WAR BRIDLE FIEST FORM. 61 



cause such to suddenly pitch at the trainer. I have fre- 

 quently found horses so extremely sensitive that punish- 

 ment of any kind would immediately excite in them the 

 greatest resentment. The most noticeable case in my ex- 

 perience was an English thoroughbred, in Fredericton, N. 

 B. This horse could with care be handled with a good 

 bridle ; but the trainer warned me to look out for myself 

 if I attempted to punish him in any way. To test him I 

 put on the War Bridle, and gave him a sharp jerk back- 

 ward with it, when he jumped directly for me, and I had 

 all I could do to save myself. 



The next most marked case was that of a horse I had 

 trained to drive without reins, and had traveled with 

 through Ohio and other parts of the West. Whipping 

 would excite his hostility to such a degree that in training 

 him it was necessary to keep his head tied from me. I re- 

 fer to these cases to show that such treatment is decidedly 

 objectionable, and should not be employed. 



The whip should not be used as a means of subjection, 

 but of punishment. As explained under another head, the 

 skin on the legs and body of a horse is so thick that when 

 he is warmed up, and his sensibilities blunted, the most 

 severe whipping is not much felt by him ; so if the horse 

 is one of much courage, and has acquired confidence to 

 fight, he will be likely to resist this treatment. 



THE WAR BRIDLE FIRST FORM. 



The War Bridle is naturally the next in order. The 

 first idea of it was obtained from the Comanche Indians. 

 Its first form was very limited and crude, being simply a 

 loop around the lower jaw, the cord put around the neck 

 and drawn down through the loop. With this cord well 



