FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE 



learns that even if he does " lug " and lay his 

 weight on the bit, he is no worse off than before, 

 and another puller is made. If you mean to 

 check a horse high, and especially to gag-check 

 him, always do one of two things : either leave 

 the check off the water-hook for the first ten 

 minutes of the drive, or start with it five or six 

 holes too long, to be taken up later. If you 

 really want your charge to improve quickly and 

 make a fine and sensitive mouth, drive him on a 

 fairly loose check, and when you return, and after 

 he is free of the wagon, bear him up hard and 

 leave him so, on the floor or in a stall, for not 

 over fifteen minutes. He is warmed up and 

 can yield, and he freely does, often with extraor- 

 dinary results. Of course his physical structure 

 must be considered carefully, and impossibilities 

 must not be asked, or another puller is assured. 

 Thick and short necks cannot arch ; narrow 

 jaws cannot flex too far; weak backs and loins 

 will not bear too much strain ; of the two evils 

 your horse will choose the lesser, and if he 

 cannot give, and you persist, he must resist and 

 pull. Conformation must always be taken into 

 consideration. 



Broadly speaking, every horse that is fit to 

 no 



