John Rarey of Groveport area was master at subduing vicious horses

On Dec 19, 2022

He was perhaps a horse whisperer in a sense.

In his time, John Solomon Rarey was the most effective and efficient horse trainer in America and through much of the rest of the world. He was one of the best-compensated men of his profession and was quite simply the best of his kind, well-known for his ability to calm the most dangerous of horses.

And no matter how far he traveled, he always returned to the place where he had started — rural central Ohio.

John Rarey was of German ancestry and was born near what is now Groveport in Franklin County in 1828.

He began working with horses at a very young age. A later history noted that the “key to his system was simply that kindness which appeals to the ‘intellect and affections of the horse’ and wins his confidence.”

During an exhibition in New York City, Rarey explained a bit about his origins and method of work.

“I have never had an accident since I became perfect in my system, and I don’t fear any. I have been among horses since I was twelve years old, and at first had a great many accidents. Every limb has been broken except my right arm, but being young when the accidents happened, the bones fortunately healed strongly. Now I know a horse’s every thought, and can break any animal, of whatever age and habits, in the world. I can make any animal sensible of my power-make him gentle and even affectionate.”

There is no evidence that Rarey had ever practiced his “system” on lions, tigers or bears. But he proved over and over again how effective and efficient he was in the presence of horses.

His greatest challenge came when he took his methods to England. A later history told the story.

“When Mr. Rarey went to England, his system was thoroughly put to the test by contest with Cruiser, an animal that was so vicious that he was closely and continually confined in a stable in such a way that he could by no possibility reach anybody either with his mouth or heels. His feed was delivered to him through a sort of funnel, and he seems to have been kept solely as an extremely wicked curiosity. His splendid muscle and activity gave him the widest scope for the exercise of his incorrigibility, and he is said to have kicked so high as to strike a board floor fourteen feet above the floor on which he stood. Ordinarily it was only the work of a few minutes for Mr. Rarey to tame a horse, but it took him three hours to subdue the terrific Cruiser.

“After putting Cruiser under control Mr. Rarey purchased him and brought him to this country, and placed him on the Rarey farm at Groveport, in this county, where he became popular among breeders. He became so gentle that the people about the Rarey farm would fondle him as they would a kitten, and his colts were noted for their kind dispositions. Strangers, however, were not permitted to have much to do with him. This was to prevent teasing and the revival of the old propensities.”

In the late 1850s, Rarey took his methods of “affective care,” having been successful in America, to Europe and the rest of the world. From England and Cruiser, he traveled through most of Western Europe. He was well-received and more than adequately compensated for his time and trouble. By the time he had returned to America, he had earned and deposited more than $250,000 – an immense sum at that time.

The coming of the American Civil War offered a challenge to American horsemanship. It soon became clear that large numbers of horses of various breeds and configurations would be needed rapidly and in good temper by the armies of the Union. In 1862, as the war raged, Rarey’s methods were adopted as the official training method of horses for use by the Union Army.

The training was effective, and by 1865, the Union army had molded together a cavalry force of unprecedented size and effectiveness.

Rarey lived to see Union victory but not much longer. Burdened with a variety of health issues, he died in Cleveland on Oct. 4, 1866, at age 37.

Endowed with Rarey’s wealth, the Rarey farm near Groveport continued to provide a home for Cruiser. A later account recorded that “Cruiser died on the Rarey farm on Wednesday last (Ohio State Journal, July 10, 1875), in the twenty-third year of his age. His teeth were worn so much he could not eat hay, and provender had to be especially prepared for him. As contemplated by the will of Mr. Rarey, he received the kindest care in his old age, and it was only recently that he fell into a decline.”