560 The Book of the Horse 



which he naturally holds it, let it be high or low ; he will soon learn that he cannot lower 

 his head, and that raising it a little will loosen the bit in his mouth. By degrees you can 

 tighten the reins, until you get his head and neck as near the right position as the confor- 

 mation of his neck and shoulders will allow, without making his mouth sore or irritating his 

 temper. 



" If you draw the bitting-rein tight the first time you attach it to the dumb jockey, he will 

 bear on it, sweat, paw, and perhaps rear, slip, and fall backwards, and if he does not break his 

 back, he will become nervous for life." 



It is absolutely necessary to put all colts on the bit (with the exception of a few horses 

 of rare formation and temper) to get them balanced on their haunches, but the operation 

 requires great care if it is not to do more harm than good. 



"Colts should never be on reins tightly buckled to a dumb jockey more than fifteen or 

 twenty minutes at a time ; a long penance destroys all the good effect. Their mouths should 

 always be wetted before they are bitted, and they should have a drink of water when the bit 

 is taken off or relaxed. 



" Before a colt receives his first lessons from a mounted horseman he may be taught 

 a great deal by the breaker on foot — with both snaffle and curb-bit — to turn to cither 

 side, to collect himself, champ the bit, and to back readily on slight indications from the 

 reins." 



Mr. Blackwell, of Oxford Street, London, has a most complete and ingenious collection of 

 colt-breaking apparatus. His Dumb Jockey, with gutta-percha and whalebone horns, avoids 

 the dangers of the old wooden horns. All the contrivances are worth the examination of a 

 horse-breeder. 



HOW TO SADDLE A COLT. 



The better plan is to accustom the colt from a very early period to bear first a surcingle, 

 then a pad, and then a dumb jockey, from which light stirrups and a skirt may by degrees be 

 suspended, trying and accustoming him to each new thing thoroughly before another is introduced 

 to his notice. Supposing that the colt has been led about in the longeing-rein until accustomed 

 to all ordinary sights and sounds, has learned to obey the breaker, and has become so much 

 accustomed to him that he will allow him, or any quiet person, to approach him on either 

 side without starting back affrighted — that he has, in fact, learned that man is both his friend 

 and his master — a saddle may then be placed on his back. 



Commence this, like every breaking operation, by fondling, or, as Rarey has it, "gentling" 

 the colt ; then take up a saddle from which the stirrup-leathers have been detached. Either 

 lay it down on the floor of the stable or barn for him to smell, or quietly hold it up for him 

 to thoroughly examine. When he is quite satisfied that it will do him no harm, raise it, and rub 

 it gently against his neck, gradually slipping it back, stopping if he shows the least signs of 

 alarm to soothe him, until it is behind his withers, and you can softly slip it into its place ; 

 then move it gently with your hand, slip it backwards and forwards, lift it up and put it down 

 again, until you are satisfied that he is not afraid of it. Instead of girthing the saddle in the 

 usual manner, be satisfied at first to fasten it with a racing surcingle, which does not require 

 to be drawn so tight as a girth, and is more easily buckled. 



If he has been already driven by a man walking after him, with long reins passed through 

 the terrets of a dumb jockey, in what is called the Yorkshire fashion, he will understand that 

 when you pull the left rein he must go to the left, and that when you pull the right rein he 



