f ' ' i JOHNA.SEAVERNS TUFTS UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 3 9090 014 550 525 Webster Family l.u. ^-y of Veterinary MedMns Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine afi Tufts Universrty 200 Westboro Read North Graflon. MA 01536 HUMANE HORSE-TRAINING PIkao hii\ Ranlings- THE AUTHOR. [Frontiipiece- HUMANE HORSE-TRAINING BY PERCY F. THORN IIDMANE HORSE-TRAINER. JUDGE AT THE NATIONAL TROTTING HORSE-BREEDERS' SHOW, 1920. With an Introductory Letter by LORD LONSDALE WITH 46 ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS LONDON: HUTCHINSON 6- CO. PATERNOSTER ROW DEDICATED TO TOM EDWARDS AND THE INIMITABLE " CURLY " FOREWORD 14, Carlton House Terrace, Pall Mall, London, S.W. July 5, 1922. Dear Mr. Thorn, Thank you very much for your letter of the 29th ultimo, and I hasten to return to you the manuscript that you so kindly left for me to look over. I have now gone over the largest part of it, and find it not only most interesting but exceedingly instructive, and I am sure that the knowledge it imparts would be of the greatest value to those who break horses. Some of the theories are, of course, really acting on the lines of Sample, whom I knew years ago, and very valuable these theories are. I think the photo- graphs you enclosed are splendid for illustrations. There are one or two points in the work on which I rather differ, but they are so slight that I really think X FOREWORD they are not worth mentioning. The only danger of such practices is in the hands of those who try to carry them out but fail from want of confidence and also from not adhering strictly to the instructions laid down, and if you get these ideas instilled into a man who is partly nervous and very rough they are somewhat dangerous. But then, of course, there are difficulties in all such books. Anyhow, I have not the slightest hesitation in con- gratulating you on the work and the extraordinary common sense shown and the excellent description you give in regard to the breaking of animals. I wish you every success with your book, and also as regards your journey to New Zealand, where I hope you may be fully repaid by the training of your horses. Believe me, with many thanks for allowing me to see your manuscript, Yours truly, Lonsdale. PREFACE The subject of this book has long been of vast im- portance to horsemen. I wish to impress upon my readers that this work is the outcome of much practical experience of one who has studied the horse and the conditions under which he is born, reared, broken, trained and fitted for his ever^^day life, whether intended for the hunting-field, polo, racing, show-ring, the farm or the road. It grieves me when I see horses who have worked and served their masters faithfully for years, being finally led to " the Boat." Surely our Government, in the interests of humanity, should make it compulsory to have these poor decrepit animals humanely destroyed in England, and to prohibit exportation, which, after all, only benefits callous men who are devoid of all feeling. I have oft-times suffered at the many hopeless sights T have seen brought about through thoughtlessness and ignorance, and I have often felt it my duty to take up my pen and write something for horsemen to read that will in the end benefit my favourite animal, the horse. Percy F. Thorn. — CONTEXTS Fa3B FOREWORD ix PREFACE xi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . - - xvj CIL\PTER I The S'.ab'.e—Foreword to Colt-triir.ir.g—How to Break a Colt —Cor-.ide-ce in Man—Mou:hL-.g and Dri^ing in Long Reins—rne Firs: Drive in Harness—Shoeing the Colt - 21 CH.\PTER II Breaking the Colt to Saddle—How to Teach the Colt to Jump - ^s CH.\PTER III " Gee-olog\' " or Phrenology- in Horses—The Strait Jacket The Master Hand—The Pulling Rope—The Master Rein— The Way to Throw a Horse - - - - 65 CHAPTER IV The Kicldng Horse —The Nappy Horse, or Jibber—^Breaking a Runaway Horse—Biting and Snapping—The Rearing Horse - - —The Ner\'ous Horse—Shying - - Si CIL\PTER V Dealf^rs' Tricks and How to Avoid Them—TN-pe—Conformation —Sound Legs—Broken Wind—The Roarer—Unnerving The Use of Drugs—Advertising Unsoimd Horses—The Age —— xiv CONTENTS PAGB of the Horse—Bishoping—Yorking—The Oldest Horse The Story of Hollyrood Ahce—The Way to Shoe a Horse that Brushes or CUcks—The Dragsmen Unveiled—The Value of a Veterinary Surgeon—The Herring Head - 115 CHAPTER VI Shoeing a Vicious Horse—The Horse that "Paws" During the Night—The Horse that Will Not Lie Down—The Fence- jumper—When Difficult to Crupper—The Stable-kicker —A Difficult Horse to Mount—The Tongue-loller—The Side-puller—The Way to Groom or Dress a Vicious Horse —The Tail-switcher—The Use of Gag-bits—Irish Martingale —^The Over-check—The Wind-suckei —Stabhng Colts —^The