after him with perfect ease.
“The success of the stranger's method of persuading a balky horse to go was so surprising that Henry asked the man how he did it.
“'It's very simple,' said he. 'Of course you didn't see me, but I took a chip of wood which I picked up from the sidewalk and placed it under the horse's tongue. The presence of that bit of pine chip diverted the horse's attention. He forgot all about being balky, and when I took hold of the bridle he started off like any other horse. A horse can think of only one thing at a time and you want to keep that fact in mind when you are training him.'”
“I heard a groom say the other day,” Charley remarked when George had ended his story, “that you could often start a balky horse by pretending to do something to the harness. Fasten and unfasten some of the straps, be very busy about it for several minutes, then take the reins and give the order to go on in an ordinary tone and quite likely the horse will start off without hesitation. Gleason, the famous horse trainer, acts on this principle when he is handling vicious horses; he puts a string in the animal's mouth that incommodes him though it does not hurt him. The horse concentrates his thoughts upon how he will get rid of the incumbrance and hasn't any time to be ugly. And what's more, he follows the trainer all round the ring and keeps him constantly in sight for fear he'll go away without removing the string.”
“Did you ever hear of a horse that knew the doxology?” George asked.
“No!” replied his brother in a tone of surprise. “He must have belonged to a clergyman.”
“So he did,” was the ready answer. “He belonged to a preacher in the country and had been driven by him for eighteen years. The preacher said he had so often driven the horse to church and left him standing near by, that the horse learned the doxology, and whenever it is sung he begins to neigh, knowing that he is going home soon.”
“I heard a gentleman say recently,” Charley responded, “that the school horses in the riding academies in New York can tell the time by the clock.”
“Nonsense!” said George. “That's too much to believe.”
“So I think,” was the reply, “and probably the gentleman didn't mean it literally. He explained that the horses are used for an hour at a time and they seem to know almost exactly when they have been in the ring for that period. They go around perfectly docile and obedient to their riders till just about as the hour is up, when they turn toward the mounting block and intimate very plainly that they think it is time for them to be relieved of duty and sent back to the stable. In the same way when they are taken into Central Park they know all the turns of the bridle path, and are very ready to take those that lead back to the stable.”
“You mentioned Gleason, the horse trainer, just now,” said George; “I wonder how these famous trainers have such control over horses?”
“I've been trying to find out,” was the reply, “but can't tell. Some of them say it is no secret, while others make a great deal of mystery about the matter. They teach others how to control horses, but it is rarely the case that their pupils are able to accomplish anywhere near as much as the masters. One of the most remarkable men in this line of business was Rarey, an American, who became famous in Europe about thirty years ago for subduing horses that had been quite unmanageable; I was reading about him this morning and was particularly impressed with one thing that he said.”
“What was that?” queried his brother.
“That you must never show either fear or anger in dealing with a horse. He says you should always treat him kindly, speak to him in gentle tones, let him regard you as a friend, pat him and call him endearing names, and be perfectly familiar with him. But probably there was something more than this in his method, as some of the horses that he subdued were not of a character to be soothed by kind words when he started in with them.”
“Isn't he the man that conquered the English horse Cruiser?” George asked.
“Yes,” was the reply. “When Mr. Rarey went to England a good many people thought he was playing a trick upon them, and somebody published a suggestion that he should try his skill upon a famous horse called Cruiser. Cruiser was so vicious that no one could approach him, and he had not been touched with a curry-comb for months. He kicked the planks of his stall to pieces and once he broke off an iron bar an inch in diameter by pulling it with his teeth.”
“How long did it take Mr. Rarey to conquer this ferocious animal?”
“About three hours,” was the reply. “At the end of that time his owner, Lord Dorchester, was able to mount Cruiser and ride him, a thing that nobody had done for three years. The horse was perfectly gentle after that and would follow his master like a dog. Mr. Rarey afterwards tamed a zebra and rode him, and he did other things that a great many people had believed impossible.”
“How carious!” exclaimed George.
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