HOW TO TRAIN A COLT. 167 



drawn up to an unnatural height ; his neck, pulled into 

 an angle both awkward and painful, aches with exquisite 

 suffering. To appreciate the agony the young thing en- 

 dures, let some one take hold of your own head, and 

 draw it up and backward as high and as far as the 

 bone-structure and muscles will permit, and compel you 

 to stand with it in that position even for fiVe minutes. 

 In this way you will get some idea of ''bitting-ma- 

 chines," and the actual torture which colts experience 

 while being ''bitted" by them. 



But the evil of this system is not yet fully stated. 

 The colt, with his head drawn up and back, is left in the 

 yard, as I have said, while the trainer goes to his work 

 or to drive. Perhaps he stands an hour ; perhaps five 

 hours ; very likely all day. For the first few minutes he 

 strives to keep his head up, and the bit loose in his 

 mouth, because it pains him ; but pretty soon the 

 muscles of his neck begin to ache. They were never 

 made to hold up the head in that style, and are actually 

 unable to do it for any considerable length of time. 

 Soon the head sags : the pain in the overtasked muscles 

 of the neck is greater even than that caused by the 

 pressure of the bit. It is, you see, with the colt, a 

 choice between two pains. Little by little, the head 

 droops ; heavier and heavier the weight of it is laid 

 upon the bit ; and, in the course of an hour or two, the 

 colt stands weary and stolid, the weight of his head and 

 neck laid solidly down upon the bit. The colt is 

 being taught^ you see, to *' take the bit " with a ven- 



