THE HORSE, AS COMRADE
AND FRIEND

Rohan in 1901, aged 10, with Keith, Iris and Betty up

Rohan in 1914, aged 23, with Betty up, and Sam

[To back frontispiece

iFrontispiece
RQHAN [(from a water colour portrait by the Author) {Toface D^dication

HORSE, AS COMRADE
AND FRIEND

EVERARD R. CALTHROP, m.inst.c.e., m.i.mech.e.

Chevalier of the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus.

Member of Council of the National Pony Society, and

of the Arob Horse Society.

LONDON : HUTCHINSON & CO.
PATERNOSTER ROW

To
The Dear Memory of

My old Arab Stall�on

One op the Noblest Horses God ever made

and
My Best and Truest Comrade and Friend

I. Basic Principles of Handling
and Training

II. Bringing the Wild Horse tjp

III. The First Handling

IV. The Second Handling
V. Training to Saddle

VI. Handling in the Stable

VII. Training for Riding

VIII. Training for Riding (Gon.)

IX. Training for Riding (Gon.)

X. Training for Riding (Gon.)

XI. Training for Jumping .

XII. Training for Drivlng .

XIII. The Most Wonderful Thing

XIV. Two Mysteries
Afterword .

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Eohan, aged 10 and 23 - - - - Pre-Frontispiece

Eohan, from the Water Colour Portrait by the Author Frontispiece

, , To face page

Eohan and Maepbgokby, 1916; and Eohan in 1906 - 14

Eohan in 1906; with some of his descendants in 1912;

and with one of his sons...... 15

Fathee on Fathee, and Son on Bon ; Playmates in

the Paddock........ 36

Playing at " Wild Injuns " ; Betty on Kitty VIII.,

and Ibis on Eohan....... 37

Legsteap and its Application, Figs. I. and II. - - 46

How to Handle a Foal.....52 and 53

Maezouk in 1906........ 64

Fitz, a battle-scarred hero, who served through the

Palestine and Senussi Campaigns 65
Paeis Omnibus, with team of three Peroheron stalliona;

and six Percheron stallions pulling 20 tons up a

heavy gradi�nt........ 80

Heavy Dbaught Peeoheeon Stallions in Paeis - - 81

Gladys Calthbop and Skewbald Filly 92

Maeladi and Swan ; Eohan's Last Gift and the two

Eomabsandos........ 93

Mabpegobby and Musket at Play - - 104 and 105

Eo-Akbae's Antics........ 120

Eotunda I. and Eotunda II.; sisters who could not

be parted - ....... 121

Maesanda as a Chestnut Filly and a Gbey Maeb - 136

Mabsanda's Chestnut Filly Foal, and Eohan's Last

Gift, with training headstalls - - � - - 137

Jumping an Invisible Fence.....- 150

Is this a Unique Occubbence?..... 151

Teaching Eosanda II. to jump in hand - - - 152

Eosanda II. (13 h. 3 in.) jumping 6 ft. and 6 ft. 3 in. - " 153

Eotund and the Boy Scouts..... 192

The Zebea Stbiping of Foals..... 193

The Bibth of a Foal .... 200, 201 and 212

Eotund II. and Lynton, with Sam Up 213
The Watee whebe Windeemebe Died ; Mafia and her

filly foal, Mabmafia....... 238

The Black " Guabdian Angel " Pabachute - - 239

Penrith,
5th November, 1917.

I have read your book, which I now
return, and deeply regret that I have taken so
long to do it, but I have been so very busy.
I have now read every word of it, and entirely
agree with practically all that you have said.
Also I entirely agree with your views.

As regards what I might term " instantaneous
breaking" : to anybody who really under-
stands animals, like yourself, it is perfectly
obvious and I quite agree with all you say.
I knew Sample and Galvayne and all those
breaking men very well. Sample was really
by far the best of them; Galvayne was merely
an imitation, and a moderate one, of Sample.

I hope that you will succeed with your
publication, for it is certainly deserving of
every success, as it is full of merit, and the
principles and everything on which you found
your system is, in my humble and probably
valueless opinion, perfectly right.

I am perfectly certain that no real cure
can be made with a savage animal, except of a
temporary character, in which the owner or
user of the horse has not made and given the

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

animal that he is breaking absolute and com-
plete confidence and justice. Horses and dogs
are like children and at times want correct-
ing, but correcting an animal that makes a
mistake when it knows it is wrong is a totally
different thing from abusing and knocking an
animal about, such as one often sees.

I have seen some of the much-advertised
methods of breaking the wildest of remounts.
It is true that they are broken, to an extent,
but it is their spirit that is broken not their
nature or tempers altered and calmed. But
the result is, I suppose, satisfactory to the
breaker, but it can only be�and is�tem-
porary. However, you go into such detail
and so very admirably that it would be im-
pertinent to make remarks on what evidently
you understand better than I do.

Thanking you for having allowed me to see
the book before it is published, and again
wishing it every possible success.

Yours truly,
(signed) Lonsdale.

ICOME of a family, who for some hundreds
of years have been notable for an exceed-
ing love of their horses, and for their
somewhat remarkable influence over them.
No records remain as to the exact nature of
the methods of horsecraft employed by my
forebears, but my own success in my younger
days in handling and taming all sorts of diffi-
cult, tricky and vicious horses�sometimes
quite unapproachable by other men�and of
inducing them to lead subsequently virtuous
and blameless lives, makes me believe that my
powers are hereditary, and that, ther�fore,
my ancestors have probably worked much on
the same lines as I have myself. Owing to
age and growing infirmities, I am no longer
able to handle, tame and ride wild horses as I
once could ; but my love for all horses remains
as strong as ever, and, thank God, so does
their love for me. The horse that is your friend
never Iets you know that he thinks you old.

By a coincidence, I recently received almost
together several letters from Yorkshire and
Essex, in which I was asked to give advice
as to the best methods of breaking horses

three and four years' old, which, on account
of the war, and the scarcity of men, had received
no kind of handling and were extremely wild.*
It has occurred to me that this may be the case
with young horses in many parts of the
country, and that, therefore, it might be of
use to many owners, and save horses much
mistreatment at the hands of incompetent
grooms, if I could put in writing, in a way
to be generally understood, the principles of
my own methods of training. I have seen so
much mishandling and brutal treatment of
horses, by men who do not understand them,
that I should be glad if anything I could write
might perchance save a few horses from such
wrong-doing. My two sons being in the Army,
helping to tame the Huns, and my first grand-
sons ha ving only just arrived on this planet,
it is unlikely that I shall have the privilege
of imparting my methods to these youngsters
by personal instruction; and it has, therefore,
been an additional inducement to write this
little book, in order to hand down such special
knowledge of horsecraft, as I possess, to my
own descendants.

I have been in many parts of the world
and have seen and studied many methods of
breaking, training, and taming horses, includ-
ing those of quite celebrated tamers, such as
Captain Hayes, Galvayne, Professor Smith,

�This Foreword was written in 1917.
2

and many others of lesser note. In the cases
of all of them the spectacular subjugation of
horses in a few minutes was the leading motif�
with an eye to gate money. In a number of
instances I have taken the trouble to follow
up the results of these lightning cures, and
have found, in some cases, that after a few
days the horse had become much worse than
he was before. I was present when a pro-
fessional tamer came out to a British Depend-
ency with a great flourish of trumpets, and
collected all the hard subjects in a certain
city for demonstration of the value of his
treatment. These included some artillery
horses, with bad characters for stubbornness
and evil temper. They came upon the ground,
giving all sorts of trouble, with half a dozen
men hanging on to each. His system con-
sisted of strapping them up, pulling them
down by main force, beating drums and
kerosine tins over their heads, firing of� guns
and the like. When they were stood up again,
they were trembling and completely dazed,
and one man could, without difficulty, lead
each about in a sort of dull, mechanical manner.
This result was claimed as a great triumph for
the system, but ten days later one of the artillery
horses killed his groom, and the others
developed such appalling ferocity that within
a month all were shot. Other rogue horses
in the same city, treated in the same way,

were found subsequently to be much the worse
for it, and several had to be destroyed. The
same sequelae foliowed demonstrations in
other large cities, and, when this became
generally known, the tour of instruction came
to an end.

