456 MOUTHING, ETC. 



expenditure of energy. Both of these defects are in a great 

 measure due to a neglect of proper bit training. The ma- 

 jority of horses, whether bought from dealers or private 

 owners, have never gone through a course of mouthing, and 

 by such animals a bit is treated merely as something to pull 

 against. Some dealers give their horses a few weeks' school- 

 ing, but accustoming the animal to city sights occupies most 

 of their thoughts and time. The mouthing incidentally 

 given is usually very incomplete, and its full development 

 falls to the owner or his representative, who has in most 

 cases to undo what has been done and commence at the 

 beginning. 



A complete system of training the horse to a proper 

 response to the bit begins first with the education of the ani- 

 mal to the feeling of a bit in the mouth. The mouthing bit 

 is the type used for this purpose. (See p. 273.) Side reins, 

 made with a rubber section, should be attached to the rings of 

 the bit and the roller, and sufficient pressure exerted to teach 

 the horse that it is to his advantage " to give " bend his 

 neck and head so that the pressure will cease. As the effect 

 of these side reins is to bring new muscles into play, the 

 length of the reins at first should be sufficient to allow the 

 horse to hold his head in almost its customary position. 



The second object of mouthing is to teach the horse to 

 carry his head in such a position that the mouth-piece will, 

 when drawn by the reins, bear upon the most sensitive part 

 of the mouth, i. e., the bars or gums lying between the 

 tushes and back teeth. Owing to the manner in which the bit 

 is suspended from the cheek-pieces of the bridle the mouth- 

 piece will fall most accurately on the bars when the draught 

 of the reins is exerted at right angles to the bars. Hence 



