The next on the list is a straight bit with smooth rollers or rings on its mouth-piece, which are for the purpose of preventing the colt from sliding his mouth from one side of the bit to the other. This may be all very well in theory, but here prevention is not better than cure, for the colt will so injure his lips and gums as to make him either hard-mouthed or extremely sensitive, so much so in fact that the least pull on his mouth will make him throw up his head instantly, and thus not being able to see where he is going to is the cause of many an accident. This is the bit which brings [32] ]martingales so much into use, from its having been used during the so-called mouthing of the colt.
The next bit under consideration is the large, smooth, straight one, with keys hanging from its centre. So far I have condemned all the bits I have mentioned, but this one will not allow of a mere mention and then a dismissal, it having its strong points, and in my opinion, its weak ones also. Its advocates say it prevents the colt from being mouthed irregularly, or in other words that the colt cannot relieve the pressure on its mouth by alternately leaning on either side of the bit. This, I must say, is not reasonable, for if the animal only arches his neck a little more, and turns his head to the right when he is tied with the reins to the roller, the pressure of the bit will be on the left side, thus relieving the right side, and vice versâ. Again, these bits seldom fit the colt’s mouth, and consequently they either pinch and hurt the mouth, or are much too wide, which is generally the case, thus teaching the animal to [33] ]slide his mouth on it from side to side, for which trick the straight mouth-piece with rings has been invented for its eradication. When I say that the colt can, by keeping his tongue more or less elevated in his mouth, prevent all pressure of this bit on his gums and lips, I think I may pass it over as incompetent for the object in view, namely a good mouth.
The next, and last bit to be considered is the large smooth snaffle, with keys depending from its central ring.
I consider this to be the best bit as yet invented for mouthing a colt. No movement of the tongue can raise it from the gums or lips, the colt can play with it with ease, and seems to enjoy it, instead of continually fighting with it more or less, as he does with the others already mentioned, with the exception of the circular or semicircular bits. Some people may say it causes an unequal mouth, but I maintain that it does not, for if, as already described, the animal arches his neck and turns his head to the right, undoubtedly the pressure [34] ]of the bit will be on the left side, but the weight of the right half of the bit will still be on the right side of the mouth, which cannot be the case with a straight mouth-piece. Again, it is not of so much consequence as to whether this sort of bit fits the colt’s mouth or not, provided it is placed in the proper place in the mouth, as the weights of each half depending from their centres will keep the pressure on both sides equal. The great mistake made in mouthing a colt is that the animal is tied up too long with the bit in his mouth, for when muscular contraction is exhausted he is forced through sheer fatigue to lean upon the bit, and thus lay the stepping stone to a hard mouth.
Men think now-a-days they can mouth a colt by machinery. They tie his head up and down in the most intricate manner, put a great bit in his mouth, and if the bit is not considered heavy enough, a bag of shot is tied to each side of it. The animal is then forced to stand in a stall with his head tightly buckled up to the roller, and there he is made to stand, fastened [35] ]to the pillar reins, in a fixed position for hours at a time. No wonder that half the horses in England have mouths like cast-iron. Colts cannot be mouthed by machinery, but only by proper handling in the saddle. It is of no use going through all the elaborate process now in vogue of stable mouthing, india-rubber dumb jockeys, reins, &c. It is the man’s hands only which can do so, but at the same time I must confess it is a difficult thing to find a man with good and light hands. Perhaps this system of mechanical mouthing may have had something to do with hardening men’s hands as well as horses’ mouths.
