212 MOUTHING AND BITTING. 



horse up, with both reins at every step, and if the 

 horse is sluggish, make use of the whip upon the 

 horse's shoulder, and work him well up to hand ; but 

 be particular, not to have a dead pull on the horse's 

 mouth." 



MOUTHING AND BITTING. 



* " It must always be borne in mind," Captain 

 Hichardson remarks, " that the fineness of a horse's 

 mouth, is not produced by lacerating the gums of 

 the horse. The delicate, and beautiful skin which 

 covers them, is never so tender and sensitive, after 

 abrasion, as before. The mouth of the colt has to 

 be formed to the usage of .the hand ; as the hand is 

 the medium of the will of the rider, it is by very 

 gentle and correct indications of the hands and of 

 the legs, that the education of the horse is to be carried 

 on, and perfected, not by ponderous bits and rough 

 treatment ;" great care should therefore be taken in 

 selecting a bit. t " The best for all purposes is a light 

 one, with the cheeks of an average length, the mouth- 

 piece merely sufficiently arched, to admit of the horse's 

 tongue passing freely underneath it ; the width should 

 vary according to the breadth of the horse's mouth. 

 A bit of this sort is quite sufficient to bring any horse 

 under control, for it is a mistake to fancy, that the 

 opposition a horse offers to the rider's hand, is caused 

 by the peculiar shape of the mouth, or that one horse's 

 mouth, is by nature, much more sensitive than 

 another. The jaw-bone of every horse, is covered in 

 the same way ; whether a horse be light or heavy in 

 hand, cannot therefore depend upon the quantity of 



* 



* Horsemanship by Captain Richardson. 

 t Training Cavalry Remount Horses. 



