44 HUMANE HORSE-TRAINING 



mouthing, and in addition give the colt a level mouth, 

 which is very important. 



Another way to manipulate the long reins is to 

 commence by placing yourself somewhere about the 

 centre of the imaginary ring or circle and drive the 

 colt with the long reins a few times round it ; then let 

 your near-side rein slacken and pull smartly on the off- 

 side one with a swinging, not a jerky pull. At the 

 same moment just throw, or rather drop, the thong of 

 your whip on the inside shoulder of the colt in order to 

 induce it to turn away smartly, and not to give it time 

 to fight the bit. After it has gone a few times round 

 the ring to the right, slacken the off-side rein and give 

 a swinging pull on the near one, simultaneously dropping 

 the thong of your whip on the inside or off-side shoulder. 

 Continue to repeat this process, using less and less 

 force as the colt gradually learns to turn. A leather bit, 

 made of stout leather with big cheek leathers, assists 

 the colt in learning to turn and prevents injury to the 

 mouth. 



It may be that the colt will object to the feeling of 

 the reins on his hind legs and will kick out at them ; 

 all the better ; let him kick, because he cannot do the 

 slightest harm, and if there is a disposition to kick it 

 must come out at some time or other, and this method of 



