IMPROVING ACTION 71 



be cultivated by degrees to be able to accomplish 

 this. So with the horse's mouth; the nerves of 

 it have to be educated to make prompt and easy 

 response to pressure, and the muscles, acting 

 under the influence of the nerves, have to be 

 strengthened and developed, so that the head can 

 be bent on the neck and properly carried without 

 discomfort to the individual. The head should 

 not only be bent on the neck to a reasonable de- 

 gree, but should also be steadily carried. 



The first step in the process of making a horse's 

 mouth is to get him used to the pressure of the 

 bit without showing restlessness. No pressure 

 should be brought to bear upon the tongue by 

 means of the reins until the horse will stand a bit 

 in his mouth without fussing. The bit should 

 be placed sufficiently high in the mouth, so that 

 there is no temptation for the horse to get his 

 tongue over it. The old-fashioned plan of put- 

 ting a big, thick bit, with keys hanging from it, 

 placed low in the mouth, is entirely erroneous, as 

 it gets the colt into the way of fussing with his 

 tongue all the time, which is a habit to be avoided. 

 In a good mouth, if the horse is comfortable, his 

 tongue lies quietly in the groove formed by the 

 branches of the lower jaw, and acts as a protec- 

 tive cushion in preventing injury to the delicate 

 and sensitive covering of the bars and the bars 

 themselves. If, then, through faulty manage- 



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