COLT RAISING 19 



should gradually become accustomed to having um- 

 brellas opened behind them, etc. Many lives have 

 been sacrificed to the absurd practice of breaking horses 

 in blinders. If, In after years, the horse accustomed 

 only to a bridle with blinders happens to be harnessed 

 with a bridle which Is broken or 111 fitting so that he 

 can see backward over the top of the blinders he is apt 

 to become panic-stricken and to run away. The same 

 thing may occur if an open bridle is incautiously sub- 

 stituted for a close bridle, or If the bridle is taken off to 

 feed the horse while he is in harness, or If he rubs it 

 off while in harness. 



The use of the Dumb Jockey to make a horse yield 

 to the bit and arch his neck is highly valued by some 

 trainers and strongly condemned by others. Certainly 

 if used at all It should be used with great care. The 

 danger is that, if the straps are buckled too tight, or If 

 the contrivance Is left on the horse too long at a time, 

 he will bear down on the bit, with the result of spoiling 

 both his mouth and the carriage of his head. A well- 

 balanced horse, if driven by a man with a light hand, 

 will, as a rule, learn to carry his head right, though 

 nothing more than a snaffle bit is employed; and if this 

 does not suffice, let the horse be ridden by a man or boy, 

 not too heavy, using a double bridle — that is a curb 

 bit and a snaffle bit, each with its own pair of reins. 



Opinions differ as to whether It is better to drive 

 colts for the first time single or double. But it Is the 

 safer plan to hitch them first with a mature horse. In 

 that way they get accustomed to the sight of the vehicle 

 following them, to the rattle of harness and vehicle, 



