330 FAULTS OF TEMPER. 



for an hour or longer, during which time he should be 

 handled with gentleness and freedom ; particular care 

 being taken not to irritate the animal, whose confidence 

 and affection we should now endeavour to win. The worst 

 biter ought to be rendered safe to handle, when the gag 

 is out of his mouth, by giving him a week's course of three 

 of these lessons daily, with a subsequent lesson, now and 

 then, if necessary. For safety sake, the breaker should teach 

 the horse the meaning of the word " steady ! " (see page 

 118) with the rope-twitch. Though many bad, treacherous 

 biters have passed through my hands, I have never met 

 one which would attempt to bite, immediately after the 

 gag has been taken out of his mouth, if he had been handled 

 with it on for a quarter of an hour, or even less. It might 

 be advisable, with very vicious horses, to make them lie 

 down, to gentle them on the ground, and, if necessary, to 

 keep them with their heads turned round (see page 149), 

 until they had " given in." It is also well to teach them 

 the word " steady ! " with the rope-twitch. 



If the horse under treatment is inclined to " savage," 

 that is, to rush at and worry the object of his dislike, 

 we may render him docile by putting him through the 

 discipline described in the preceding paragraph, and by 

 keeping the wooden gag (see page 143) in his mouth during 

 his lessons with the long reins, and also when riding or 

 driving him with an ordinary snaffle. Savaging in com- 

 pany, as at polo or with troops, can generally be cured in 

 a short time by this treatment. In bad cases, we may 

 employ the wooden gag instead of the snaffle for con- 

 trolling the horse with the reins. We can have no con- 

 fidence in riding or driving a horse which has been inclined 

 to savage, until we have made him obedient to the aids. 



An expert breaker, when driving a vicious horse on foot 

 with the long reins, can, if the animal rushes at him, always 



