THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 393 



bit, the colt, in his efforts to resist what hurts him, will very 

 soon pull too, for he will find out that this numbs and deadens 

 the jaws; but this is at the expense of ruination to the 

 mouth. It will become hard and insensible ; and the first 

 and largest part of the mischief which goes towards the 

 making of a hard puller is done. 



When you begin to drive the colt, you must find out what 

 sort of bit suits him best. This is matter of experimental 

 trial. Use both bars and snaffles, all easy ; and by feel of 

 hand, and observation of the way in which the colt carries 

 his head, you will soon be able to ascertain which bit suits 

 him best. The nicety of your touch as driver should 

 correspond to the lively sensibility of the colt's mouth. A 

 bad-tempered, hasty man will very soon spoil a good-tem- 

 pered young horse. The use of the whip ought, as a general 

 rule, to be avoided. In some cases, it must be used ; but it 

 should never be brought into play when the horse does not 

 know what it is for. A slap with the whip, which almost 

 makes the colt jump out of the harness, is often immediately 

 followed by a powerful snatch on the reins to pull him back 

 again. Both of these are as bad as bad can be. Sore 

 mouths, bad tempers, and broken gaits, are the almost 

 inevitable results of such handling. On the other hand, if 

 the colt has been well broken, and has a good lively mouth, 

 and the driver handles the reins skilfully and thoughtfully, 

 the colt will soon learn to understand every move of the 

 hand, and to answer it. From this it follows that you ought 

 to make no move with the bit without a definite object. 

 When you feel an impulse to do something with the reins 

 without knowing what you are to do it for, don't do it at all. 

 Such moves only fool the horse. Everybody admits that a 

 very hard-pulling horse is a nuisance ; and everybody knows 

 that some horses will pull if they are to trot, and will not 

 extend themselves without a strong pull : but, even in regard 

 to these, it is not well to keep up a steady, rigid pull all the 

 time. I say, rather pull for a space, and then ease off, not 



