do it. And, if you are experienced in
the art of taming wild horses, you ought to be able to tell, within a
few minutes, the length of time it would take you to halter the colt,
and teach him to lead.

THE KIND OF HALTER.

Always use a leather halter, and be sure to have it made so that it will
not draw tight around his nose if he pulls on it. It should be of the
right size to fit his head easily and nicely; so that the nose-band will
not be too tight or too low. Never put a rope halter on an unbroken
colt, under any circumstances whatever. Rope halters have caused more
horses to hurt or kill themselves than would pay for twice the cost of
all the leather halters that have ever been needed for the purpose of
haltering colts. It is almost impossible to break a colt that is very
wild with a rope halter, without having him pull, rear, and throw
himself, and thus endanger his life; and I will tell you why. It is just
as natural for a horse to try to get his head out of anything that hurts
it, or feels unpleasant, at it would be for you to try to get your hand
out of a fire. The cords of the rope are hard and cutting; this makes
him raise his head and draw on it, and as soon as he pulls, the slip
noose (the way rope-halters are always made) tightens, and pinches his
nose, and then he will struggle for life, until, perchance, he throws
himself; and who would have his horse throw himself, and run the risk of
breaking his neck, rather than pay the price of a leather halter? But
this is not the worst. _A horse that has once pulled on his halter can
never be as well broken as one that has never pulled at all._

But before we attempt to do anything more with the colt, I will give you
some of the characteristics of his nature, that you may better
understand his motions. Every one that has ever paid any attention to
the horse, has noticed his natural inclination to smell everything which
to him looks new and frightful. This is their strange mode of examining
everything. And when they are frightened at anything, though they look
at it sharply, they seem to have no confidence in their eyesight alone,
but must touch it with their nose before they are entirely satisfied;
and, as soon as they have done that, all seems right.

EXPERIMENT WITH THE ROBE.

If you want to satisfy yourself of this characteristic of the horse, and
to learn something of importance concerning the peculiarities of his
nature, &c., turn him into the barn-