts to go away, or 
 score just as fast as they are capable for the 
 first sixteenth, then slowing them to an easy 
 jog, and finishing the last sixteenth to the 
 very limit of their speed ; gradually and syste- 
 matically increasing the distance of speed at 
 both ends, thus lessening the intervening 
 space according to the colt's condition as he 
 may attain strength to perform. This is a del- 
 icate task for even the most experienced men 
 in the business, and calls for all the qualities 
 you possess. 
 
 Rkmkmber, the colt's mouth, as a rule, is 
 what you make it. Teach him to drive with 
 a light hand. No puller, in this age of ex- 
 treme speed, will do. 
 
 I will give in this connection one more ex- 
 ample, or illustration, which may serve to 
 illumine the lettering on the guide-board I 
 would erect, pointing out the road to success, 
 through a closer bond of sympathy and under- 
 
45 
 
 standing between horse and man. Without 
 fear of contradiction, where the horse is 
 known, I will say that no greater, better be- 
 haved, gamer, or more consistent race horse 
 ever lived than Timepiece, 2\io%. Beginning 
 his racing career as a two year old, he was out 
 for the money each following year for seven 
 continuous years, winning the most, and fight- 
 ing all his races from early Spring to the last 
 days of October. 
 
 The writer makes no claims to any credit 
 for what honors Timepiece may have achieved 
 as a race horse. At the time of which I write 
 I had in my employ a young man who, had he 
 seen fit to continue in the business, and give it 
 his thoughtful care and attention, had quali- 
 ties which would have placed him in the very 
 front rank of his profession. Timepiece owes 
 it to this young man's patience, perseverence 
 and good judgment, that he was not discarded 
 as worthless for any purpose whatever. Over- 
 flowing with grit, determination and speed, at 
 
46 
 
 the age of three years this colt passed through 
 a stage in his career which was critical in the 
 extreme ; although it was only of a few days 
 duration, it marked the junction of the roads 
 that lead to failure or success, and proved an 
 epoch in the career of both horse and the cool- 
 headed boy who, with unerring hand guided 
 him straight, and brought out the very best 
 qualities in his nature. For some unaccount- 
 able reason this colt one day deliberately re- 
 fused to score, or speed towards the starting 
 point, where his miles should begin. He 
 would shake his head, swerve first to one side of 
 the track and then the other, finally going for- 
 ward at a gait that would puzzle a man more 
 capable than the author of this book to de- 
 scribe. Perhaps the nearest to a description 
 of this newly acquired gait would be to repeat 
 what the man said to a local judge, before 
 whom he had been arraigned in court on a 
 charge of intoxication and unlawfully running 
 his horse through the streets. When asked 
 what he had to say in his defense, he replied, 
 
47 
 
 " Judge, did } t ou think that horse of mine was 
 running, if so you are mistaken ; I live near 
 to Clove rland Stock Farm, and can tell you 
 that is a new gait we are teaching our colts, 
 and we call it ' Hoppy-to-pace.' ' In telling 
 me the story, the judge said he never knew 
 how he preserved the dignity of his office. 
 Well, " Hoppy-to-pace" it was for Timepiece 
 until I turned away in disgust, after a two 
 weeks' trial of patience, which I believed should 
 be the limit, and so expressed myself at the 
 time, recommending severe measures'. I was 
 met with the plea to allow the work to continue, 
 with the responsibility for good or evil to rest 
 with the trainer ; and how he succeeded, 
 Timepiece's record of good behavior during 
 his seven years of racing will show. 
 
 I would say in conclusion, that animals, like 
 men, differ very much in disposition as well as 
 in intelligence, and in their early education 
 and discipline, as with human beings, that 
 system should prevail by which you can in 
 
4 8 
 
 the simplest manner reach the understanding, 
 not of one, but any of the various tempera- 
 ments of the breed. While there may be oth- 
 er methods equally as good for the handling 
 and training of colts, there are none more sim- 
 ple and sure of success for the amateur than 
 those outlined between the covers of this little 
 book. In such a degree as colts are unlike in 
 disposition and intelligence, so will they differ 
 in their manner of receiving their instructions, 
 and no rule but that of common sense can be 
 laid down for the man who attempts their edu- 
 cation. 
 
 3V77-6* 
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