Colt Training
Lesson One Colt Training
Lesson Two Colt Training
Lesson Three › Colt Training
Lesson Four Colt Training
Lesson Five Colt Training
Lesson Six

Custom Search

Colt Training | Lesson One | Lesson Two | Lesson Three | LESSON FOUR | Lesson Five | Lesson Six

GETTING THE COLT READY TO HITCH UP

LESSON FOUR

Leaving the halter or bridle on, take the colt into the enclosure. I recommend an enclosure for the following reasons: First. If the colt attempts to get away, you can get control of it quicker and easier than in an open field or public highway. Second: You want the colt's attention to the lesson, and in the enclosure there are not so many things to attract its attention. A colt can think of only one thing at a time.

A school teacher can not teach his pupils while their attention is attracted to a ball game or a parade just outside the window, and neither can you expect to teach your colt while his attention is attracted elsewhere. If you should go to the pasture field to train the colt its mind will probably be more upon the idea of grazing, than upon the lesson. If you have never trained colts in a building or limited enclosure, you will be surprised to find how much easier the colts are taught and how much more permanent the lesson will be.

POLING THE COLT

Take a light, smooth pole about four feet long and let the colt feel it with his nose. An ordinary broom handle makes an ideal pole for this purpose. The tip end of the colt's nose is the most sensitive part of the colt's body as our fingers are the most sensitive part of our body, and as we feel an object with our fingers to discover its nature, so the colt touches objects with its nose. This is not generally known even by old horsemen. They imagine that when a colt slowly approaches an object and reaches out its nose that it wants to smell it. This is wrong, it only wants to FEEL it.

After the colt has touched the pole with his nose, as shown in picture on page 30, rub the pole back and forth gently, over the mane and down the front legs, over the back and against the hind quarters. Repeat the operation on both sides rubbing every part of the body with the pole until the colt will stand perfectly quiet. If the colt becomes excited at any time, let him feel the pole again, commencing in front and going back until he becomes perfectly indifferent. After the colt will allow the pole to touch any part of his body, it is then time to teach him to stand quietly while being cruppered. Touch the hind quarters with the pole; raise the tail carefully and gradually lay the pole across the quarters about on a line with the end of the tail bone. Raise the tail carefully with the left hand, and slip the pole upward a few inches; pause a moment and move another few inches. Continue with this educational process until the pole is directly under the tail and lying across the quarters. Lower the tail carefully until it holds the pole in place,
colt touching pole with his nose
as shown below.  Make your motions carefully so as not to excite or hurt the colt. When you have cruppered it with the pole, raise the tail carefully and take the pole out from under the tail, being careful not to hurt the colt.in any manner. You will find by one or two repetitions, you will have a colt that will never be any trouble to crupper. Whatever you do NEVER jerk the crupper out from under the tail, for by so doing you often hurt the colt severely and lay a foundation for a colt bad to crupper, which often results in a horse that will kick at the slightest reason. After once making the colt gentle to crupper by this method, it is always gentle. It will not require over ten or fifteen minutes to do this poling or cruppering. This process should be used on all colts as it makes them gentle to the touch of harness, chains or even the cross-piece of the shafts should it come against the quarters, or touch any part of the body.
Making colt gentle to crupper
In my early experience, before having any colt training system completed, I made some grave errors. For instance: I went on the theory that if a little drill in poling was good, A GREAT DEAL MORE OF IT WOULD BE BETTER. After making a certain green colt gentle to be touched pretty roughly all over with the pole, I thought it would be well to make the hind legs and quarters submissive to anything coming in contact with them, so the colt would not become frightened, in case the hold-back straps would break in going down hill and the cross-piece of the shafts would strike against the colt's legs. I took an old-fashioned hay rake with the teeth all knocked out of it, and every time I stopped the colt I would jam the cross-piece against its quarters. I gave it two or three lessons of this kind before hitching up. I did not discover my mistake until I hitched to the buggy, when to my surprise and disappointment the colt stopped as soon as the breeching touched it. I took in the whole situation at a glance and saw exactly what I had done. I simply had made the point too impressive (and especially before the colt had ever been hitched up). I had taught it to stop as soon as any pressure came in contact with its hind quarters. It is useless for me to say that it was exceedingly difficult to overcome this impression. I mention this case to guard you against doing something just as foolish and also to show that it is not good policy to go to extremes.
let colt reach out and touch the rig with his nose

You are now ready to harness your colt. Put the harness on gently and be sure every part is good and strong. Never put old or weak harness on a colt. You can't afford to run a risk of ruining the colt, by having your harness break at a critical moment, nor having the colt's skin irritated by having sore spots rubbed on it by rivets or rough places.

Rein up the colt now for the first time, being careful not to rein it too high. Drive the colt with the harness on, out upon the highway, and give it repetition of the previous lessons on "Get Up" and "`Whoa," turning either to the left or right in response to the slightest touch of the lines. The colt will act at first as though it had not been taught much, because the surroundings are entirely different, but by firmness and a few repetitions it will become as familiar here as it was in the enclosure.

Use a four-wheeled rig for colt training as well as when handling horses with habits. Never use a cart except when training a colt or horse for speed. A colt can guide a four-wheeled rig better and easier, while a trainer can control its movements better. He can prevent the colt from getting the habit of suddenly turning around in the middle of the road. This habit is one that the majority of the colts take up very easily.

