94 Training the Work Horse 



plow, and since they must pull the former by their 

 mouths, he is by far the more fatiguing. In like 

 manner, on the streets, we often see the driver 

 perched upon the heavily loaded van, holding the 

 lines with extended arms and pulling on the horses' 

 mouths with all his strength, while the already over- 

 loaded animals tug away at the load. On the other 

 hand, we often see careless drivers who permit the 

 lines to hang, thus leaving the horses to stumble 

 along as best they can while at their burdensome 

 task. 



It is not possible for draft horses to accomplish 

 their maximum usefulness while so driven. In the 

 first case much energy is lost by the constant pulling 

 of the driver, and in the second case the horses are 

 not held together and hence lose energy pulling 

 against each other. Never pull at a horse's mouth 

 one ounce more than is necessary, as the energy is 

 lost, and never drive him without a light touch of 

 the lines so you can just feel the bit and hold him 

 steady. In case the horse is a lugger — one whose 

 mouth has been pulled on until it has become cal- 

 loused — relief can often be gained by dropping the 

 bit into a new place or by changing to a large smooth 

 rubber or leather covered bit, and some even go so 

 far as to recommend the bitless bridle. The better 

 plan is to put the horse into competent hands and 

 then he will be trained properly from the beginning, 

 and his usefulness increased. 



