SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
623 
If one considers for a moment, one can realize the extreme sensitive¬ 
ness of these sores, and the excruciating- pain a horse must suffer when 
facing the bit in the morning, so that it is not astonishing that some 
horses hang back when first taken out, and if they are predisposed be¬ 
come balkers. The high-conraged horse, though he may hesitate at 
first, will, as soon as the part becomes numbed with pressure, or he 
becomes desperate with the pain he is suffering, begin to pull and show 
evidence of the discomfort he is suffering in the many ways already de¬ 
scribed, such as crossing the jaws, going with the mouth open, head to 
one side, etc. 
The irritable, sensitive horse is apt to manifest his pain in a more 
demonstrative manner, and we may find him going out of the stable 
with a rush, rear or plunge, and if he continues to do this for a short 
time it soon becomes a confirmed habit and a very dangerous and dis¬ 
agreeable one. Unfortunately it is by no means an uncommon one and 
could have been very easily prevented had it been realized that it was 
due to soreness of the mouth and rational measures adopted. Instead, 
however, of resting the mouth by keeping the bit out of it, the horse is 
used day after day and the condition aggravated. 
If the excoriated parts heal, the cicatricial tissue filling the breach 
gives rise to an uneven surface and the healed part remains unduly sen¬ 
sitive, and the pressure of the bit always causes evidence of discomfort. 
Some refer to the healed part as calloused and lacking in sensitiveness, 
and so account for some horses having a one-sided mouth, but person¬ 
ally I think it is the healed part that is the sensitive one. 
Just here I may remark that I think this is a point that should not 
be ignored by the veterinarian in examining for soundness, and should 
at least be pointed out to his client, and its consequences explained ; 
the more so if any injury to the bone has ever taken place, for then a 
horse can never have a good mouth. 
Outside of the discomfort and difficulty of driving a horse with a bad 
mouth not to say the danger especially in crowded streets, and the un¬ 
sightliness of carriage, it gives rise to, as in turning the head in and 
out, etc., a bad mouth is apt to produce irregularity of the gait and im¬ 
paired control of the legs. What is called “hitching” or hopping, 
generally of a hind leg, although due to weakness, too heavy a load, 
driving beyond speed, heavy shoes, etc., is not infrequently due to ten¬ 
derness or soreness of the mouth, or placing the bit too high in the 
mouth. There is no such thing as a congenital “hitcher.” It is always 
the result of bad management if allowed to become a habit. 
In high couraged horses whose mouths have become permanently 
injured from the bit, it is a difficult matter to overcome the habit,_ but 
if the mouth is allowed to heal thoroughly, the bit placed as low in it 
as the animal will stand and face it with a moderate degree of firmness 
and not put his tongue over it, the fault will often be remedied. 
The veterinarian needs to be on the alert for seeming lameness from 
a sore mouth, which is by no means uncommon. A horse will nod his 
head or hitch on a hind leg as rhythmically a.s if he were actually lame, 
and owners and coachmen often jump at the conclusion that such is the 
ca.se, neglecting to take the precaution to jog a horse in hand, before 
coming to the conclusion. In fact, it is very difficult to persuade people 
sometimes that a. horse is not lame when he nods or hitches from a sore 