Another lightning tamer, whose demon-
strations a good many years ago lof ten attended,
certainly had the art of bringing the most
refractory and impossible animal under com-
plete control within a very few minutes. He
had perfect command of his temper, indomit-
able pluck, always spoke to his horses cheerily
and kindly, though firmly ; and had an illimit-
able stock of raillery and cajolery, which seemed
to be appreciated by even the most ferocious
of his exhibits. He was never cruel to his
pupils, and, although at first afraid of an
ingenious shock treatment, which was his
speciality, they ended by obviously enjoying
it thoroughly. In conversation he frankly
admitted to me that the sudden quelling of a
horse had little permanent effect; but it was
necessary for the attraction and entertainment
of his public. For the permanent obliteration
of bad habits, he agreed that a long and gradual
course was necessary; but that would not fill
a big hall and bring in gate money. I foliowed
up a number of cases of horses treated only
once or twice at his most interesting show,
and although this extremely able expert had

most effectually overcome their tricks in the
arena, I learnt from several of the owners,
whose names and addresses he always an-
nounced, that, as I had expected, the effect
was only temporary and they could perceive
no permanent improvement. They had ex-
pected a permanent cure, without further
trouble to themselves, and were disappointed.
But in none of these cases did I hear of any
bad effect being produced. The tamer was
always willing to advise owners, who sent their
animals to his exhibition, exactly how to
treat them afterwards, and in the case of the
few who had taken the trouble to follow his
instructions closely, they spoke highly of the
preliminary treatment in the arena as being
the start of better behaviour, which they had
been able, by following the tamer's directions,
to make permanent.

There is no doubt that show-taming, unless
foliowed by better and more intelligent treat-
ment of the horses by their attendants, is of
little service. In this book I endeavour to
impress upon the reader that the best way to
train a horse is by a multiplicity of little steps,
each of which is well within the brain capacity
of the horse to thoroughly understand ; and to
win his confidence and affection to such an
extent that, of his own volition, he will do
the things you want him to do. Everything is
difncult if the horse is in antagonism; if he

willingly co-operates with you, everything, no
matter how difficult, is made quite easy of
accomplishment. " It's the way he has wid
them" was said of a sunny-hearted Irish
horse-breaker of my acquaintance, whose
horses loved him and did anything he wanted
of them. Try the sunny-hearted way�it's
the right one.

The system of slow and gradual training, as
described in this book, is set out at length to
enable any man or woman, without expert
knowledge, to undertake the training of horses
for their own use, or for sale. For their per-
sonal service they would be anxious, no doubt,
to make them the most perfect companions
possible, and would be willing to devote con-
siderable time to secure the very best results.
To those who have suffici�nt leisure, I advise
the very gradual training I have described
as being well worth while; for a horse so trained
can be ridden or driven by anybody, and
becomes the most perfect companion and
comrade conceivable. But it is not possible
for everyone, particularly those in charge of
large horse-runs and ranches who have to
handle very large numbers of horses, to expend
so much time on individual animals; and it
may be well for it to be known that the system
can be very much speeded up, the more so,
if the training is confmed just to essentials.
The following are instances. At Secunderabad,

India, I broke into harness in a single day,
and so thoroughly as to give no trouble after-
wards, a well-known and very high-spirited
racing pony (Mail-Train) for a friend. At
Castle Connell, Ireland, at the end of a holiday,
I came across a well-known three-year-old
entire thoroughbred (Pat Macuncas), with
whose make and shape and jumping avidity
I was particularly taken, but who was very
wild. My first view of him was, when, startled
by my dogcart, he promptly took a five feet
stone wall to join some other youngsters in
the next enclosure, although there was an open
gateway less than a hundred yards away.
His owner, an old farmer, had been over-
powered by him and had never taken him out
of his pasture, or handled him in any way,
since he was a yearling, so I had to buy him as
he stood and train him as quickly as I could.
It took me a day to catch him; I made him
lie down at my word on the second day; rode
him on the third and fourth days; and on the
fifth day rode him through Limerick, and
boxed and shipped him to England. It was a
very surprising experience for this horse
brought straight from his pasture, and it was
curious to see how he relied upon me for
encouragement and guidanco. With the aid of
a lump or two of sugar, with the virtue of
which I had made him acquainted, he foliowed
me into the railway horse-box and on board

the steamer at Cork, without fear, and entirely
of his own accord. On landing him at Liver-
pool, I rode him through the dense traffic of
the streets and on to Freshfield, without
any untoward incidents. He subsequently
developed great af�ection for me. In really
expert hands, any unhandled horse can be
broken to saddle on this system�and so that
the horse at once regards the rider as his
friend and protector, and not as his enemy�in
three or four days. But he still requires a
good rider, and is not yet anybody's horse.
That can only come with time, and further
careful training of the same sympathetic kind.

On horse ranches in the United States, and
in Mexico, I have seen " the boys " round up a
mob of the wildest ponies imaginable, and
after they have corralled them, piek out any I
liked to choose; and, without any kind of
preparation, lasso, throw, and saddle them
and thus commence their education without
further ado. It's the most magnificent feat
of equitation to be seen in the wide world�
but it's a fight�a thrilling contest of human
and equine brains and endurance. The man
wins, but he leaves the horse his enemy. I
have ridden such ponies, long after the contest
and when they are considered broken, but the
embittered effect remains. Any stranger to
them is a potential enemy. It has been long
before such a pony has given me his complete

.... ..._.._... ,_._ .... .......,.__.._.� _..._.. ......,._ ........... -_.. ..... .-::

confidence, and has treated me as his honoured
friend; but with pains I have accomplished it,
and it was worth while in the reward of his
ultimate great affection.

By contrast, take the case of the Arab horse,
who for thousands of generations has been
brought up in the tent as a member of the
family. If the tent isn't big enough for the
family and the mare and her foal, it isn't the
mare and the foal who have to go and sit out-
side. The relationship has been as intimate
as that of an Englishman and his dog, for so
many thousands of generations, that the brain
development of the Arab horse, and his in-
telligence, is nearly on a par with that of an
English dog. I have seen many thousands
of Arab horses imported from Arabia into
Bombay, and, for some years, saw probably
every one that arrived each season. And the
characteristic of every one (with the most
trifling exception, due to the very rare cases
of ill-treatment) was the most perfect comrade-
ship with man, pleasure at being taken notice
of, and ready willingness to do everything
that was wanted of him. I was made welcome
in all the Arab stables, and made many dear
friends amongst the horses. The Arab dealer
is a gentleman, and he teaches his horse to be
even a better gentleman than himself�sans
peur et sans reproche. For me the Arab horse,
every time. There is no horse like him.

I hope this book may find its way into the
hands of many of " the boys," who have done
" their bit" so worthily and well, and who
care for horses. Many have had great and
unusual experiences with horses drawn from
every quarter of the globe and taken to all
the fighting fronts. If they should appreciate
what I have written, and, if they can spare the
time and would care to write and teil me
of their own experiences with horses�and
amongst " the boys " are those from the Great
Dominions and Colonies, from the States,
from Mexico, from India, from every country,
and from the Isles of all the Seas�I can teil
them that in no way could they give me
greater pleasure than by doing so. I will
acknowledge with pleasure every communi-
cation to which an address is attached. Many
of them can teil tales of horses, ponies, mules,
asses, camels and other riding, draught and
pack cattle in the various theatres of the war.
For this reason, I append my private address,
in the hope that some of the boys may be
prompted to accord me, what I should value
and regard as a great privilege; for such stories
would add so immensely to the information
which is coming in from where great deeds are
being done, and it is all so well worth gathering in.

Goldings, Everard R. Calthrop.

^^rr.----------^-----------,.- -

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF HANDLING
AND TRAINING

THE horses and ponies which come into
the hands of the trainer are of all
sorts, ages, heights, shapes and sizes, and
their tenvperaments and intelligence and
manners are of every possible diversity; as
are also their previous experiences of handling
�good, bad, and indifferent�on the part of
man. This book has been written, so that any
intelligent person�man or woman�with no
previous knowledge of the methods of educat-
ing a horse, or of training and taming bad
horses, can undertake to train their own young
stock, or to improve the manners of badly
broken animals, with the certainty of success.

