182 HOUSE POKTBAITUEE 



ing cane is remembered, and lie knows that a mis- 

 take will surely change its direction from the horizontal 

 to the perpendicular, leaving its impress on the black and 

 shining quarters. Predictions were rife that what little 

 good was in the horse would be cramped out with the 

 curb, or beat out with the cane ; but all such prognostica- 

 tions proved false. He never afterwards lost a race; and 

 when rushing down the stretch a twenty " clip," I always 

 thought he recked little of the whip or the "g'lang" of his 

 former drivers. It was visions of the waving cane and 

 streaming hair that carried him along, impelled by the re- 

 collection of a power he had been made to acknowledge. I 

 would not take away a jot of the well-merited reputation 

 the successful drivers of this horse have earned ; but I 

 cannot quite shut my eyes to the importance of the les- 

 sons he got from his owner, though administered in a way 

 not considered the best by "horsemen." 



PRECEPTOR. Your episode is the best exemplar of the 

 difficulty of saying what kind of a bit is best calculated to 

 use, while trying to improve the trotting speed of a horse. 

 In fact, when I commenced this conversation, I expected 

 to be able to impart a great deal of information, but find 

 that actual practice will be the only thing that will illus- 

 trate the effect of different bits. What a variety of inven- 

 tions I have seen, to cure a horse from carrying the tongue 

 out of the mouth or over the bit, and all of them failures ! 

 The best remedy that has come under my observation is 

 the largest sized leather bit, filling up the mouth so that 

 the horse is glad to keep the tongue in its proper place. 

 When the mouth becomes sore in the angles of the 

 lips, it is often a very troublesome matter to cure it. One 

 of the best remedies is a wash made with a few drops of 

 creosote, combined with diluted aqua ammonia ; and it is 

 of great importance that the pressure of the bit should be 

 removed. To effect this, I have the noseband of the bridle 



