CHAPTER IX 
MOUTHING, BREAKING-IN, COST OF BREEDING 
THE farmer will probably break and “make” some 
of his agricultural colts and fillies before selling 
them; some he may dispose of, unbroken, at 
remunerative prices; and he will seldom fail in 
getting a fair price for a fair animal of this descrip- 
tion. If, however, he be not a good rider and 
driver, and has not a good bid for his unbroken 
hunter, carriage horse, or hackney, he will do best to 
put his horse into the hands of some competent 
horse-breaker, who, at the end of a fortnight, should 
hand it over mouthed and broken. The horse now 
should be kept in good condition and exercise, in a 
comfortable stall or box, and should be ready to be 
produced at any moment to the buyer, who often 
comes, like an angel, unawares. - 
A young horse on a farm ought to be accustomed 
to lead, long before he is of breaking age. Through- 
out the colt’s life he should not only have become 
used to the voice of his owner or attendant, but 
have learnt that his master means well and kindly 
by him. 
For mouthing, a plain wooden mouthing-bit with 
keys, or a thick, plain snaffle with keys, should be 