As stated in the Foreword, there are many
animals in this country two or three years old,
which, through the departure of men to the
Front, have never been handled at all, and
therefore the typical case has been taken of
how to break in a particularly wild ^rand

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

nervous unhandled three-year-old horse, and the
problem is dealt with accordingly. It is
applicable to stallions, mares and geldings of
every sort and of all ages. If there is any
redundancy of explanation, it is hoped tiat, as
the book is primarily written f or persons vithout
much knowledge of horses, it may be forgiven.

What has first to be done is to attract the
horse's confidence, and then his &ffection.
Ponies, horses and cattle, and, in fact, all
animals handled continuously fron birth,
acquire this confidence so completdy in the
man who loves them and understinds their
natures as from within, that nothiag that he
can do will either disturb or friglten them.
Their affection for him is so strong that even
the infliction of severe pain, as in necessary
surgical operations, is borne quite patiently,
the animals understanding that from him�
the master�it is done for their good. To be
able to secure the whole-souled affection of the
noblest animal created�the horse�is a gift and
privilege, of which only those on vhom it is con-
ferred can fully appreciate its priceless beauty.

To one who has this intimate knowledge of
the nature of the horse, there is no exercise of
his powers more thrilling in interest than in the
case of an animal that has grown to adult
age unhandled and without knowledge of man.
In this country the opportunities of finding

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

such an animal, other than hill ponies, are
rare, so that, when they do occur, they should
be cherished and made the most of, as an
enormous amount of pleasure can be got from
observation of the hereditary defences of the
horse, which, in such an example, are quite
extensiyely developed.

The horse is a highly courageous animal,
but, throughout the ages, his chief defence
against danger has been his extreme vigilance
and ability to escape from trouble, instantly,
and at great speed. The nervousness of
highly-strung horses is an endowment of nature,
which in past times has preserved their remote
ancestors and the species; so that the line
to be taken with an unbroken adult animal,
full of every kind of apprehension of harm
from man, is such complete disarmament of
suspicion, that it is never given the opportunity
to develop into active antagonism.

The younger the animal is, the easier and
more quickly it can be trained into confidence
and affection. Remember that a whoUy
unbroken adult is much less amenable, for it
has an already acquired stock of experience,
on which it acts, if scared, with unhesitating
impulse. It was promptness of decision and
action, as well as speed, which saved its remote
ancestors from becoming wolf or lion meat.
In approaching this work of breaking in, it is
most necessary to take into full account the

Rohan and some of his descendants, 1912

Rohan and one of his sons, 1912¹

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

instincts working in the horse's mind; for
there is only one way to perfect success in the
handling of a wild and nervous unbroken, fully-
grown horse or mare. Wrongly handled, the
animal is spoilt for life. Rightly handled,
the subjection and cure of its nervousness and
wildness can be made quite permanent.

The nature of the horse, as unbroken, is to
suspect and counter every act of a man ap-
proaching it, whom it regards as a potential
enemy. If there are a number of men direct-
ing their attention to him and they run, swing
their arms about, and shout when approaching
him, any doubt upon this point vanishes, and
the horse becomes quite certain that they mean
harm to him, and that in prompt escape lies his
only safety. Realise that this means destruction
of all confidence at the very commencement of
your entering into relations with him.

An advance to an unbroken horse must
always be oblique and indirect, in absolute
silence, dead slow, and without any movement
of hands and arms. Unless the ordinary
groom or helper is drilled into this dead quiet
and dead slow procedure, he will spoil every-
thing at the start. The quickest way of getting
on to good terms with the horse is to do every-
thing so quietly and dead slow, that, not only
is he not scared, but so that he hardly pays
any attention to what you are doing.

BRINGING THE WILD HORSE �P
FROM PAST�RE

..._._....._______________ ______________________________,_____________....^.V;... - ... ..,■■■■., , ^..... -..,._ ■________________..........._.....................

BRINGING THE WILD HORSE �P
FROM PASTURE

THE first problem is to get the un-
handled horse from the field to the
stable, without the least excitement. Tie
up all dogs. If he is very wild and nervous,
put a very old and quiet animal, that will in
no circumstances kick, into the same field for
several days to make friends with him. When
you see that they are constantly feeding to-
gether, shoulder to shoulder, the old horse
can be used as a lead. If possible avoid taking
the unhandled horse by road, for a motor, a
load of straw, or a flock of sheep might cause
much difnculty.

But perhaps you have to bring up the wild
horse from his pasture without the aid of
another animal. Then adopt this procedure.
Tie up all dogs. It is essential that he should
not be scared, so drill your helpers belorehand
into the prime necessity of absolute silence
and slow movement. It is best that the
horse should be in a field adjoining the straw

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

yard, or stable, so that the operation should
be limited to the actual corraling. If he has
to be taken through a succession of fields to
the last next the straw yard, have all the gates
propped open. Take your men by a round-
about way to the far side of the horse without
attracting his attention, and then, in extended
order, begin your drive, which must be executed
in dead slow time. You and your men should
not walk in a straight line to the horse, but
obliquely, backwards and forwards. By and
by he will look up from his feeding and will
move away, and start feeding again in another
place nearer the gate. As the men come on,
he will move further away still nearer the
gate, and will begin to realise that there is
pressure. This will put him on the alert for
danger, and he will stop feeding to watch
events. It is essential that he should be
induced to move away, which he will do
quietly if he is not excited. The oblique
movement of the men will make him believe
that they are not after him, more especially
if they are instructed not to look at him, but
to appear as if they were interested in looking
for something in the grass�half-crowns per-
haps. He wont like their presence and will
continue to move away, and in course of time
will discover the open gate and walk through
it.

If the men had been walking direct on him,

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

shouting and waving their arms, his whole
attention would have been so centred on them
that he would not have seen the open gate
behind him, and, in his scared condition, he
would have determined instantly that the
only way of escape was to bolt, through the
widest gap in the advancing line of enemies,
into the more open space beyond them. Con-
vinced that he was in danger of his life, he
would continue to race round the field, and it
would take him at least a fortnight to get
over the experience, and he would retain the
impression that all men were his enemies.

But the silent pressure, slow and oblique
advance, leaves no such impression on the
mind of a wild unhandled horse. He has been
inconvenienced, but thai is all. When you
have got him into the next field the day's work
is done, because any horse put into a new
pasture will gallop all round it in excited
exploration before he quietens down to feed.
If of his own accord he goes through the next
gate, well and good, but don't try to force
him. Your ultimate object is the speediest
breaking of the animal, and by proceeding
slowly at the beginning you are in reality
making the quickest advance. You want to
get him into the straw-yard, or stable, with the
least disturbance to his equanimity. If he is
terrified by the procedure, you will find him
in such a condition of antagonism that it will
c si

The Hor se, as Comrade and Friend

take many days, if not weeks, to overcome his
repulsion to a man. It is speaking, of course,
of a wild and most nervous horse that has never
been handled, and one that can be permanently
spoilt if brute force is used. Such a one can
only be trained to lose his nervousness and
wildness by methods, which so attract him
to you that he will do anything, which you can
make him understand you want done, from
pure affection and love of you. He will have
got used to the new field in twenty-f our hours, so
use the same method to get him into the next.
He was not scared the first day, and on the
second day he will be easy to manoeuvre into
the next field. If it takes a week to get him
up to the straw-yard quite unscared, the time
will have been well spent.

CHAPTER III
THE FIRST HANDLING

THE best thing is to get him with the
old horse into a straw-yard, and for a
day leave them together and take no notice
of them, except to bring them a little hay,
not too much, because you want both to be
hungry on the day of the first encounter.
The wild animal will have much to distract
his attention, and, if leffc quietly alone, will
go round snorting and smelling everything.
The placid demeanour of the old horse will do
much to give him confidence; and in twenty-
four hours he will have so assimilated the
novelty of his surroundings, that if you enter
the yard he will be prepared to attend to you
and nothing else. This first s�ance with the
wild horse you must carry out by yourself,
and no one must be allowed to approach the
yard. His attention must be concentrated on
you alone, to the exclusion of every other
excitement. Tie up all dogs. Enter with as
little noise as possible and quite slowly. Bring
an armfui of fresh hay with you; sit down

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

somewhere in the open, put the hay in front
of you, and await developments.

