58 ESSAYS ON HORSE SUBJECTS 



cause they are easily observed, but they really, 

 as a rule, do not cause nearly the amount of ir- 

 ritation and pain that an internal injury to the 

 mouth does, and they are easily prevented by the 

 use of a circular leather cheek piece on the bit. 

 Some horses that show a disinclination to go into 

 the bit for the first mile or two, after a time begin 

 to pull, and the farther they are driven the more 

 they pull. This is usually the result of a sore 

 mouth, and veterinarians frequently have to re- 

 move small portions of bone which have been 

 detached from the jaw by the extreme pressure 

 of the bit. Bad "side-liners" are caused by a 

 chipped jaw or else an extensive excoriation of 

 the soft tissues on one side of the mouth where 

 the bit exerts its pressure. In the healing up 

 of such injuries the tissue with which nature re- 

 pairs the breach seldom seems to attain the ability 

 to stand the pressure of the bit to the same ex- 

 tent that one not so severely injured does. The 

 fact that such permanent ill-effects are apt to 

 follow injuries to the mouth from the bit should 

 cause the exercise of due care when there is any 

 evidence of soreness. Certainly high-couraged, 

 ambitious horses are predisposed to injuries of 

 the mouth, but they can be largely guarded 

 against by the exercise of care, and it is very im- 

 portant never to disregard "soreness," however 

 slight. 



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