112 ILLUSTRATED HORSE-BREAKING. 



that the horse fears the word, and not the twitch ; 

 for, no matter how often the rope is put on, he 

 will not resent its application more than he did 

 on the first occasion. The oftener, on the 

 contrary, the ordinary twitch is employed, the 

 shyer will the animal become of having his muzzle 

 touched. The chief advantages of the rope- 

 twitch over the common one, are : that it can be 

 easier procured and applied ; it does not inflict so 

 much pain, which, with it, is momentary, and not 

 continuous, as with the other ; it is more effec- 

 tive ; it is not so liable to slip off ; it can be 

 retained in position for any reasonable length of 

 time, to be used as required ; it has a more or 

 less permanently good effect on the horse's 

 temper, and not a bad one, like the other ; and 

 it does not make the horse shy of having his 

 mouth touched. The fact of numbers of horses 

 being rendered difficult to bridle, by the employ- 

 ment of the ordinary twitch, will, naturally, occur 

 to the reader. The general substitution of this 



