IMPROVING ACTION 



BITTING, SHOEING AND CONDI- 

 TIONING FOR ACTION II 



IN my last article on this subject I drew atten- 

 tion to the fact that bitting, or "making the 

 mouth," is by far the most important matter to 

 attend to in contributing to action. You must 

 get the head up and the nose in, and cultivate a 

 responsive mouth, so that when a horse is urged 

 and restrained, he will step up instead of step- 

 ping on. It was urged that care should be used 

 against getting horses into bad habits in connec- 

 tion with the mouth in the process of bitting, such 

 as getting the tongue over the bit, retracting the 

 tongue, side-lining, going with the mouth open, 

 tossing the head, carrying the head unsteadily, 

 and so forth. If some of these habits are devel- 

 oped, they will tend to neutralize any beneficial 

 efforts that have been made in the cultivation of 

 the mouth. 



An easy bit should first be used, such as a 

 straight-barred ringed one or a snaffle, so that the 



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