The Arabian Art of Taming and Training Wild and Vicious Horses | Page 9

lightly and
rapidly on that part next to the body a minute or two, and then you will
begin to give it a slight pull upwards every quarter of a minute. At the
same time you continue this handling of him, augment the force of the
strokes, as well as the raising of the tail, until you can raise it and
handle it with the greatest ease, which commonly happens in a quarter
of an hour in most horses; in others almost immediately, and in some
much longer. It now remains to handle all his legs. From the tail come
back again to the head, handle it well, as likewise the ears, breast, neck,
etc., speaking now and then to the horse. Begin by degrees to descend
to the legs, always ascending and descending, gaining ground every
time you descend until you get to his feet.
"Talk to the horse in Latin, Greek, French, English, or Spanish, or in
any other language you please; but let him hear the sound of your voice,
which at the beginning of the operation is not quite so necessary, but
which I have always done in making him lift up his feet. Hold up your
foot--'Live la pied'--'Alza el pie'--'Aron ton poda,' etc., at the same time
lift his foot with your hand. He soon becomes familiar with the sounds,
and will hold his foot up at command. Then proceed to the hind feet
and go on in the same manner, and in a short time the horse will let you
lift them and even take them up in your arms.
"All this operation is no magnetism, no galvanism; it is merely taking
away the fear a horse generally has of a man, and familiarizing the
animal with his master; as the horse doubtless experiences a certain
pleasure from this handling, he will soon become gentle under it, and

show a very marked attachment to his keeper."
REMARKS ON POWEL'S TREATMENT HOW TO GOVERN
HORSES OF ANY KIND.
These instructions are very good, but not quite sufficient for horses of
all kinds, and for haltering and leading the colt; but I have inserted it
here, because it gives some of the true philosophy of approaching the
horse, and of establishing confidence between man and horse. He
speaks only of the kind that fear man.
To those who understand the philosophy of horsemanship, these are the
easiest trained; for when we have a horse that is wild and lively, we can
train him to our will in a very short time; for they are generally quick to
learn, and always ready to obey. But there is another kind that are of a
stubborn or vicious disposition, and, although they are not wild, and do
not require taming, in the sense it is generally understood, they are just
as ignorant as a wild horse, if not more so, and need to be learned just
as much; and in order to have them obey quickly, it is very necessary
that they should be made to fear their masters; for, in order to obtain
perfect obedience from any horse, we must first have him fear us, for
our motto is _fear, love, and obey_; and we must have the fulfilment of
the first two before we can expect the latter, and it is by our philosophy
of creating fear, love and confidence, that we govern to our will every
kind of a horse whatever.
Then, in order to take horses as we find them, or all kinds, and to train
them to our likings, we will always take with us, when we go into a
stable to train a colt, a long switch whip, (whale-bone buggy whips is
the best,) with a good silk cracker, so as to cut keen and make a sharp
report, which, if handled with dexterity, and rightly applied,
accompanied with a sharp, fierce word, will be sufficient to enliven the
spirits of any horse. With this whip in your right hand, with the lash
pointing backward, enter the stable alone. It is a great disadvantage in
training a horse, to have any one in the stable with you; you should be
entirely alone, so as not to have nothing but yourself to attract his
attention. If he is wild you will soon see him in the opposite side of the
stable from you; and now is the time to use a little judgement. I would

not want for myself, more than half or three-quarters of an hour to
handle any kind of a colt, and have him running about in the stable
after me; though I would advise a new beginner to take more time, and
not to be in too much of a hurry. If you have but one colt to gentle, and
are