YOUNG HORSES

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18352, 24 August 1929, Page 10

YOUNG HORSES

CARE IN HANDLING. Young horses should always be handled with care, but to keep them over-bitted is a serious mistake. A young horse is tender in the mouth, and any undue pulling or tugging at the reins is liable to injure the animal's tongue or mouth. While a young horse must necessarily be taught to answer the rein, it should never be handled violently even when prompt correction is necessary. A firm and strong hand (says “Dalgety's Review”) may be laid upon the reins without any fear of injury to the mouths of the horses. It is the jerking and pulling alternately this way and that, as an incompetent young lad is likely to do. that constitutes the element of danger. M:.ny a horse has been spoilt at the outset through inefficient handling. A muddle-headed horseman conveys his agitated feelings and indecisive thought to the animal subconsciously as it were, and the horse equally as full of conflicting emotions as the man attempting to train it, may well be excused for its intractibility. The horseman of hasty temper is rarely a good trainer. Before a man can master a horse he must be master of himself.