TO BIT A COLT. 49 



advantage if lie carries his head too high, or his nose 

 too far out, to put martingales on him. 



You should be careful not to ride your colt so far 

 at first as to heat, worry, or tire him. Get 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 harness 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 be- 

 fore you put on the bitting harness, and when 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 will 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 time you put it on, 

 and he will still raise his head to loosen it ; by this 

 means 'you will gradually get his head and neck in 



