I have in my hot little hands Professor Beery's Mail Course in Horsemanship (The Most Successful Training Course in History), originally published in eight separate volumes in 1908. And I am swiftly becoming expert in all things horses!
Here's a delightful excerpt from Prof. Beery's book:
Teaching a Horse to Kiss
Stand in front of the horse, a little to the left, and give him a small piece of apple with the left hand. Next, hold your hand close to your face and allow him to take another small piece of apple from it. Now take a short stick (three or four inches long), and stick a small piece of apple on one end of it, and the other end in your mouth. [Tammy here: I'm thinking this might work with men too, but I need a volunteer to check it out.]
As the horse reaches for the apple, say, "Kiss." Repeat the process, using the command, "Kiss," each time you want him to do the act. In a few lessons he will put his nose toward your mouth at the command, "Kiss," without any reward except the caress. When you give this command and he reaches out his nose, you should caress him for it, even though he does not touch your face, for it is not necessary for him to actually touch your mouth. [Tammy here again: Never mind, I don't think this is going to work with men after all.]
But hey! Maybe it will work with Jack!
Well, probably not now...
Lest you think all this horse sense I'm learning is going in one ear and out the other, think again! I've been reading this book (and thoroughly enjoying it) as a resource for the novel I'm currently writing. So get ready, there's gonna be lotsa kissin' in my next one!
So tell me, have any of you ever taught a horse to kiss? Or a man, whichever story is most entertaining... : )
Tammy
21 comments:
Lol, first off, Jack is WAY too cute. My husband doesn't want a little dog, but once we get a house, I may have to find one as cute as Jack! (at that time, I'll be asking again what kind of dog Jack is...if I ask now, I won't remember when the time comes!!)
As for teaching a horse or man to kiss...not me. Erik was my first kiss, so he was the one teaching me ;-)
That Jack is such a cutie! :-)
In a way I guess I taught my late husband how to kiss :-). He was not a "huggy" type...all macho, man-ly gruff, serious in a very sexy way I might add! (oooo did I just say sexy!) lol But he was! So with me being the total opposite...all hugs (will hug a squirrel if I could catch one) and all kissy kissy; we really were quite a pair. But through the years we balanced each other out really good. Him teaching me how to be stronger and not so gullible and me teaching him how to be warm and fuzzy AND how to kiss! Which he learned very well I might add! LOL
Have a great day Tam and all you ladies, my friends, my sisters.
Oh and Hi Rosie (waving) it's probably night time where you are now, G'nite. :-)
Aw...you two! Reading your comments just makes me want to hug you both!
When the time comes, Catherine, as away! And your handsome Eric is a keeper (even if he's not a fan of small dogs)!
You have such a way with words, Veronica. Love it! Can't wait to meet your husband when we get Home, lady. Blessings on your day.
Now I'm off to fish out a dog treat that fell underneath the washer as I was filling Jack's kong this morning, or he'll be pawing and barking at the washer all day....
Oh this is just too fuuny!! A book on how to get a horse to kiss you?
But I can see it now in cowboy flicks, and that apple must be the real key. Shucks Tamera I thought we were getting some juicy scenes with your characters, so be sure to put lots of kissin' in with them too, and if they're married, make it interesting!! :) Did I say that out loud?
I love this!
I originally got my first horse when I was 12 - only because I swore up and down to my parents that if I had a horse, I would never, ever date a boy.
When I was 17, I met my future husband because of my horses.
(So parents - don't ever be fooled to think horses will keep your little girls from boys!)
I have taught my current horse to bow - and while I've certainly given him plenty of kisses, I've yet to teach him to kiss me. :-)
I foresee a weekend project.
Thank you for this post, Tamera! It certainly brightened my day!
I'm sitting here chuckling out loud at your post, Tammy! But I'd have to say nay (or is it NEIGH?!) about teaching ANY creature to kiss...well, except my kitties (okay--we touch noses and call it a smooch*grin*). I've always preferred hugs myself (loved Veronica's comment about hugging a squirrel! I can sooo relate...). ~ And you know I agree with the other ladies about Jack--what a precious cutie!! (and this coming from the CAT lady *wink*). ~ I hope all my W of P friends have a wonderful day, and don't HORSE around too much! HUGS, Patti Jo ;)
p.s. Tammy, I recently finished reading A LASTING IMPRESSION---oh my!! LOVED it (and really hope to visit Belmont someday!). Also, since I want to *keep* my copy, I got another copy and gave to my sister--I know she'll love it too!
