XLIX. 



On Driving. —Difficulty of laying down Rules. — Importance of a Sensitive 

 Mouth. — The Bit proper for a Colt. — Much Use of " Bitting " Apparatus 

 Mischievous. — The Bits in Cold Weather to be warmed before Use. — A 

 light. Fine Hand required. — Pulling to be avoided. — Gentleness and 

 Firmness. — The Horse to be harnessed so as to be at Ease. — Dead Pull 



■ an Evil. — Proper Position of the Driver. — The Shift of the Bit. — How 

 to hold the Beins. — Severe Bits bad. 



IT is of course very difficult to lay down rules for driving 

 trotting-horses ; for a great deal depends upon the char- 

 acter and disposition of the horse in hand, and much de- 

 pends upon the method which may have been followed by 

 those who broke him. It very often happens that the 

 driver will have to spend some time in undoing and repair- 

 ing the mischievous eifects of the bad driving to which the 

 horse has been subjected. The colt ought to be bitted and 

 broken, so that he shall have a lively, sensitive mouth, 

 and be ready to answer to a light, neat touch upon the 

 rein. The bit for a colt should not be of great size and 

 thickness. A bar of moderate size, rather fine than thick, 

 is what I have always preferred. Such a bit is sooner felt, 

 and the colt keeps his head up, and does not bear down 

 steadily upon it. With a big bar-bit in his mouth, he is 

 niu;h more likely to hang on it, by which means the mouth 

 is often made hard and callous. This is, of all things, to be 

 avoided. 



It is. also my opinion that colts do not require as much 

 bitting as they are commonly subjected to ; and the bitting- 

 apparatus ought not to be kept on them very long at one 

 time, for this is what causes sore mouths, and they result 



391 



