Bridling a Difficult Horse 291 



strike or bite. If he resists as you place the harness 

 over the body, punish him with the war bridle. 

 Continue until he becomes perfectly submissive to 

 being harnessed. To complete the work, in a simi- 

 lar way educate him to stand while being harnessed 

 from the right side. If he is very game, attach the 

 tail-rope and continue the work after he becomes 

 stupefied. 



Where the horse does not too stubbornly resent 

 being harnessed, very good results are secured by 

 tying his head very short to the manger or hay- 

 rack before harnessing, as this prevents him from 

 biting or kicking the attendant while placing the 

 harness over the animal's back. 



Difficult to bridle. — This is a very common habit 

 and one that is often difficult to overcome, the 

 horse either holding his head very high or posi- 

 tively refusing to open his mouth. As with horses 

 difficult to harness, this habit is due to improper 

 methods of training, to the use of severe bits or to 

 tight-fitting bridles. To overcome it, give the same 

 treatment as already suggested for the horse 

 difficult to harness. If the horse has the habit of 

 throwing the head up as you attempt to bridle, 

 attach the excelsior bridle (p. 193), placing one of the 

 ropes well back on the neck and the other just back 

 of the ears. Now as he raises his head give a se- 

 vere jerk on the excelsior bridle, thus causing pres- 

 sure on the top of the neck and both pain and pres- 