Not to worry, Diane, I'm working on the other. Right now, in fact. :)
Love knowing that about you, Nicole. GORGEOUS horse with you in the pic too. Handsome fella! What's his name?
Patti Jo, you and your puns! Love em, m'dear! Well, I'd better get hoofin' on this book! (heh,heh,heh)
Thanks, Tamela! That fella is Grunnion - he's a labrador retriever trapped in a purebred Arabian's body.
Have a wonderful day! :-)
What a great book!! I bought my first horse at the age of 15 (got a job as a carhop to pay for him). Through the years, I taught my various horses many things but never thought to teach them to kiss me, although I kissed them a lot.
Poppet never needed that lesson. She loves to kiss ... sloppily! Right now she's sending one to Jack. Did you feel it smacking you through cyberspace?
Veronica, you'll find it interesting to know that we had a pet squirrel at one point. I don't think I ever hugged him, but I definitely held him and got to help bottle feed him. (My sister is an animal lover, in fact she's now a vet, but she brought home some of the strangest animals when she found them and they needed nursing back to health before we released them back into the wild).
Nicole, I LOVE horses. Love riding them when we get the chance...but it happens so rarely :-( I love that you can train them to do things like bowing. And good luck on teaching him to kiss this weekend!
Patti Jo, love it! I agree with all...keep the puns coming.
Tammy, hope you're able to hoof it along. I guess I should hoof it as well and finally type up this child's evaluation report! lol. I'll be back later to catch up again! :-D
Jack's lappin' up that kiss from Poppet, Robin! But my laptop's a little sludgy now.
Get back to work, Catherine! Don't make us send Judy over there...
And Nicole! Just saw this...a purebred Arabian! Wow! LOL on the labrador comment. Cute.
If Jack's like our dogs, you probably don't need to teach him how to kiss. Ours are great kissers. Not a day goes by that I don't get lots of slobbery kisses. But when it comes to doggie kisses, I especially enjoy watching Shug (our female dachshund/Pomeranian mix) kissing Buddy (our male basset/dachshund mix). She sticks her entire snout in his mouth and cleans his tonsils!
OH LOL, Teri! The mental picture is great. And then also not (of the tonsils). Cute! Thanks for sharing! And hugs to Shug and Buddy!
I see Tammy's using me as a threat again. Don't believe it, Catherine. I'm really meek and mild. :)
I much prefer when you horse around in the kitchen and not in the stable! LOL I pretty much think I've only taught my kids to kiss. And that was when they were itty-bitty. So my answer would be neigh! Please try to rein yourself in if you venture too far into the animal scenes. Don't get confused on who is the mane character. :-)
No worries, Judy...I wasn't TOO worried! Eval report written, kids seen and now the day is over. Well, the work day! :-) Teri, I'm laughing with everyone else about Shug and Buddy! Too funny!
Our cats, Imoen (Immy) and Zara, have finally, after a year, decided they don't mind each other. Since we came back from Texas, they're staying pretty close, and multiple times when we lie down for a nap, we find them on the bed with us. Sunday, they were definitely yin and yang :-) If only I had a camera ready! And Zara does give kitten kisses. She loves licking our noses...especially if we're sleeping!
When I first started reading this post, I thought it was by Judy. She is usually the one who comes up with the interesting, but sometimes bizarre, historical tid bits. Thanks for sharing this book with us, Tammy.
LOL, Pam. "Interesting and sometimes bizarre." You've nailed our Judy to a T! I won't say anything about her being historical... : )
Don't want to kiss a horse, but you can at least say your learning helped your book research. Yes, I think men have to be taught to kiss. It may not be us, but someone, somewhere before us, a woman probably taught him how to kiss.
What a fun post, and what an interesting book! I'm looking forward to reading this next book of yours Tammy! Kiss, kiss!
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