ANIMAL DENTISTRY. 247 



straight and snaffle bit on alternate days. The Hght harness 

 horse is trained to the bit by jogging in the breaking cart 

 with the simplest possible riggings and all forcible restraint 

 is avoided, the aim being to drive the youngster vi^ith a 

 ''light hand" and teach it to respond to the slightest touch 

 instead of pulling heavily upon the bit. 



The habitual confirmed lugger that has formed the habit 

 from the faulty first lessons may be improved by handling 

 in the same manner, and in addition careful attention must 

 be given to the w^ounds of the mouth, by attending to the 

 teeth and application of bits that will control the horse and 

 at the same time inflict no further injury. If the jaw is sore, 

 for example, the covered port bit may be serviceable by 

 protecting the wounded part and transferring the punish- 

 ment to the palate, while if the palate is sore the straight 

 curb may be applied, and the lines attached to the lower bar, 

 the ol)ject point being to prevent the unnecessary aggrava- 

 tion of the horse's disposition. In the light harness horse 

 habitual lugging may be palliated considerably by proper 

 over-checking. The higher the horse is checked the easier 

 it will be to control. The chin-overdraw is probably the 

 best rigging for this purpose, owing to the fact that the 

 mouth is kept closed, and that there is no over-check bit to 

 irritate the interdental space. In this connection it must, 

 however, be understood that what will answer for one horse 

 will prove useless for another, and vice versa. 



The confirmed lugger of the third class is incurable ex- 

 cept by giving plenty of hard work to lower its spirit, which 

 in many cases may impair the animal's health before the 

 habit is abandoned. In such animals more than the others 

 the anterior molars must be free from points to mutilate the 

 soft structures. Beveling the first inferior molars from the 

 gingival margin backward over the crown to the posterior 

 border of the table has often been practiced for the purpose 



