, and so go on from day
to day with as much perseverance as if you were practising skating or
walking on a tight rope; until you can approach, halter, lead, strap
up, and lay down a colt with as much calmness as a huntsman takes his
fences with his eye on his hounds, you are not perfect.

Remember you must not hurry, and you must _not chatter_. When you feel
impatient you had better leave off, and begin again another day. And the
same with your horse: you must not tire him with one lesson, but you
must give him at least one lesson every day, and two or three to a
nervous customer; we have a striking example of patience and
perseverance in Mr. Rarey's first evening with Cruiser. He had gone
through the labour of securing him, and bringing him up forty miles
behind a dog-cart, yet he did not lose a moment, but set to work the
same night to tame him limb by limb, and inch by inch, and from that day
until he produced him in public, he never missed a day without spending
twice a day from two to three hours with him, first rendering him
helpless by gag-bit, straps and hobbles, then caressing him, then
forcing him to lie down, then caressing him again, stroking every limb,
talking to him in soothing tones, and now and then, if he turned
vicious, taking up his helpless head, giving it a good shake, while
scolding him as you would a naughty boy. And then again taking off the
gag and rewarding submission with a lock of sweet hay and a drink of
water, most grateful after a tempest of passion, then making him rise,
and riding him--making him stop at a word.

I mention these facts, because an idea has gone abroad that any man with
Mr. Rarey's straps can manage any horse. It would be just as sensible to
assert that any boy could learn to steer a yacht by taking the tiller
for an hour under the care of an "old salt."

The most curious and important fact of all in connection with this
strapping up and laying down process, is, that the moment the horse
rises _he seems to have contracted a personal friendship for the
operator_, and with a very little encouragement will generally follow
him round the box or circus; this feeling may as well be encouraged by a
little bit of carrot or bread and sugar.

PLACE AND PREPARATIONS FOR TRAINING A COLT.

It is almost impossible to train or tame a horse quickly in an open
space. As his falls are violent, the floor must be very soft. The best
place is a space boarded off with partitions six or