All the time keep perfectly still and don't
move a hand or a muscle. The old horse will
come up to feed and the wild one will follow,
but will keep at a distance, wistfully eyeing
the hay, but not daring to come so close to
you as to reach it. Just sit there quite motion-
less, without making the least sound or move-
ment, and you will have a most amusing time.
With many snorts and strong breathings the
wild one will come up, hesitate and break
away over and over again, but piqued by the
munching of the old horse and the smell of
the hay he will always come back. His object
is the hay, but his eye is on you all the while
and the snorts are tests of the situation. Keep
dead still, for you are now breaking the horse
faster than you know. He is making up his
mind about you, and you can teil how he is get-
ting on from the character of his snorts. He
will break away and come back again a dozen
times or more, every now andthen shorteninghis
distance as a try on. All his attention is now
on you, and on one of his returns try the effect
upon him of a cheerful chirrup, not too loud
to scare. Probably he will jump back with a
snort, but if he likes the sound of it he wont
be long away. Placate him by pushing the
hay, on one of his absences, so that he finds
it a little nearer to him on his return. Have

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

patience and play this game to the end, when, if
he is hungry, he will the quicker snatch his first
wisp of hay and make off with it. Wild horse
as he is, you have established confidential
relations with him, for he has found out that,
under certain circumstances, you are not much
to be feared. Keep dead quiet and he will
soon be back for another wisp, which he will
again carry off; and so on, with less nervous-
ness and more confidence every time, until,
still keeping a watchful eye on you all the
time, he concludes that it is not necessary to
carry it of� and starts munching in earnest.
Just sit there and talk to him. After a while
move your hands and arms, just a little, and
very slowly. He will have his eye on them ;
but, at the very first quick movement, he will
be off in panic, and all the snorting business
will have to be gone through again; with the
added difficulty that a great suspicion has
arisen in his mind that you are not altogether
what he took you to be. On the other hand,
if you play your part with great adroitness
and tact, disarming his every apprehension,
you may be rewarded with an actual nibble
at a wisp in your hand, extended so slowly
that he almost thinks it grew like that. The
horse is a beast of splendid courage, and
remember that, in this first great interview,
this wild thing, in any advance he makes to
familiarity, is doing violence to all his hereditary

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

instincts to get away. If you get him,
with a snort, to smell and touch your hand,
it is triumph indeed. The presence of the
old horse helps matters by his example of
confidence, and shortens the time of attraction ;
but, with patience and the utmost care, the
wild horse, even if alone, can eventually be
induced to come up to you and give you that
touch on the fingers, which means the begin-
ning of his friendship.

After the first touch of his nose on your
fingers, the wild horse will want to touch them
again. Keep your hand perfectly still; and
the second time there will not only be a touch,
but a smell as well. It is his way of taking
stock of you, and, if the smell is satisfactory,
you are a made man as far as he is concerned.
If you are sitting or lying on the ground, a
horse will come up to you so much more readily
than if you are standing up. To a foal, a man
lying down is perfectly irresistible. Keep
dead quiet, and by devious ways the foal will
come up, and, after a little hesitation, you
will feel somewhere just the tip of a wee soft
nose. Then somewhere else another touch,
and another, and if your savour is good, there
follows a downright good smelling all over.
Then that foal is yours ; and you can do any-
thing you like with him, provided you make
no sound and all your movements are dead
slow. So with the wild horse, the first nervous

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

sniff will assuredly be foliowed by another and
no doubt a snort. The great art is to keep
most perfectly still. The next touch will be
a little bolder, with quite a good smell of your
hand. After two or three smells, very slowly
put your arm down by your side. You have
got a friend now, and the friend's nose will be
stretched out hesitatingly, as one who does
not quite know how the polite attention will be
received, just to touch your sleeve about the
elbow. Encourage all his enquiries, and let him
smell you wherever he likes�he won't hurt you.

Then, on one of his absences, slowly stand
up. This is a new phase to the wild horse, at
which he is a little alarmed, and all that you
did sitting down will have to be done over
again. It is curious how quickly a horse gets
confidence if all goes right, so the repetitioh,
standing, will take much less time, and at the
end you will find yourself able to take little
liberties with him, such as stroking his nose ;
first, with a wisp of hay, which he will try to
eat, and then, with your fingers. None of
this time is being wasted. These things are
not trivialities. You are awaking in the horse
an interest in yourself personally, and confi-
dence that all these strange things you are
doing are meant friendly, and that in no case
will he be hurt.

Then for a while pay him no attention at all.
Put a headstall on the old horse, tie him up

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

so that he cannot move away, pat him, stroke

him and handle him all over fore and aft.

Give him some hay and generally make a great

fuss of him. The wild horse will move off a

little way to regard this new thing. He will

take full stock of it. He will see this strange

biped taking all sorts of liberties with the old

horse, and that, so far from the old horse

objecting to anything that is being done to

him, he loves it. Stroke the old horse's face,

his eyes, pull his ears, scratch him under the

mane, lift his legs, go all round him, scratch

his back, and, when you have done, lean your

back against the old horse, piek up a piece

of hay, face the wild one, and hold it out to

him. He is still hungry, and, ten to one,

after a little hesitation, he will come up to you

and take it. When it is done, very very slowly

stoop down and piek up some more, and, as

slowly rise up. As you stoop down the wild

horse will start a little and draw back ; for

this is another strange thing, and he does not

know what to make of it. Wait a little, and

hold the hay out again, and once more he will

come up hesitatingly and take it.

Repeat this quite a number of times and you
will see the confidence of the wild horse grow
every time. This may well end your first
lesson, and, as you go, lead the old horse with
you up to the gate and made a little more fuss
with him, before you loose him and go out.

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

This also will give the wild horse something
more to think about. Let no one else go to
the straw-yard, or much that you have done
will be undone.

The next day, tie up all dogs, and do the
same thing. Tie up the old horse and sit down
with the hay at your feet. Hand up a little
to the old nag and the wild one, quite hungry,
will not be long before he comes to you for
some. Go through the same programme,
which will take much less time, but do not
forget to make all your movements just as
slow. Now make another advance. Bring a
flexible cutting whip with you, and, as you present
the hay to the wild horse, hold the whip in the
same hand, so that the knob is masked by,
but projects just a little beyond the hay. He
won't take any notice of it, and will go for the
hay. As he pulls at the hay let the knob
end just touch the side of his face. He may
draw back a little, but he will again come for
the hay, so let it touch him again. He will
soon get used to it, and you can push the knob
end out a little further, to touch his cheek.
It will annoy him a little at first, but he will
soon get used to it and won't bother so long
as he gets the hay. Gradually push the knob
out further so that you touch him gently on
the side of the neck. He doesn't like it very
much, but resigns himself to the annoyance
on account of the hay, and in a little while

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

you will be able to rub him on the neck quite
hard. Go through it all again two or three
times, so that he is quite used to seeing the whip
and being rubbed by it on the face, cheek and
neck. Do it on the other side, progressing
just as gradually. Now take the hay in one
hand and the whip in the other, and, slowly
and gently, go, through the process with the
whip in full sight, every movement being dead
slow. Turn the whip round so that you present
the flexible end to him, repeating the process,
first with one hand and then with the other.
By this time he will have ceased to make any
objection to being rubbed by the whip, and you
can gradually extend the range of operations
to his shoulders, wither, and chest. Then
while you do this begin to talk to him cheerily
and watch his eyes and the play of his ears.
With experience, if you watch both, you can
almost teil what a horse is thinking of.

Next day, after tieing up all the dogs, in a
sort of House-that-Jack-Built progression go
through the whole thing again, from the very
beginning. The horse's strongest point is his
memory, and he will know quite well what is
coming and will raise little if any objection.
In fact, by this time, his confidence in you
will have so increased that you can go to
work more boldly with the whip-rubbing part.
He will have got to like it, and, by holding
the hay a bit back, he will come much closer

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

to you ; so that you can rub his back and
flanks with the whip and occasionally touch
his neck with your fingers. The finger touches
at first should be as light as possible, and
infrequent. It is a great concession on the
part of the wild horse to allow you to touch
him at all, and you must give him time to think
about it and consider whether any outrage is
intended, or not. With the first light touches,
he won't be sure whether anything was in-
tended or not, but, as they go on without
hurting him in any way, he will conclude that
he has no reason to object.