Don't use an old worn out rig. Be sure that it is good and solid. Don't take chances on the rig falling to pieces and frightening the colt the first time you hitch him up. Let the colt become familiar with the vehicle by allowing it to touch and examine it according to its own way of understanding. Take the pole with which you poled it and rub this along its sides where the shafts come and across the hind quarters, where the breeching strikes.

Hitching up the colt the first time
When you are ready to hitch up, stand a little to the left of the colt, grasp the bridle bit with your left hand, lay your right on the colt's shoulder. Have an assistant pull the rig up directly back of the colt. He should stand at the side of the left shaft, directly in front of the left front wheel and as he brings the rig up he should raise the shafts rather high in the air and bring them down, very carefully, over the colt's body until the shafts are at the right place. You should now reach back and grasp the end of the left shaft with your right hand, and slip the shaft into the shaft carrier. Your assistant should then come forward, keeping five or six feet away from the colt's side, and should pass around in front to
Going from the left to the right side in hitching up the first time

the other side. As your assistant moves over to the colt's right side, you should step in front of the colt, grasp the right side of the bit with the right hand, letting loose of the left side of the bit with the left hand as you do so, and lay your left hand on the colt's right shoulder. The assistant should be standing directly behind you at this time. As you touch the shoulder he should do likewise, then he should run his hand along the colt's right side and walk
carefully backward until he can fasten the trace on the right side. In the meantime you have, immediately following the touch you gave on the colt's shoulder, put the right shaft in the shaft carrier. As soon as the assistant has fastened the right trace he then goes back to the colt's left side, by coming forward on the right side, keeping several feet away from the colt, then touching him on the left shoulder and moving back along that side as he did on the right side. Just as soon as he steps to the left side you should do likewise. As soon as he has fastened the left trace he can fasten the left hold-back, reach through and fasten the shaft-carrier and then he is ready to again go to the right side and fasten the hold-back on that side. Bear in mind that both of you MUST BE ON THE SAME SIDE AT THE SAME TIME, otherwise the colt will become excited. By keeping on one side at a time, you can keep the colt's attention to what you are doing.

You can have the colt hitched up almost as quickly as it has taken to describe the process and without the usual excitement attending such work.

Ready for the first drive
"STARTING TO DRIVE"

The assistant should stand at the colt's left side, when you are ready to start, as shown in the previous illustration . He should grasp the left side of the bit with his left hand, and the end of the left shaft with his right. He should have a hitching strap fastened to the bit but should not use it at this time, but have it looped up in his hand out of the way. You should hold the lines in your hands, firmly. Keep the slack out of them, but do not hold them tight enough to bring any pressure against the colt's mouth. You should stand about on a line with the front wheel on the left side.

When you are ready say, "Get Up." Just as you give the command the assistant should push the colt with the bit and shaft to the right, carefully, then straight ahead, assisting him all he can by pressure against the bit and shaft. Only go a step or two and stop, with the command "Whoa." Allow the colt to stand quiet a few seconds, then repeat. Increase the distance each time between the starts and stops, until the colt will go several rods without showing signs of being frightened or excited.

After a little if everything is going all right, you can climb into the rig carefully. Do this very deliberately and carefully so as not to excite the colt in the least for he is not accustomed to seeing you directly behind him and almost on a level with his back and he may become frightened. After making a few large circles have the' assistant take hold of the strap at the end and stand five or six feet away from the colt and toward the left. He should not walk directly in front of him, but a little back of the shoulder and a few feet away from the colt, so the colt will get the idea that YOU are driving him. He should be ready to run forward quickly should he be needed, or the colt make a sudden plunge to get away. You have been training the left side all this time and are now ready to turn to the other. Have your assistant approach the colt and, without stopping, take a short hold on the strap and step carefully to the right side. In some cases, where the colt seems unusually nervous, it would be well for the assistant to grasp the bit on the right side with his right hand and the shaft with his left and pull, to aid you in turning the colt, but in most instances, the colt has become accustomed to the touch of the shafts and to the weight behind him so that this is not necessary.

Trainer controlling the colt, with the assistant ready to help, if necessary

Be very careful in making this first turn to the right. At first the colt will show some fear. He sees you with the right eye for the first time, while you are sitting in the rig, his right shoulder is touched for the first time with the end of the right shaft and his left hind quarters are touched now, for the first time, with the left side of the shafts; so all this is new. If he tries to go too fast, stop him with the aid of your assistant, allow him to stand a few seconds, then when he has collected his senses start him again to the right.

After a little he will turn as well to the right as to the left. In fact the turn to the right can be made in about half the time that it took to turn to the left.

Ready to turn to the right side

You now make turns to the left, then to the right, with your assistant helping you if need be; just as you have already been instructed, for a few moments. Just as soon as you can dismiss your assistant, do so, for there is some danger of causing the colt to think that he must have some one at the head or at the end of the strap before he can go.

The whole object of this lesson is to get the colt to turning and pulling the rig, with you in it and if possible to do so without exciting him in the least. It is presumed that this preliminary driving is done in a large open field, or on a broad level highway, where there is plenty of, room to turn. After the colt has learned to turn the vehicle in either direction and to start and stop at command, you may now take a short drive, up some quiet lane or private road where there will be no danger of meeting automobiles or any thing else that would frighten the colt.


Next lesson 5: TEACHING HOW TO KEEP COLT FROM BECOMING FRIGHTENED