Temperature—The Way to Drive a PuUer—^A Cruel Twitch - - - - - - I35 CHAPTER VII Training a Horse to Perform—^To Teach High-school Gaits —^To Teach a Horse to Kneel—^To Teach a Horse to Pose —The Pivot Act—To Teach a Horse to Say " Yes"—And "No"—Teaching to Jump—^To Teach a Horse to Stand Erect—To Teach a Horse to Take a Handkerchief out of the Coat-pocket—To Carry an Article in the Mouth —Teaching to Kiss—Teaching to Mount a Pedestal Teaching to Teeter-Totter—Teaching to Subtract—The Cruel Practice of Docking ----- 145 CHAPTER VIII The Welsh Pony—^The Welsh Mountain Pony—The Lowland Pony—Satisfaction—Emlyn Cymro Llwyd—Trotting Comet —The New Forest Pony—The Highland Pony—The Fell Pony—The Exmoor Pony—The Hackney Pony—The Cape Horse—The Old Road Hackney - - - - 177 —— CONTENTS XV CHAPTER IX PACE The Pre-Victorian CoacMng Days—Joe Tollit—James Selby's "Old Times"—Splan's Reply to Archer—Personahty in Horsemanship—Jesse Beery—Everard Calthrop—The Indian Cowboy—The Late WilHe Lane—The Likes and DisHkes of Horses—Lord Lonsdale's Record Drive—The Late Walter Winans—Lady Dalmeny—The Late Richard Bain- bridge—Dr. H. W. Darrell—George Warman—A Perfect Horsewoman—^The Wheelwright Horse-breaker—Horse- men I Met in the Army—Driving—The Ordinary Careless Driver—The Way to Hold the Reins—The Journey Horse —How to Avoid Colic—Types and Characters of the Harness Cob—A Drive Behind Cashmere—James W. Packman Jack Skinner—The Trotter Mary Shawbay—Richmond —Fred Metcalfe—The Woild's Champion, Lee Axworthy 195 CHAPTER X The Necessity of Soundness and Correct Training—Balancing —Badly-fitting Harness—The National Trotting Horse Breeders' Show—The Rascal Wins the Pacer Class Harvest Star Wins the Cup for Trotters—Prince Gayton Wins the £1,000 Handicap—Archibald by Alvander Some Famous Trotting Stallions : Their Records—The Improvement of the Welsh Trotter—The North London Road Matches—The Tradesman's Champion Welsh Mare —The Dark Horse from Wales—The Late Walter Winans' Harmony and Discord—The Iceland Pony, Little Bill The World's Champion Trotting Pony, Solomon—The Trotting Stallion Neglected—Lord French and His Charger Govair—The Midland Buggy Horse _ _ _ 231 CHAPTER XI The American Pacer—^The Greatest Sire, Peter the Great Champion Trotters as Sires—British Records and Perform- ances—Pony Records—Flying Start Records—Pair-horse Records—Guidelcss Records—The London Trotting Club —^The Colour Question—Foals—Picture Horses - - 253 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS The Author Frontispiece _____ Facing page Colt-training—^The Confidence Lesson - - - - 34 The Sluggish Colt - - - - - - 35 The Humane Method of Mouthing - - - - 46 Training the Colt to Unfamiliar Objects - - - 46 The Old Method and Jaw-breaking Bit - - - 47 The Indian War Bridl.' - - - - - 56 First Time in Long Reins - - - - - 57 - - The Strait-jacket - - - •- 70 The Master Hand - - - - - - 71 The Master Rein - - - - - - 80 The Pulling-rope - - - - - - 81 "Throwing" a Horse - - - - - - 90 The Horse on His Side, after "Throwing" - - " 9^ The Master Rein and Long Reins Ready for Action - - 100 The Runaway Under Control _ _ - - _ loi The Rearing Horse—^Taken by Surprise - - - no The Rearing Horse—On the Knees - - - - in Teaching Colt the Use of the Breeching . _ _ 124 The Nappy Horse with PulUng Rope _ - _ - 125 The Shetland Pony, "Jean" - _ - - _ 134 The Nerve-pressure Bridle—Capt. Mecke and the Author - 135 Colt's Legs Handhng the _____ j^^ Gaining the Colt's Confidence _ _ . _ 1^5 British-bred Trotting Stallion, "Lord Hummer" - - 164 American Trotting Stallion, "Sir Todd II." _ _ _ 165 A Robinson Hooded Buggy _ - _ _ - 165 Welsh Pony Stallion, " Emlyn Cymro Llwyd " - - - 180 Champion Welsh Pony Stallion, "Blcddfa Shooting Star" - 181 xvii g xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Facing page Champion Highland Pony Stallion, " Glencruitten " - - i8i The Late Walter Win ans with "Harmony" and "Discord" - 234 " "George Hummer, American Trotting Stallion - - 235 The Champion Hackney Stallion, Ch. "Albin Wildfire" - 235 The Author Catching a Pony to Drive to Market - - 250 "Mathrafal Brenin" and "Young Solomon" - - - 251 Chapter I The Stable—Foreword to Colt-training—How to Break a Colt—Con- fidence in Man—Mouthing and Driving in Long Reins—The First Drive in Harness—Shoeing the Colt. HUMANE HORSE^TRAINING Chapter I THE STABLE The home or stable of the horse is the first thing I should like to deal with, and as briefly as possible. Some horses, like human beings, are more fortunate than others. Whilst some stables are little palaces in them- selves, others are roughly constructed and are not so comfortable by a long way. The stall should always be roomy, at least six feet wide, to give the horse enough room to lie down in comfort.