34 HORSE-BREAIvIXG. 



of the bit will be on the left side, but the weight 

 of the right half of the bit will still be on the 

 rio-ht side of the mouth, which cannot be the 

 case with a straight mouth-piece. Again, it is 

 not of so much consequence as to whether this 

 sort of bit fits the colt's mouth or not, provided 

 it is placed in the proper place in the mouth, as 

 the weights of each half depending from their 

 centres will keep the pressure on both sides 

 equal. The great mistake made in mouthing a 

 colt is that the animal is tied up too long with 

 the bit in his mouth, for when muscular con- 

 traction is exhausted he is forced through sheer 

 fatigue to lean upon the bit, and thus lay the 

 stepping stone to a hard mouth. 



Men think now-a-days they can mouth a 

 colt by machinery. They tie his head up and 

 down in the most intricate manner, put a great 

 bit in his mouth, and if the bit is not considered 

 heavy enough, a bag of shot is tied to each side 

 of it. The animal is then forced to stand in a 

 stall with his head tightly buckled up to the 

 roller, and there he is made to stand, fastened 