Now any horse, when he comes up from
grass, has a more or less itchy skin, and the
skin of a wild horse, who has always from
a foal been in the open, will be more so. From
the light touches proceed to light rubs, and
watch his eyes and ears. As long as his ears
are forward, all is well. Half-way down the
neck is the best place to begin to rub with
more pressure. If he likes it he will keep his
ears forward; if he is not sure, one ear will be
forward and the other a bit back ; if he doesn't
like it, both ears will be momentarily brought
back, with just a gleam of white in the eye.
But he has suffered many things at your hands,
which at first he hardly approved but turned
out better than he expected, so that, even on
this mighty question of the actual touch of the
biped, he is inclined to risk consent, and

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

eventually does do so. Imperceptibly turn
the rubbing into the gentlest scratching. It
may be a great coup�the greatest coup. If
he stops eating hay to rub his neck against
your nails, you have got him body and soul.
You have only got to extend the area of the
operation judiciously, inch by inch, across the
shoulders keeping well below the wither, then
upwards to the middle of his back, to have
him in a state of perfect ecstasy. He will
utterly surrender to you, forgetful of every
other consideration, if only he can enjoy that
perfectly entrancing scratching of his back.
Begin it gently with the one hand, and as he
realises that this particular place that he has never
been able to get at himself, is actually going
to be scratched for him, as he had never
dreamed in his life to get it titillated, he will
bend down and give you his whole-souled
co-operation for just as long as you like to con-
tinue the contract. Get both hands on to the
job, and the harder you scratch the more
he will love it.

The back scratch has an extraordinary effect
upon him. He will turn his head slowly to
one side, and then to the other. He will draw
down his head and his neck pulling them back,
with all the muscles taut, until he looks like a
Greek horse on the frieze of the Parthenon.
He will stretch his nose out and curl up his
lip, as though he were trying to ape an ele-

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

phant's trunk. He will waggle his ears about
and close his eyes ; open his mouth, and stretch
out his tongue; stand on one leg, and then on
another; stamp with them; go down on his
knees in a paroxysm of ecstasy, get up again,
and even lie down. Stop, even for a moment,
and he will look round to enquire why all this
joy has come to an end; will jog you with his
nose, and present his back forrenewedattention.

Then with one hand, still titillating his
back, with the other scratch his mane, the
whole of his neck, his chest, his flanks, his
girth, and especially his forelegs as far as you
can reach, lifting them at the knee if he will
allow you. He will want you to do it all
again, and this time, facing his shoulder, get
your hands on either side of his neck, scratch
it all 'over; then get to his shoulders and up to
the wither. Then press your weight against
his chest and shoulders, as your hands pass
over the wither on to his back. He won't
object, and will most probably return the
pressure to help you to get your fingers further
along his back.

Walk slowly away and he will come after
you. Let him come up to you, and scratch
him a little again, and go on. He will follow
you, so stop and give him some more. Bring
him right up to the gate, give him a last scratch
on the back and vanish. There will be a wild
horse with his head over the gate, looking to

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

see where that perfectly beautiful man has
gone.

It is enough to know the scheme and princi-
ples of this first handling. It can be varied,
in respect of its details, to suit the peculiarities
of every kind of horse. It is applicable to
every horse of every age�stallions, geldings,
mares, foals and fillies. The younger they
are, the more quickly they respond to its
influence. Its great merit is that the animal
is at full liberty, and under no kind of con-
straint.

The horse responds because he wants to
respond. There is no coercion. The most
savage stallion, brutalised and terrorised by
the most ignorant of grooms, whose only
method of handling him has been with a
pitchfork, will respond to it in time, as soon as
he learns that you are of a different order to
the cruel beast who has had charge of him.
Confidence comes first, and affection follows.

Of all the animals on earth none has been
created of such nobility of character, not even
man, for there is nothing mean about the
horse�and there are many mean men. Watch
the poorest of half-starved beasts in the London
streets, ribs showing through scars ; look at the
expression of his eyes and the curves of his
mouth as he struggles with a load infinitely

Rohan and Romford, 1906
Father on Father, and Son on Son

Playmates in the Paddock, 1906

The Horse, as Comrade and Friend

too heavy for him ; think of the bodily weakness
braced up in that poor small body by a most
magnificent courage; striving to pull and to
keep on pulling�till he falls. The curves and
play of the muscles of the mouth of a horse,
pulling his best, teil of the courage and great
soul that is in him. Wounded, in pain, suffer-
ing hunger and thirst, waiting for the end,
there can be no more pathetic picture of hard-
ships borne unflinchingly with patience and
perfect dignity. All horses are fit for heaven ;
but only a few men.

Few can get close enough to the mind and
soul of a horse to appreciate to the full how
noble and beautiful is his character. To
possess the whole-souled affection and love of
a horse, and many are capable of the greatest
affection, is an exquisitely perfect experience.
To have the power of attracting such af�ection,
and to know how to reciprocate it, is privilege
and pleasure beyond all price.

»»«-.■�3s�*

Playing at "Wild Injuns," 1906

Betty on Kitty VIII. Iris on Rohan, 1906

THE scheme of the first handling has
been the voluntary attraction of the
horse, when at full liberty, to the trainer.
At its end the old horse can be removed from
the straw-yard. There is no longer any advan-
tage in his presence; as the wild horse, who
to you is no longer wild, has now no fear of you
and will welcome your coming. He will of his
own accord come right up to you at the gate,
and, in a day or two, will salute your arrival
with a delighted neigh.

The scheme of the second handling is the
very gradual coercion of the horse, until you
have full control of his movements. Like the
first handling, it must be done so slowly and
gradually that he does not realise that he is
being coerced or controlled. You must so
manoeuvre things that he does voluntarily
what you want him to do. When a horse
gets really fond of you it is a pleasure to him
to do for you whatever you can make him
understand you want him to do. Some horses



	How to Handle a foal

(a) The fore leg tied by special strap (b) A gentle pull on the off-rope rein
		(c) Once down pet him a little (d) The lesson over he is well in hand


			[To face page 52



		HOW TO HANDLB A FOAL

1. Lifting him to his hind legs

			2, Teaching him confidence

	3. A lump of sugar as reward

				To face page 53



		THE USE OP ENTIRE HORSES FOR TRACTION

	1. Six Percheron stallions pulling a load of 20 tons up a heavy gradi�nt

2. Paris omnibus with team of three Percheron stallions

			[To face page 8<X



	THE USE OF ENTIEE HOBSES POE TRACTION

		3. Heavy draught Percheron stallion in Paris

4. A fine pair of heavy draught Percheron stallions at the Eiffel Tower, Paris

			ITo face page 81



	THE USE OF THE TRAINING HEADSTALL

Marsanda and Exmarsa with training headstall

		■ Rohan's Last Gift" with training headstall

			[�'o face page 137



	Rqhan

.Pk ^=== m a



		iFrontispiece RQHAN [(from a water colour portrait by the Author) {Toface D^dication



		To The Dear Memory of ROHAN My old Arab Stall�on One op the Noblest Horses God ever made and My Best and Truest Comrade and Friend



			CONTENTS

		Ml FOREWORD 1 Chap. I. Basic Principles of Handling and Training II. Bringing the Wild Horse tjp FROM PASTURE III. The First Handling IV. The Second Handling V. Training to Saddle VI. Handling in the Stable VII. Training for Riding VIII. Training for Riding (Gon.) IX. Training for Riding (Gon.) X. Training for Riding (Gon.) XI. Training for Jumping . XII. Training for Drivlng . XIII. The Most Wonderful Thing in the World XIV. Two Mysteries Afterword .



		LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Eohan, aged 10 and 23 - - - - Pre-Frontispiece Eohan, from the Water Colour Portrait by the Author Frontispiece , , To face page Eohan and Maepbgokby, 1916; and Eohan in 1906 - 14 Eohan in 1906; with some of his descendants in 1912; and with one of his sons...... 15 Fathee on Fathee, and Son on Bon ; Playmates in the Paddock........ 36 Playing at " Wild Injuns " ; Betty on Kitty VIII., and Ibis on Eohan....... 37 Legsteap and its Application, Figs. I. and II. - - 46 How to Handle a Foal.....52 and 53 Maezouk in 1906........ 64 Fitz, a battle-scarred hero, who served through the Palestine and Senussi Campaigns 65 Paeis Omnibus, with team of three Peroheron stalliona; and six Percheron stallions pulling 20 tons up a heavy gradi�nt........ 80 Heavy Dbaught Peeoheeon Stallions in Paeis - - 81 Gladys Calthbop and Skewbald Filly 92 Maeladi and Swan ; Eohan's Last Gift and the two Eomabsandos........ 93 Mabpegobby and Musket at Play - - 104 and 105 Eo-Akbae's Antics........ 120 Eotunda I. and Eotunda II.; sisters who could not be parted - ....... 121 Maesanda as a Chestnut Filly and a Gbey Maeb - 136 Mabsanda's Chestnut Filly Foal, and Eohan's Last Gift, with training headstalls - - � - - 137 Jumping an Invisible Fence.....- 150 Is this a Unique Occubbence?..... 151 Teaching Eosanda II. to jump in hand - - - 152 Eosanda II. (13 h. 3 in.) jumping 6 ft. and 6 ft. 3 in. - " 153 Eotund and the Boy Scouts..... 192 The Zebea Stbiping of Foals..... 193 The Bibth of a Foal .... 200, 201 and 212 Eotund II. and Lynton, with Sam Up 213 The Watee whebe Windeemebe Died ; Mafia and her filly foal, Mabmafia....... 238 The Black " Guabdian Angel " Pabachute - - 239



		LOWTHER, Penrith, 5th November, 1917. Dear Mr. Calthrop, I have read your book, which I now return, and deeply regret that I have taken so long to do it, but I have been so very busy. I have now read every word of it, and entirely agree with practically all that you have said. Also I entirely agree with your views. As regards what I might term " instantaneous breaking" : to anybody who really under- stands animals, like yourself, it is perfectly obvious and I quite agree with all you say. I knew Sample and Galvayne and all those breaking men very well. Sample was really by far the best of them; Galvayne was merely an imitation, and a moderate one, of Sample. I hope that you will succeed with your publication, for it is certainly deserving of every success, as it is full of merit, and the principles and everything on which you found your system is, in my humble and probably valueless opinion, perfectly right. I am perfectly certain that no real cure can be made with a savage animal, except of a temporary character, in which the owner or user of the horse has not made and given the



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend animal that he is breaking absolute and com- plete confidence and justice. Horses and dogs are like children and at times want correct- ing, but correcting an animal that makes a mistake when it knows it is wrong is a totally different thing from abusing and knocking an animal about, such as one often sees. I have seen some of the much-advertised methods of breaking the wildest of remounts. It is true that they are broken, to an extent, but it is their spirit that is broken not their nature or tempers altered and calmed. But the result is, I suppose, satisfactory to the breaker, but it can only be�and is�tem- porary. However, you go into such detail and so very admirably that it would be im- pertinent to make remarks on what evidently you understand better than I do. Thanking you for having allowed me to see the book before it is published, and again wishing it every possible success. Believe me, Yours truly, (signed) Lonsdale.



			FOREWORD

		ICOME of a family, who for some hundreds of years have been notable for an exceed- ing love of their horses, and for their somewhat remarkable influence over them. No records remain as to the exact nature of the methods of horsecraft employed by my forebears, but my own success in my younger days in handling and taming all sorts of diffi- cult, tricky and vicious horses�sometimes quite unapproachable by other men�and of inducing them to lead subsequently virtuous and blameless lives, makes me believe that my powers are hereditary, and that, ther�fore, my ancestors have probably worked much on the same lines as I have myself. Owing to age and growing infirmities, I am no longer able to handle, tame and ride wild horses as I once could ; but my love for all horses remains as strong as ever, and, thank God, so does their love for me. The horse that is your friend never Iets you know that he thinks you old. By a coincidence, I recently received almost together several letters from Yorkshire and Essex, in which I was asked to give advice as to the best methods of breaking horses 1



		Foreword were found subsequently to be much the worse for it, and several had to be destroyed. The same sequelae foliowed demonstrations in other large cities, and, when this became generally known, the tour of instruction came to an end. Another lightning tamer, whose demon- strations a good many years ago lof ten attended, certainly had the art of bringing the most refractory and impossible animal under com- plete control within a very few minutes. He had perfect command of his temper, indomit- able pluck, always spoke to his horses cheerily and kindly, though firmly ; and had an illimit- able stock of raillery and cajolery, which seemed to be appreciated by even the most ferocious of his exhibits. He was never cruel to his pupils, and, although at first afraid of an ingenious shock treatment, which was his speciality, they ended by obviously enjoying it thoroughly. In conversation he frankly admitted to me that the sudden quelling of a horse had little permanent effect; but it was necessary for the attraction and entertainment of his public. For the permanent obliteration of bad habits, he agreed that a long and gradual course was necessary; but that would not fill a big hall and bring in gate money. I foliowed up a number of cases of horses treated only once or twice at his most interesting show, and although this extremely able expert had

			4



		Foreword willingly co-operates with you, everything, no matter how difficult, is made quite easy of accomplishment. " It's the way he has wid them" was said of a sunny-hearted Irish horse-breaker of my acquaintance, whose horses loved him and did anything he wanted of them. Try the sunny-hearted way�it's the right one. The system of slow and gradual training, as described in this book, is set out at length to enable any man or woman, without expert knowledge, to undertake the training of horses for their own use, or for sale. For their per- sonal service they would be anxious, no doubt, to make them the most perfect companions possible, and would be willing to devote con- siderable time to secure the very best results. To those who have suffici�nt leisure, I advise the very gradual training I have described as being well worth while; for a horse so trained can be ridden or driven by anybody, and becomes the most perfect companion and comrade conceivable. But it is not possible for everyone, particularly those in charge of large horse-runs and ranches who have to handle very large numbers of horses, to expend so much time on individual animals; and it may be well for it to be known that the system can be very much speeded up, the more so, if the training is confmed just to essentials. The following are instances. At Secunderabad,

			6



	^^rr.----------^-----------,.- -
	^^rr.----------^-----------,.- -	w rww~~* ■:>~~.
		w rww~~* ■:>~~.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF HANDLING AND TRAINING



		CHAPTER I BASIC PRINCIPLES OF HANDLING AND TRAINING THE horses and ponies which come into the hands of the trainer are of all sorts, ages, heights, shapes and sizes, and their tenvperaments and intelligence and manners are of every possible diversity; as are also their previous experiences of handling �good, bad, and indifferent�on the part of man. This book has been written, so that any intelligent person�man or woman�with no previous knowledge of the methods of educat- ing a horse, or of training and taming bad horses, can undertake to train their own young stock, or to improve the manners of badly broken animals, with the certainty of success. As stated in the Foreword, there are many animals in this country two or three years old, which, through the departure of men to the Front, have never been handled at all, and therefore the typical case has been taken of how to break in a particularly wild ^rand 13



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend nervous unhandled three-year-old horse, and the problem is dealt with accordingly. It is applicable to stallions, mares and geldings of every sort and of all ages. If there is any redundancy of explanation, it is hoped tiat, as the book is primarily written f or persons vithout much knowledge of horses, it may be forgiven. What has first to be done is to attract the horse's confidence, and then his &ffection. Ponies, horses and cattle, and, in fact, all animals handled continuously fron birth, acquire this confidence so completdy in the man who loves them and understinds their natures as from within, that nothiag that he can do will either disturb or friglten them. Their affection for him is so strong that even the infliction of severe pain, as in necessary surgical operations, is borne quite patiently, the animals understanding that from him� the master�it is done for their good. To be able to secure the whole-souled affection of the noblest animal created�the horse�is a gift and privilege, of which only those on vhom it is con- ferred can fully appreciate its priceless beauty. To one who has this intimate knowledge of the nature of the horse, there is no exercise of his powers more thrilling in interest than in the case of an animal that has grown to adult age unhandled and without knowledge of man. In this country the opportunities of finding 14



