To Educate a Cow Not to Kick While Being Milked
Hitch the cow to a post, then make the Bonaparte bridle as follows: Make a loop and put it on the lower jaw, carrying the end of the cord on the off-side of the head and around over behind the horns, bringing it down to the mouth on the nigh-side, through the loop. Now carry the cord around the nigh hind-leg, to the off hind-leg and tie it just above the gambol-joint. Then sit down to milk; now the moment the cow kicks, an impression is made on her brain, and she soon learns that by kicking she punishes herself, and rather than suffer the pain inflicted she yields to the influence and says by her actions, “I will not kick again.” The principle here is the obvious one that no animal will persist in doing that which causes suffering to itself, and the moment that it comes to associate the idea of suffering with any action, it will make that action distasteful.