70 The Horse Farrier. 



anything,) you can hitch him in any kind of a stall and 

 give him something to eat to keep him up to his place 

 for a few minutes at first, and there is not one colt out 

 of fifty that will pull on his halter. 



THE KIND OF BIT, AND HOW TO ACCUSTOM A HORSE 



TO IT. 



You should use a large, smooth, snaffle bit, so as 

 not to hurt his mouth, with a bar on each side to pre- 

 vent the bit from pulling through either way. This 

 you should attach to the head-stall of your bridle and 

 put it on your colt without any reins to it, and let him 

 run loose in a large stable or shed some time, until he 

 becomes a little used to the bit, and will bear it with- 

 out trying to get it out of his mouth. It would be 

 well, if convenient, to repeat this several times before 

 you do anything more with the colt ; as soon as he 

 will bear the bit, attach a single rein to it, without any 

 martingale. You should also have a halter on your 

 colt, or a bridle made after the fashion of a halter, 

 with a strap to it, so that you can hold or lead him 

 about without pulling on the bit much. He is now 

 ready for the saddle. 



HOW TO SADDLE A COLT. 



Any one man, who has this theory, can put a saddle 

 on the wildest colt that ever grew, without any help, 

 and without scaring him. The first thing will be to 

 tie each stirrup strap into a loose knot to make them 

 short, and prevent the stirrups from flying about and 

 hitting him. Then double up the skirts and take the 

 saddle under your right arm, so as not to frighten him 

 with it as you approach. When you get to him, rub 