I may now describe the proper position for the bit in the mouth. It should not be drawn up tightly into the angle of the lips, neither should it be so slack as to be among the incisor teeth, but it should be exactly opposite the groove in the chin where the curb-chain ought to be when used. I think I need not tell my readers how to put the roller on the colt; the only things required are to take time, [36] ]be as gentle as possible, and take care not to buckle it on tight at first, but leave it loose for the first two or three days. To put the crupper on, all that is required is to unbuckle it on the near side, elevate the tail, place it in its proper position, and then buckle it up again. There will be no trouble in placing the roller or crupper on the colt if he has been previously treated as advocated by me, for by this time he will have become tolerably quiet through having been gently handled daily. Most people fasten the bit to the head-stall, which I object to; for when you lead or longe the colt the cavasson is attached to the nose-band either before, behind, or on either side of it, which necessarily must displace the bit more or less; therefore I much prefer a bridle with the bit attached to be placed under the head-stall, when there will be no fear of displacing the bit. Do not fasten reins to the bit for the first day or two, but lead the colt out without them, for he will have enough to do to get used to the constraint of bit, roller, and crupper. When [37] ]you have placed the tackling on the young animal, you may let him stand in the loose box for half-an-hour to familiarise himself with the objects on his body, when he can be taken to the longing ground, and run round for a time in different directions, after which lead him about for an hour or two. In the afternoon you can longe him a little, and then lead him out of the field and take him along a road or lane to accustom him to see and pass strange objects. The road selected for his first lesson should be the quietest that can be found near the longing ground. When he is startled at a heap of stones, a log of wood, or any other object, he must be spoken to quietly and patted, but above all allow him plenty of time to examine minutely the object which has frightened him, when, after a time, he will approach it, smell it, and touch it with his nose, thus allaying all his fears; he may then be led backwards and forwards past the place a few times, and proceed on his journey. For the day following you will have to longe him, and then lead him [38] ]along the road both morning and afternoon. Always commence the day’s work by longeing, so as to take some of the ‘gas’ out of the colt and sober him down a little before he begins his daily lessons, otherwise he will be so full of play as to pay no attention to your teaching. On the third day you may attach reins to the bit and buckle them to the roller, but be sure you leave them very slack; you may also lead him about in more frequented roads, and if he has been tolerably quiet so far, you can take him through a village or town, and thus accustom him to objects in a new sphere of life. For a fortnight after the first tackling took place, your work will be to lead him about roads, towns, and even take him to railway stations to get accustomed to the trains. Take the reins up a hole every other day until his head is carried perpendicularly, but then stop, do not take them up the eighth of an inch more. At the expiration of the fortnight you must longe him with the cavasson attached alternately to either side of the bit, so as to [39] ]teach the animal side pressure, for so far he has only been undergoing direct pressure. It is as well to count how many circles he goes on one side of the bit, and then give him a corresponding number on the other to prevent his mouth becoming one-sided or, in other words, having one side of his mouth more or less sensitive than the other. Do not keep him at this long, or his mouth will become very tender and sore, but occupy the remainder of the time in leading about the roads &c. Continue doing this for two or three days, and then, having procured long reins, drive him about on the longing ground or in a field, turning him from time to time from one side to the other, stopping him every now and then to get him accustomed to his work, and if you do not pull at him too much, but allow him plenty of play with his head, he will in two or three days have a very fair mouth. After the first day of using reins you may drive him about the roads instead of leading him.
Of course, during all this time—in fact, [40] ]from the haltering of the colt—you will have been freely handling him daily, lifting first his fore-feet and striking them with your hand, at first gently, to get him used to the hammer, and afterwards, when this has been accomplished with facility, the same has been done to the hind ones; and after the colt has been taught to drive in reins, it is time he was shod preparatory to mounting him.
In mouthing a colt he should never be placed in a stall and fastened to the pillar reins, as is too often the practice now-a-days, for it only teaches him to lean upon the bit and slide his mouth from one side of it to the other, thus teaching him a habit to counteract which the ringed mouthpiece has been invented. A day should be fixed for shoeing the colt, and an arrangement made with the blacksmith to shoe him at a certain hour; for if this is neglected, the animal may have to wait his turn whilst three or four other horses are undergoing the process. Before taking him to the blacksmith’s shop at the hour appointed, the colt [41] ]must be well longed so as to get him sobered down a little; and if he is a very nervous fidgety animal, he should be longed until he is really tired. If on arriving at the shop the blacksmith is not quite ready for him, do not tie him up, but lead him up and down until he is wanted; and then, during the process of shoeing, stand by him and do all you can to soothe and allay his fears, at the same time taking care that the smith performs his work as quietly as possible. If he is very refractory, get his fore-feet shod and leave the hind ones for the following day.
After the colt has been shod and has been driven about the roads in reins for a few days to get him used to going in shoes, he may be got ready for mounting, but that will require a fresh chapter.