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend such an animal, other than hill ponies, are rare, so that, when they do occur, they should be cherished and made the most of, as an enormous amount of pleasure can be got from observation of the hereditary defences of the horse, which, in such an example, are quite extensiyely developed. The horse is a highly courageous animal, but, throughout the ages, his chief defence against danger has been his extreme vigilance and ability to escape from trouble, instantly, and at great speed. The nervousness of highly-strung horses is an endowment of nature, which in past times has preserved their remote ancestors and the species; so that the line to be taken with an unbroken adult animal, full of every kind of apprehension of harm from man, is such complete disarmament of suspicion, that it is never given the opportunity to develop into active antagonism. The younger the animal is, the easier and more quickly it can be trained into confidence and affection. Remember that a whoUy unbroken adult is much less amenable, for it has an already acquired stock of experience, on which it acts, if scared, with unhesitating impulse. It was promptness of decision and action, as well as speed, which saved its remote ancestors from becoming wolf or lion meat. In approaching this work of breaking in, it is most necessary to take into full account the 15



		Rohan, in 1906

Rohan and some of his descendants, 1912

	Rohan and one of his sons, 1912¹

			[To face page 15



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend instincts working in the horse's mind; for there is only one way to perfect success in the handling of a wild and nervous unbroken, fully- grown horse or mare. Wrongly handled, the animal is spoilt for life. Rightly handled, the subjection and cure of its nervousness and wildness can be made quite permanent. The nature of the horse, as unbroken, is to suspect and counter every act of a man ap- proaching it, whom it regards as a potential enemy. If there are a number of men direct- ing their attention to him and they run, swing their arms about, and shout when approaching him, any doubt upon this point vanishes, and the horse becomes quite certain that they mean harm to him, and that in prompt escape lies his only safety. Realise that this means destruction of all confidence at the very commencement of your entering into relations with him. An advance to an unbroken horse must always be oblique and indirect, in absolute silence, dead slow, and without any movement of hands and arms. Unless the ordinary groom or helper is drilled into this dead quiet and dead slow procedure, he will spoil every- thing at the start. The quickest way of getting on to good terms with the horse is to do every- thing so quietly and dead slow, that, not only is he not scared, but so that he hardly pays any attention to what you are doing.

			16



			CHAPTER II

		BRINGING THE WILD HORSE �P FROM PASTURE THE first problem is to get the un- handled horse from the field to the stable, without the least excitement. Tie up all dogs. If he is very wild and nervous, put a very old and quiet animal, that will in no circumstances kick, into the same field for several days to make friends with him. When you see that they are constantly feeding to- gether, shoulder to shoulder, the old horse can be used as a lead. If possible avoid taking the unhandled horse by road, for a motor, a load of straw, or a flock of sheep might cause much difnculty. But perhaps you have to bring up the wild horse from his pasture without the aid of another animal. Then adopt this procedure. Tie up all dogs. It is essential that he should not be scared, so drill your helpers belorehand into the prime necessity of absolute silence and slow movement. It is best that the horse should be in a field adjoining the straw 19



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend yard, or stable, so that the operation should be limited to the actual corraling. If he has to be taken through a succession of fields to the last next the straw yard, have all the gates propped open. Take your men by a round- about way to the far side of the horse without attracting his attention, and then, in extended order, begin your drive, which must be executed in dead slow time. You and your men should not walk in a straight line to the horse, but obliquely, backwards and forwards. By and by he will look up from his feeding and will move away, and start feeding again in another place nearer the gate. As the men come on, he will move further away still nearer the gate, and will begin to realise that there is pressure. This will put him on the alert for danger, and he will stop feeding to watch events. It is essential that he should be induced to move away, which he will do quietly if he is not excited. The oblique movement of the men will make him believe that they are not after him, more especially if they are instructed not to look at him, but to appear as if they were interested in looking for something in the grass�half-crowns per- haps. He wont like their presence and will continue to move away, and in course of time will discover the open gate and walk through it. If the men had been walking direct on him, 20



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend shouting and waving their arms, his whole attention would have been so centred on them that he would not have seen the open gate behind him, and, in his scared condition, he would have determined instantly that the only way of escape was to bolt, through the widest gap in the advancing line of enemies, into the more open space beyond them. Con- vinced that he was in danger of his life, he would continue to race round the field, and it would take him at least a fortnight to get over the experience, and he would retain the impression that all men were his enemies. But the silent pressure, slow and oblique advance, leaves no such impression on the mind of a wild unhandled horse. He has been inconvenienced, but thai is all. When you have got him into the next field the day's work is done, because any horse put into a new pasture will gallop all round it in excited exploration before he quietens down to feed. If of his own accord he goes through the next gate, well and good, but don't try to force him. Your ultimate object is the speediest breaking of the animal, and by proceeding slowly at the beginning you are in reality making the quickest advance. You want to get him into the straw-yard, or stable, with the least disturbance to his equanimity. If he is terrified by the procedure, you will find him in such a condition of antagonism that it will c si



		The Hor se, as Comrade and Friend take many days, if not weeks, to overcome his repulsion to a man. It is speaking, of course, of a wild and most nervous horse that has never been handled, and one that can be permanently spoilt if brute force is used. Such a one can only be trained to lose his nervousness and wildness by methods, which so attract him to you that he will do anything, which you can make him understand you want done, from pure affection and love of you. He will have got used to the new field in twenty-f our hours, so use the same method to get him into the next. He was not scared the first day, and on the second day he will be easy to manoeuvre into the next field. If it takes a week to get him up to the straw-yard quite unscared, the time will have been well spent.

			KI





		CHAPTER III THE FIRST HANDLING THE best thing is to get him with the old horse into a straw-yard, and for a day leave them together and take no notice of them, except to bring them a little hay, not too much, because you want both to be hungry on the day of the first encounter. The wild animal will have much to distract his attention, and, if leffc quietly alone, will go round snorting and smelling everything. The placid demeanour of the old horse will do much to give him confidence; and in twenty- four hours he will have so assimilated the novelty of his surroundings, that if you enter the yard he will be prepared to attend to you and nothing else. This first s�ance with the wild horse you must carry out by yourself, and no one must be allowed to approach the yard. His attention must be concentrated on you alone, to the exclusion of every other excitement. Tie up all dogs. Enter with as little noise as possible and quite slowly. Bring an armfui of fresh hay with you; sit down

					25



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend somewhere in the open, put the hay in front of you, and await developments. All the time keep perfectly still and don't move a hand or a muscle. The old horse will come up to feed and the wild one will follow, but will keep at a distance, wistfully eyeing the hay, but not daring to come so close to you as to reach it. Just sit there quite motion- less, without making the least sound or move- ment, and you will have a most amusing time. With many snorts and strong breathings the wild one will come up, hesitate and break away over and over again, but piqued by the munching of the old horse and the smell of the hay he will always come back. His object is the hay, but his eye is on you all the while and the snorts are tests of the situation. Keep dead still, for you are now breaking the horse faster than you know. He is making up his mind about you, and you can teil how he is get- ting on from the character of his snorts. He will break away and come back again a dozen times or more, every now andthen shorteninghis distance as a try on. All his attention is now on you, and on one of his returns try the effect upon him of a cheerful chirrup, not too loud to scare. Probably he will jump back with a snort, but if he likes the sound of it he wont be long away. Placate him by pushing the hay, on one of his absences, so that he finds it a little nearer to him on his return. Have

			20



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend patience and play this game to the end, when, if he is hungry, he will the quicker snatch his first wisp of hay and make off with it. Wild horse as he is, you have established confidential relations with him, for he has found out that, under certain circumstances, you are not much to be feared. Keep dead quiet and he will soon be back for another wisp, which he will again carry off; and so on, with less nervous- ness and more confidence every time, until, still keeping a watchful eye on you all the time, he concludes that it is not necessary to carry it of� and starts munching in earnest. Just sit there and talk to him. After a while move your hands and arms, just a little, and very slowly. He will have his eye on them ; but, at the very first quick movement, he will be off in panic, and all the snorting business will have to be gone through again; with the added difficulty that a great suspicion has arisen in his mind that you are not altogether what he took you to be. On the other hand, if you play your part with great adroitness and tact, disarming his every apprehension, you may be rewarded with an actual nibble at a wisp in your hand, extended so slowly that he almost thinks it grew like that. The horse is a beast of splendid courage, and remember that, in this first great interview, this wild thing, in any advance he makes to familiarity, is doing violence to all his hereditary 27



