28 THE HORSE EDUCATOR. 



Soon after this a pad may be strapped on the 

 back for a few hoiu's daily, and after a time 

 stirrup leathers, and their stirrups appended to 

 them, and suffered to play about, by which means 

 all fear of such things will be removed long enough 

 before it will become necessary to saddle him for 

 any real purpose. When he is about a year old 

 the colt's bits should be occasionally put in his 

 mouth, and he should be rained up gently to the 

 surcingle and allowed to play with them, or mouth 

 them ; and after this he may stand for an hour or 

 two between the pillars with the rein attached from 

 the colt's bit to rings placed at a proper height 

 in the standards. But here it is necesary to ob- 

 serve, above almost anything in the world, that 

 it is fatal to the formation of the animal's mouth to 

 place the rings too high, or to bear up the head 

 above its ordinary and natural elevation. This is 

 a thing often done with a view to giving a loftj^ 

 carriage to the colt's head, and produce a proud 

 bearing. It does nothing of the kind. It cau- 



