30 Curb, Snaffle, and Sp 



iir. 



fences of the horse. The former is a coltish 

 prank, which may become a fixed vice by bad 

 handhng ; the latter is seldom found in horses of 

 domestic breeds, and is perhaps due as much to 

 tight girthing and rough " breaking " as to the 

 instinctive resistances of the half-wild animals in 

 which the vice is commonly found. 



The precautions which I have so strongly in- 

 sisted upon may seem to some readers to be greater 

 than the matter requires ; but if the best results are 

 to be obtained, a trainer cannot observe too much 

 care in the treatment of the colt in these early 

 lessons. The critical period of the colt's educa- 

 tion having been passed, and the animal having 

 been brought to carry its rider quietly, we must 

 extend the discipline, which up to this time has 

 been as Httle irksome as possible. 



A most important thing is to teach the horse 

 to go into the bridle. Nearly every vice and 

 resistance offered by a horse is preceded and 

 made possible by the animal getting behind the 

 hand ; that is, it refuses to face the bit, so that the 

 rider's hand can find nothing by wliich he can 

 enforce his demands. The horse is taught to go 

 into the bridle by gently pushing it forward in a 