			«

		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend sniff will assuredly be foliowed by another and no doubt a snort. The great art is to keep most perfectly still. The next touch will be a little bolder, with quite a good smell of your hand. After two or three smells, very slowly put your arm down by your side. You have got a friend now, and the friend's nose will be stretched out hesitatingly, as one who does not quite know how the polite attention will be received, just to touch your sleeve about the elbow. Encourage all his enquiries, and let him smell you wherever he likes�he won't hurt you. Then, on one of his absences, slowly stand up. This is a new phase to the wild horse, at which he is a little alarmed, and all that you did sitting down will have to be done over again. It is curious how quickly a horse gets confidence if all goes right, so the repetitioh, standing, will take much less time, and at the end you will find yourself able to take little liberties with him, such as stroking his nose ; first, with a wisp of hay, which he will try to eat, and then, with your fingers. None of this time is being wasted. These things are not trivialities. You are awaking in the horse an interest in yourself personally, and confi- dence that all these strange things you are doing are meant friendly, and that in no case will he be hurt. Then for a while pay him no attention at all. Put a headstall on the old horse, tie him up 29



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend so that he cannot move away, pat him, stroke him and handle him all over fore and aft. Give him some hay and generally make a great fuss of him. The wild horse will move off a little way to regard this new thing. He will take full stock of it. He will see this strange biped taking all sorts of liberties with the old horse, and that, so far from the old horse objecting to anything that is being done to him, he loves it. Stroke the old horse's face, his eyes, pull his ears, scratch him under the mane, lift his legs, go all round him, scratch his back, and, when you have done, lean your back against the old horse, piek up a piece of hay, face the wild one, and hold it out to him. He is still hungry, and, ten to one, after a little hesitation, he will come up to you and take it. When it is done, very very slowly stoop down and piek up some more, and, as slowly rise up. As you stoop down the wild horse will start a little and draw back ; for this is another strange thing, and he does not know what to make of it. Wait a little, and hold the hay out again, and once more he will come up hesitatingly and take it. Repeat this quite a number of times and you will see the confidence of the wild horse grow every time. This may well end your first lesson, and, as you go, lead the old horse with you up to the gate and made a little more fuss with him, before you loose him and go out. 30



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend This also will give the wild horse something more to think about. Let no one else go to the straw-yard, or much that you have done will be undone. The next day, tie up all dogs, and do the same thing. Tie up the old horse and sit down with the hay at your feet. Hand up a little to the old nag and the wild one, quite hungry, will not be long before he comes to you for some. Go through the same programme, which will take much less time, but do not forget to make all your movements just as slow. Now make another advance. Bring a flexible cutting whip with you, and, as you present the hay to the wild horse, hold the whip in the same hand, so that the knob is masked by, but projects just a little beyond the hay. He won't take any notice of it, and will go for the hay. As he pulls at the hay let the knob end just touch the side of his face. He may draw back a little, but he will again come for the hay, so let it touch him again. He will soon get used to it, and you can push the knob end out a little further, to touch his cheek. It will annoy him a little at first, but he will soon get used to it and won't bother so long as he gets the hay. Gradually push the knob out further so that you touch him gently on the side of the neck. He doesn't like it very much, but resigns himself to the annoyance on account of the hay, and in a little while 31



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend you will be able to rub him on the neck quite hard. Go through it all again two or three times, so that he is quite used to seeing the whip and being rubbed by it on the face, cheek and neck. Do it on the other side, progressing just as gradually. Now take the hay in one hand and the whip in the other, and, slowly and gently, go, through the process with the whip in full sight, every movement being dead slow. Turn the whip round so that you present the flexible end to him, repeating the process, first with one hand and then with the other. By this time he will have ceased to make any objection to being rubbed by the whip, and you can gradually extend the range of operations to his shoulders, wither, and chest. Then while you do this begin to talk to him cheerily and watch his eyes and the play of his ears. With experience, if you watch both, you can almost teil what a horse is thinking of. Next day, after tieing up all the dogs, in a sort of House-that-Jack-Built progression go through the whole thing again, from the very beginning. The horse's strongest point is his memory, and he will know quite well what is coming and will raise little if any objection. In fact, by this time, his confidence in you will have so increased that you can go to work more boldly with the whip-rubbing part. He will have got to like it, and, by holding the hay a bit back, he will come much closer 32



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend to you ; so that you can rub his back and flanks with the whip and occasionally touch his neck with your fingers. The finger touches at first should be as light as possible, and infrequent. It is a great concession on the part of the wild horse to allow you to touch him at all, and you must give him time to think about it and consider whether any outrage is intended, or not. With the first light touches, he won't be sure whether anything was in- tended or not, but, as they go on without hurting him in any way, he will conclude that he has no reason to object. Now any horse, when he comes up from grass, has a more or less itchy skin, and the skin of a wild horse, who has always from a foal been in the open, will be more so. From the light touches proceed to light rubs, and watch his eyes and ears. As long as his ears are forward, all is well. Half-way down the neck is the best place to begin to rub with more pressure. If he likes it he will keep his ears forward; if he is not sure, one ear will be forward and the other a bit back ; if he doesn't like it, both ears will be momentarily brought back, with just a gleam of white in the eye. But he has suffered many things at your hands, which at first he hardly approved but turned out better than he expected, so that, even on this mighty question of the actual touch of the biped, he is inclined to risk consent, and 33



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend eventually does do so. Imperceptibly turn the rubbing into the gentlest scratching. It may be a great coup�the greatest coup. If he stops eating hay to rub his neck against your nails, you have got him body and soul. You have only got to extend the area of the operation judiciously, inch by inch, across the shoulders keeping well below the wither, then upwards to the middle of his back, to have him in a state of perfect ecstasy. He will utterly surrender to you, forgetful of every other consideration, if only he can enjoy that perfectly entrancing scratching of his back. Begin it gently with the one hand, and as he realises that this particular place that he has never been able to get at himself, is actually going to be scratched for him, as he had never dreamed in his life to get it titillated, he will bend down and give you his whole-souled co-operation for just as long as you like to con- tinue the contract. Get both hands on to the job, and the harder you scratch the more he will love it. The back scratch has an extraordinary effect upon him. He will turn his head slowly to one side, and then to the other. He will draw down his head and his neck pulling them back, with all the muscles taut, until he looks like a Greek horse on the frieze of the Parthenon. He will stretch his nose out and curl up his lip, as though he were trying to ape an ele- 34



		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend phant's trunk. He will waggle his ears about and close his eyes ; open his mouth, and stretch out his tongue; stand on one leg, and then on another; stamp with them; go down on his knees in a paroxysm of ecstasy, get up again, and even lie down. Stop, even for a moment, and he will look round to enquire why all this joy has come to an end; will jog you with his nose, and present his back forrenewedattention. Then with one hand, still titillating his back, with the other scratch his mane, the whole of his neck, his chest, his flanks, his girth, and especially his forelegs as far as you can reach, lifting them at the knee if he will allow you. He will want you to do it all again, and this time, facing his shoulder, get your hands on either side of his neck, scratch it all 'over; then get to his shoulders and up to the wither. Then press your weight against his chest and shoulders, as your hands pass over the wither on to his back. He won't object, and will most probably return the pressure to help you to get your fingers further along his back. Walk slowly away and he will come after you. Let him come up to you, and scratch him a little again, and go on. He will follow you, so stop and give him some more. Bring him right up to the gate, give him a last scratch on the back and vanish. There will be a wild horse with his head over the gate, looking to

			ss





		The Horse, as Comrade and Friend see where that perfectly beautiful man has gone. * * * * * It is enough to know the scheme and princi- ples of this first handling. It can be varied, in respect of its details, to suit the peculiarities of every kind of horse. It is applicable to every horse of every age�stallions, geldings, mares, foals and fillies. The younger they are, the more quickly they respond to its influence. Its great merit is that the animal is at full liberty, and under no kind of con- straint. The horse responds because he wants to respond. There is no coercion. The most savage stallion, brutalised and terrorised by the most ignorant of grooms, whose only method of handling him has been with a pitchfork, will respond to it in time, as soon as he learns that you are of a different order to the cruel beast who has had charge of him. Confidence comes first, and affection follows. Of all the animals on earth none has been created of such nobility of character, not even man, for there is nothing mean about the horse�and there are many mean men. Watch the poorest of half-starved beasts in the London streets, ribs showing through scars ; look at the expression of his eyes and the curves of his mouth as he struggles with a load infinitely 86