TAMING HORSES. 145 



You should be careful not to ride your colt so far 

 at first as to heat, worry, or tire him. Gat off as 

 soon as you see he is a little fatigued; gentle him 

 and let him rest; this will make him kind to you 

 and prevent him from getting stubborn or mad. 



THE PROPER WAY TO BIT A COLT. 



Farmers often put bitting harnesss on a colt the 

 first thing they do to him, buckling up the bitting 

 as tight as they can draw it, to make him carry his 

 head high, and then turn him out in a field to run 

 a half-day at a time. This is one of the worst 

 punishments that they could inflict on the colt, 

 and very injurious to a young horse that has been 

 used to running in pasture with his head down. I 

 have seen colts so injured in this way that they 

 never got over it. 



A horse should be well accustomed to the bit 

 before you put on the bitting harness, and wlien 

 you first bit him you should only rein his head up 

 to that point where he naturally holds it, let that 

 be high or low; he will soon learn that he cannot 

 lower his head, and that raising it a little vi'ill 

 loosen the bit in his mouth. This will give him 

 the idea of raising his head to loosen the bit, and 

 then you can draw the bitting a little tighter every 



