When a horse balks, one way of curing him is to remove the harness, put on a halter, pull his head around to his side and tie the halter rope in a slip-knot to a strand or two of the tail hair, so as to keep the head well toward the tail. Then he is forced to walk around in a circle until he staggers and is ready to drop, when the rope may be loosed and the horse will be likely to behave and remember the lesson for some time.
Some horses balk by lying down and refusing to budge. If the four feet of such a sulker are “hog-tied” together and he is abandoned and allowed to remain tied for an hour or two, he will usually be thankful to get up and go on when set at liberty.
One owner broke a balker by working him on a mower for a few days with his tail tied to the singletree tight enough to take part of the strain. After that he would pull by the tugs without having his tail tied.
The “guy rope” plan is sometimes effective. A small rope is tied around the horse’s neck and a half hitch taken with it on his lower jaw. A husky man then pulls steadily upon the rope and the horse will usually start forward with a lunge. If not a confirmed old balker he may give up the standing habit if treated in this way a few times.
Light, rapid switching across the nose with a light whip sometimes starts a balker, but severe whipping has an opposite effect.
The writer once was called to see a draft work-mare that was “down” in an Irish teamster’s yard and refused to get up. The poor brute was surrounded with whips and sticks that had been broken over her back, and her body was covered with welts from the whipping. The neighbors thronged around to see what would happen when the “Doctor” tried his hand at a job which had baffled their attempts. Examination of the pulse showed a normal condition and the membranes of the eyes gave no indication of sickness. After the mare’s head and neck had been patted and stroked for a few minutes, and she had been spoken to kindly and gently, she got up at once when the halter was pulled upon and the word of command given. Then she followed the veterinarian about the yard like a dog, recognizing him as her only friend, and ever since that teamster has said, “Sure that mon has the power iv healin’ in his hands!” Whereas, the abused mare only needed and wanted a little kindness and coaxing.