42 



THE BRIDLE BITS. 



bear so well, so he throws it back to keep the rain from, 

 getting into it. The normal position of the horse's ear 

 when he is inactive is thrown backwards, bnt when he is at 

 work it varies with circumstances. When active, or ex- 

 l^ecting orders, it is vertical ; when he is cross it is also 

 thrown back, and when listening, or looking to the front, 

 it is thrown forward. (See fig. 13, cuts 1 , 2, 3, 4. ) When 

 the saddle-horse is in action he listens attentively to the 



Fio:. 13.— POSITIONS OF ears. 



least sound of his rider's voice, which he expects to hear, 

 and therefore by giving him the habit of listening to and 

 obeying the voice, the use of the bit is reduced to a 

 minimum. 



USING THE HORSE AS A WATCH. 



The horse in his natural state, when roaming in wild 

 bands over vast plains and through the foot hills of great 

 mountain ranges, makes a different use of his ears to 

 what he does when domesticated — confined and worked — 

 v/here all his wild feelings and natural propensities are 

 reduced to the requirements of an artificial and hum- 

 drum life, to keep pace with the tame surroundings of a 

 stable yard, and the unnatural confinement in even the 

 most gorgeous stable and stall, loose box or sheltered 

 paddock. To him the very best and unlimited domestic 

 home is a prison compared with the smallest privileges 

 he enjoys in his native sphere. A wild band of these 

 untutored lords of the plain roamed in defiance of cap- 

 ture during many years on the vast plains in the region 

 of country bordering on the Yuba and Feather Eivers in 

 one direction, and the foot hills skirting the coast range 



