LITTLE THINGS WORTH KNOWING 137 



short side of the mouthpiece to that side, and vice versa ; 

 this will keep his head straight, or a Sharlinski "side- 

 pulling " bit is effective. 



If the horse bites when being groomed, take a large 

 nosebag, pad the sides with hay and put it over the 

 horse ; he cannot hurt you then. If he is a very bad 

 one, tie both sides of the head, one rope to the extreme 

 right and the other rope to the left, put the pulling- 

 rope on, and then if he runs back he will not get away. 

 Strap his near foreleg up and he will be quite all right. 

 A side line can be used to lift his hind legs up. Always 

 keep at the side of him. When he has once jumped 

 back into the pulling -rope he will be afraid to move 

 again. A cradle is a useful appliance to prevent a hcrse 

 biting round at you. 



When you buy a new horse, never put him m harness 

 the first time without long-reining him and finding out 

 if he has any concealed vices. If this had been done 

 more often, many a patent-leather dashboard would 

 have been saved. 



If the horse switches his tail and is likely to get the 

 rein under, take a piece of leather four inches wide and 

 twelve inches long and sew a crupper to it ; have a 

 small pocket sewn at the bottom end, large enough to 

 hold one pound of lead shot ; sew three straps across the 



