STAMMERING 



ions of the neck only as they are dependent upon 

 flexions of the lower jaw. 



Some horses, nervous and excitable by nature, 

 sometimes champ their bits because of their own 

 energy and impatience. This is not so much a fault 

 as a proof of energy, which properly directed be- 

 comes one of the qualities of a good horse. 



STAMMERING 



STAMMERING is a contortion of the horse's mouth 

 which occurs when the rider's hand asks the direct 

 flexion. There should be a feeling of square contact 

 before the flexion, which, as the mouth opens, 

 should pass into a sort of honeyed sensation in the 

 rider's fingers. This should be exactly square and 

 equal. If, however, one of the bars does not cede 

 precisely like the other, but holds the contact when 

 the other has yielded completely, the horse is said 

 to stammer. The same word is used, also, when the 

 horse grinds, gnashes, cracks, snaps, or slaps its 

 teeth. 



The horse's nervousness, irritability, or impa- 

 tience is what makes it casser la noisette; and the 

 correction is by obtaining the complete direct flex- 

 ion of the lower jaw. A young horse, at the begin- 

 ning of its education, is pretty likely to stammer, 

 and must be excused. But the trainer must take 

 care that the stammering does not become a habit, 

 since, when once fixed, it is difficult to cure. 



On the other hand, this cracking of the teeth 



