THE GENTLE HANDS IN DRIVING 301 



to do it, can't hold them: then it is the fault of 

 their early training. All you can do in such a case 

 is to drop the bit into a new place and make the 

 best of it. Sometimes the change to a large, smooth 

 rubber curved bit will stop a horse's pulling. The 

 proper mouthing or bitting of a young horse is not 

 half appreciated, and less understood or practiced in 

 this country than in Europe. Anything and every- 

 thing you can do to preserve the sensitiveness of his 

 mouth should be done. 



While there is some excuse for holding on to a 

 horse that is already a puller, there is no excuse what- 

 ever for driving him with a slack rein when he comes 

 to a walk. In this way, we teach him that when we 

 pull back we want him to go fast, and when we let 

 up entirely he is to walk, which is just contrary to 

 what we really intend. Never pull at a horse's mouth 

 an ounce more than is necessary, and never drive him 

 for a rod without a light touch of the reins so you can 

 just feel the bit. You can easily do this, when your 

 hand is in the position recommended (thumbs up), by 

 permitting the wrist to give and take to the forward 

 and backward oscillation of a horse's head when 

 moving. 



As to hands in driving, we are the laughing stock 

 of the world. 1 No system or form could be devised 

 that could be worse than the American style. It is 

 simply ruinous to a horse's mouth. It is a most diffi- 

 cult thing to find in America a horse of any natural 



1 See "Cross Country With Horse and Hound," by F. Sherman 

 Peer. 



