84 



bit more freely. The keys should not be too long" 

 or they will come between his front teeth, which 

 may give him a bad habit of tossing up his head 

 in future. (Fig. 5.) 



Some colts are inclined to sulk on the bit at 

 first, but in time they well generally work it quite 

 freely. The breaking tackle should not remain upon 

 the colt more that a couple of hours at first, and the 

 time should gradually be increased as the breaking 

 proceeds. 



The colt should be handled twice a day, forenoon 

 and afternoon, if possible. In removing the breaking 

 gear from the colt, he should be turned in the stall 

 as previously explained, and everything taken off in 

 the reverse order from which they were put on, 

 always leaving the rope halter upon his head. The 

 breaker should exercise caution and should not hurry 

 in any way, for the colt may be nervous and he 

 may learn something in a minute which he will 

 remember for a week. This treatment should be 

 continued for a fortnight at least before any attempt 

 is made to mount the colt. His mouth is not reliable 

 before that period, and getting upon his back when 

 his mouth is imperfectly made is both foolish and 

 dangerous. It is all humbug for certain trainers to 

 allege that the colt can be " mouthed " in a few 

 hours. We have handled hundreds of colts of all 

 degrees of breeding and temperament, and while 

 some are much more susceptible than others, it 

 would be unwise in the extreme to trust them in 



