Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to beat with a rope’s end.

1836		Marryat Mr Midshipman Easy I 180: ‘Well,’ replied Jack. ‘And then he colted me for half an hour, and that’s all.’.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 7 Mar. 5/3: At English public schools a boy who employed a tu quoque as a retort, is colted by his companions as a corrective for dullness.