Fear is the principal motive which causes the colt to resist training.  It is natural for him to kick against an unknown object at his heels, to pull his head out of the halter as from a trap, and if of a bad disposition, to strike and bite if he does not thoroughly understand you. 

     His fear is governed by his sense of touch, sight and hearing; and it is through these senses we obtain a mastery, and at the same time remove his fears of the halter, the robe, the harness and the wagon.  These are the fixed laws which govern the actions of all horses, and the training of a colt is merely teaching him not to fear the working apparatus, but to respect his master, and to obey his commands as soon as he has learned their meaning. 

     Each one of these senses must be educated before the colt is trained.  A colt's education may be compared with that of a child to a great extent.  A horse's reasoning powers are limited to his past experience.  So we must reason with him by acts alone.  Hence the importance of beginning every step with the colt right; for by our acts he learns. 

     The successful school-master aims first to teach the child to have confidence in him.  Hence the first lesson we give the colt is simply to teach it to have confidence in us and that we are its best friend and don't intend to hurt it.