622 
SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
guided, conditions arise which cause the provinces of the practical horse¬ 
man and veterinarian to overlap, and it would puzzle a constitutional 
lawyer to strike the dividing line. 
While it is not absolutely necessary for a veterinarian to be a practi¬ 
cal horseman under all circumstances (though it always is an advan¬ 
tage), conditions arise referable to the mouth in which it is a great as¬ 
sistance in aiding one to explain faults and troubles to our clients to 
which driving and riding horses are subject, and to suggest means for 
their relief. 
I think we will all agree that there is no point in connection with a 
horse that contributes so much to the pleasure, comfort and safety of 
either riding or driving him, as what might be called a responsive 
mouth, or one which obeys the slightest intimation promptly, from rider 
or driver of restraint or guidance. A good mouth is to a large extent 
natural to a horse, so that some horses if properly handled can have 
their mouths made almost perfect. Such horses as a rule must have 
their heads so related to one another that they can bend their heads upon 
their necks with ease. If horses so formed have bad mouths, it is usu- 
ally the result of irrational handling, unless they happen to be unduK’’ 
nervous or unintelligent animals. 
Horses whose mouths are not good are very subject to soreness oc¬ 
casioned by injury troiii the bit, and the result of this soreness is mani¬ 
fested in a variety of ways. 
In horses driven with curb bits with a stiff mouthpiece, the usual 
seat of injury is the tissue covering the branches of the lower jaw at the 
points where the bit presses, which becomes bruised and excoriated, and 
the bone^ underlying is sometimes injured, even to the extent of a piece 
being chipped off. It is extraordinary how common this form of injury 
is in the city, especially amongst dealers’ horses, and is by no means 
uncommon in a large proportion of other horses driven with curb bits. 
Jointed or snaffle bits seldom injure the branches of the lower jaw, but 
sometimes press the cheeks against the anterior molars, and abrade the 
inner surface of the cheeks, especially if these molars are rough. Of 
the numerous ill-results of soreness and discomfort in connection with 
the mouth, I may mention the following faults and troubles noticeable 
when riding or driving, viz., crossing the jaws, keeping the mouth more 
or less open, lolling the tongue, slobbering, tossing the head, carrying 
the head to one side or the other, pulling out in double harness or crowd¬ 
ing in, going cornerwise, side-lining, not going into the bit, carrying 
the head unsteadily, pulling, boring down, balking, rearing, plunging, 
or rushing when starting off, especially out of the stable, restlessness in 
standing, breaking or going unsteadily in harness when going within 
the horse s speed, mixing, hitching or hopping either in front or behind, 
interfering, and, last, but not least in importance, bridle-lameness. Cer¬ 
tainly a numbei of other causes operate in producing the faults I have 
enumerated, but the most prolific one in the majority of instances is 
some discomfort in connection with the mouth. 
As a rule, if these troubles are attributed to the mouth by owners or 
coachman, the teeth are usually assigned as the cause, when in reality a 
bruise of the jaw occasioned by the bit is the trouble, but the anterior 
molars are rasped and rerasped, still the source of irritation (the bit) is 
used day after day, applied to the sore and tender spots. 
