Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 November 1876 — Whipping Horses. [ARTICLE]

Whipping Horses.

Prof. Wagner, in writing upon this subject, says: Many think they are doing finely, and are proud of their success in horse training, by means of severe whipping, or otherwise arousing and stimulating the passions, and then through necessity crushing the will through which the resistance is prompted. No mistake can be greater than this, and there is nothing that so fully exhibits the ability judgment and skill of the real horseman, as the care displayed in winning instead of repelling the action of the mind. Although it may be necessary to use the whip sometimes, it should always be applied judiciously, and great care should be taken not to arouse the passions or excite tbe will to obstinacy. The legitimate and proper use of the whip is calculated to operate upon the sense of fear almost entirely. The affectionate and better nature must be appealed to in training a horse as well as in training a child. A reproof given may be intended for the good of the child, but if only tbe passions are excited the object is depraving and injurious. This is a vital principle, and can be disregarded in the management of sensitive and courageous horses only at the risk of spoiling them. I have known many horses of a naturally gentle character to be spoiled by whipping once, and one horse that was made vicious by being struck with a whip once while standing in his stall.