BREAKING. 177 
rider, and for attaching the bit to some part of the body. In commencing 
the breaking it is customary to put on merely a roller with a leathern 
surcingle over it, kept in its place by a crupper, which, for facility of putting 
on, should have a buckle on one side. In front of the surcingle, on each 
side, two buckles are stitched, serving to attach the reins either high up, 
or even crossed over the withers, or low down, or sometimes both high 
and low. Until within the last thirty or forty years, what is called a 
dumb jockey was always attached to the roller, but this is generally now 
dispensed with, though with the elastic reins introduced by Mr. Black- 
well I think it may be made very useful. Lastly, to the crupper long 
hanging straps are attached, so as to accustom the young animal to the 
pressure of the coat or habit. Provided with this apparatus, and with a 
long leading rein of webbing, the breaker is prepared to subdue the 
wildest colt. 
THE FIRST THING TO BE DONE is to get a halter or headstall on, which is 
only to be effected either in a stable or similar enclosed place, or among a 
herd of other horses, when the colt is so closely packed in that he cannot 
move. Every one must have seen the Welsh and Irish drovers rush into 
the middle of a herd, and seizing an unbroken colt round the neck, hold 
him till a halter is slipped over his head. The same plan greatly facili- 
tates the haltering of any colt; but a couple of steady horses are quite 
enough to keep a colt steady in any building or small yard. The breaker 
arranges so as to have one on each side, and then going up between them, 
he has the colt held for him while he very slowly and quietly insinuates 
his hand, with the head of the halter in it, over the neck, just behind the 
ears. With a little dexterity, this is soon done, and then the nose-band 
being slipped into its place, a good hold can be secured. Every horseman 
must, however, agree with Mr. Rarey, that the rope halter with a running 
noose is most improper, and that a leathern headstall should always be 
chosen. It is quite true, that a single turn of the cord of the halter into 
a half-hitch prevents all mischief, and this is done by good breakers ; but 
the headstall or cavesson should be put on as soon as possible, and the 
former may be worn constantly till the breaking is complete. With the 
jeading-rein attached to the nose-band, the breaker can now restrain the 
colt from getting away ; and, by kind words and gentle treatment, the 
young animal soon becomes accustomed to his presence, and will allow 
him to approach and handle him all over. When this is borne easily, he 
may be led out about the fields, and green lanes if there are any ; but 
while he continues to resent the approach of moving objects by violent 
bounds, nothing should be put in his mouth out-of-doors. If he is very 
wild and ungovernable, he may be made to trot gently round and round 
in a circle on some soft ground, the breaker at first following him up, but 
soon being enabled to ‘‘longe” him while standing in the centre. After 
a day or two, the breaking-bit already described may be slipped into his 
mouth, and attached in the way shown in the engraving at page 176. It 
should, however, only be allowed to hang there without reins at first, and 
it may either be kept on while the colt is being led about, or for an hour 
or two daily while in the stable. In this way the jaw and lips become 
accustomed to the pressure of the bit, and lose the painful sensation which 
it at first occasions. If, on the other hand, the reins are at once buckled 
on, and are then strained tightly back to the surcingle, or dumb-jockey, 
the delicate mucous membrane becomes sore, and even ulcerated, and the 
foundation is laid for that dull, unyielding mouth which is so objection- 
able on every account. 
N 
